N. Ireland: Bilingual road signs approved.

[Harold Schiffman]

Published Date: 07 December 2007

Location: Ballymoney
History was made in Ballymoney Council on Monday night when the
Unionist-controlled local authority agreed to erect bilingual signs in
Irish in parts of the borough. Sinn Fein welcomed the moves but
complained that it was only the threat of individual councillors being
surcharged that persuaded a majority of Unionist representatives to
abstain from voting which paved the way for the erection of the signs
which will have English as the main language and Irish in a minor
role. But Rasharkin DUP councillor Roy Wilson along with former DUP
councillor, now Independent councillor, Audrey Patterson, voted in a
failed bid to get Ulster-Scots included on the signs in Dunloy,
Rasharkin and Loughgiel.

DUP mayor John Finlay, who previously failed to back the Irish signs
plan, was absent from the meeting and SDLP Deputy-Mayor, Harry
Connolly, said the First Citizen was turning on Christmas Lights in
Balnamore and then was travelling to hospital in Belfast to visit his
ill mother. Independent Unionist councillor Bill Kennedy, who
previously voted against the Irish language signs, abstained on this
occasion. Last month Sinn Fein councillor Philip McGuigan left the
meeting early or else the signs policy would have been introduced then
with this vote but he was present on Monday night. The five
nationalist councillors - Sinn Fein's Councillor McGuigan, Daithi
McKay and Anita Cavlan and Harry Connolly and Malachy McCamphill of
the SDLP - voted for the Irish signs giving a 5-2 majority. Ulster
Unionists Tom McKeown and James Simpson abstained as did Bill Kennedy
and the DUP contingent of Cecil Cousley, Frank Campbell, Ian Stevenson
and Evelyne Robinson. Mervyn Storey wasn't at the meeting. Only Roy
Wilson broke ranks with his party on the vote.

The route to getting the bilingual signs has been slow. The process
began around two years ago and it is clear that Unionists didn't vote
against it at this stage because they were aware that rejection of the
council's own policy on the issue - which was brought on foot of legal
advice - would mean they would be liable to be surcharged. But that
didn't stop Sinn Fein accusing Unionists of using delaying tactics
throughout the process. And even on Monday night there was a late bid
to by Councillor Wilson to move the goalposts on the issue when he
said Ulster-Scots should also be erected on the English and Irish
language signs requested for Glebe Park, Rasharkin; Bellaghy Park,
Dunloy and Scally Park, Loughgiel.
In those areas residents were surveyed and in line with the Council's
policy the required majority of people responding gave the green light
for Irish signs.

Sinn Fein argued that if the people of the three areas had wanted
Ulster-Scots on the signs they would have asked for it and they said
if others want to erect Ulster-Scots and English signs in other
districts they have nothing against that. Town Clerk John Dempsey
cautioned that introducing the Ulster-Scots angle at the eleventh
hour, without it being included in the whole equality and legal
process previously conducted, would be dangerous and he advised the
councillors accordingly. With his Ulster-Scots bid failing, Councillor
Wilson then asked the Council to consider ensuring that the Irish
language words on the street signs are no greater than a third of the
size of what he called the "mother tongue" English.

Mock-ups of the signs showed that the Irish language may be around 50
per cent the size of the English letters and after a vote, Councillor
Wilson received support from DUP councillor Ian Stevenson in his 'size
matters' bid along with Audrey Patterson but again with the
abstentions of the rest of the Unionist contingent the five
nationalist rejected the 'one third size' bid. Launching his bid to
get Ulster-Scots included Councillor Wilson saidthat if Sinn Fein
councillor McKay could speak Irish in the council chamber he would
speak some words of Ulster Scots.

Council official John Michael said there had been no application to
the Council for the erection of Ulster-Scots bilingual signs in the
three areas currently under consideration.Councillor Wilson said
Protestants in Glebe Park, Rasharkin, had contacted him about the
situation and he would not be silenced on the issue. Councillor Ian
Stevenson said the signs were a waste of money and said if people want
to learn Irish they could do so at school but that nothing would be
learned from a street sign. Councillor James Simpson said the Irish
language belongs to all the community but he felt Sinn Fein had
hijacked it.Councillor Campbell said he would be abstaining in the
vote because support would be seen as wasting money on road signage
that is not necessary.


http://www.ballymoneytimes.co.uk/news/Green-light-for-Irish-language.3567593.jp
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