<div dir="ltr"><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=
<h1>We deliver letters addressed in Irish and Ulster Scots, says Royal Mail after post returned</h1>
<div class="gmail-p402_hide">
<div class="gmail-full">
<div class="gmail-w gmail-w113 gmail-overlay">
<div class="gmail-wrap">
<a id="gmail-s37437014">
<span>
<span class="gmail-img-a gmail-is-loaded">
<img alt="Royal Mail said it was willing to deliver letters addressed in Irish or Ulster Scots." title="Royal Mail said it was willing to deliver letters addressed in Irish or Ulster Scots." src="https://cdn-04.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/uk-world/article37437014.ece/d05b5/AUTOCROP/w620h342/royalmaillang" class="gmail-" width="620" height="342">
<strong class="gmail-zoom">1</strong></span>
<strong class="gmail-zoom">1</strong></span>
Royal Mail said it was willing to deliver letters addressed in Irish or Ulster Scots.
</a>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="gmail-w gmail-w140">
<div class="gmail-wrap">
<div class="gmail-meta">
<p>
By <strong>Gareth Cross</strong>
</p>
<p>
October 19 2018
</p>
</div>
<div class="gmail-share">
<ul><li id="gmail-share-buttons-31321347_gig_containerParent">
<div id="gmail-share-buttons-31321347" class="gmail-share-buttons" style="visibility: visible;"><div class="gmail-gig-bar-container gmail-gig-share-bar-container"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td style="vertical-align:bottom;white-space:nowrap"><br></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;white-space:nowrap"><br></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;white-space:nowrap"><br></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>
<br></li><li><br></li></ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>
Royal Mail has launched an investigation after a letter addressed in Irish was returned to its sender.
</p>
<div class="gmail-widget gmail-ad gmail-google">
<ins class="gmail-adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:620px;height:90px"><ins id="gmail-aswift_0_expand" style="display:inline-table;border:medium none;height:90px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:620px;background-color:transparent"><ins id="gmail-aswift_0_anchor" style="display:block;border:medium none;height:90px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:620px;background-color:transparent"></ins></ins></ins>
</div>
<p>Piarais Mac Alastair took to Twitter after a letter he sent to
Boucher Road addressed in Irish was returned to him by Royal Mail,
saying the addressee was unknown and there was no such address.</p>
<ul><li><strong>
<a href="https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/northern-ireland-councillors-under-investigation-over-englishonly-policy-social-media-posts-37435079.html">Northern Ireland councillors under investigation over 'English-only' policy social media posts</a> </strong></li><li><strong>
<a href="https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/sinn-fein-says-rudderless-dup-has-no-interest-in-restoring-powersharing-37402850.html">Sinn Fein says 'rudderless DUP has no interest in restoring power-sharing' </a> </strong></li><li><strong>
<a href="https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/new-irish-language-post-filled-by-belfast-council-37402283.html">New Irish language post filled by Belfast council </a></strong></li></ul><p>A
Royal Mail help account replied to Mr Mac Alastair saying that standard
procedure would have been for the postal worker to refer the letter to
their line manager who would have the letter translated in-house.</p>
<p>A Royal Mail spokeswoman told The Belfast Telegraph that they were investigating complaints around the issue.</p>
<p>They said that they will be reminding all staff of their policy on the issue.</p>
<p>“We apologise if a few customers have experienced delays with items
of mail addressed in Irish. We fully understand these concerns raised by
them and are investigating these complaints. Every item of mail is
important to us and we typically pride ourselves on high levels of
service," the spokeswoman said.</p>
<p>“Royal Mail fully recognises the cultural importance of the Irish and
Ulster Scots languages, We are committed to fulfilling its obligations
and responsibilities, as set out in current national and European
agreements. </p>
<p>"Royal Mail also recognises the need to balance the requirements of
our customers for an efficient value-for-money service, with the need to
acknowledge our responsibilities as a major organisation operating in a
society with diverse cultures. This has always been and remains our
approach.</p>
<p>"Royal Mail handles Irish language items on a daily basis and the
overwhelming majority of these are delivered without any difficulty.
This is true, as long as the house or premises number and postcode
appear correctly on mail items. On some occasions mail could be marked
as we translate the location of the address. We are reminding all our
staff of our policy and we will be taking appropriate steps to prevent
this happening again.”</p>
<p>Responding on Twitter, former Lord Mayor of Belfast Niall
O'Donnghaile said the issue was an "ongoing problem" and requested a
meeting with "a representative of senior management in Belfast".</p></div>
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div></div>