Irish translations in Portlaoise signs wrong says Laois county councillor

A Laois councillor and teacher has complained about Irish translation mistakes in the county's roadsigns.

Cllr Tommy Mulligan who represents the Portlaoise Municipal District is a keen Irish language speaker, first choosing Irish to explain his motion, tabled to the March meeting of Laois County Council.

"Ar an gcead dul síos ar thaobh an run seo nílim ag cur an milleán ag einne.

"I'm not playing the blame game here but there are a few examples of inaccuracies in the Irish on some road signs around the town and county.

"The most notable is 'Macánta Patt' that is located on the Mountrath road roundabout. Grammatically this is incorrect but also the wording is inaccurate. I have received a lot of complaints about it from people who are interested in the Irish language.

"There are other examples around the town and county with little mistakes that were sent to me. It's right and appropriate that we do promote Irish and I'd love to see more signs As Gaeilge but we have to be careful that it's accurate," Cllr Mulligan said.

Cllr Mulligan explained to the Leinster Express / Laois Live that the word 'macánta' should be after Patt, not before, while the word itself is not a correct translation for an honest person.

He said also that the Irish translation used on the roadsigns warning for "hidden dips" as "dips I bhfolach" is also wrong. 

Laois County Council Director of Services Simon Walton asked Cllr Mulligan to come to him with all the inaccuracies.

"If there are known inaccuracies on any of the Laois County Council signs, please bring them to our attention and we'll be happy to amend them as appropriate. Rather than us taking a full review. We'll welcome any information that interested parties have, and we'dd do our best to remedy those," he said.

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"Sinn freagra iontach. Tá a lán sásta agam," said Cllr Mulligan.

Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley seconded the motion and said she believed the mistake on the Mountrath road roundabout had been addressed, after it was flagged to her a year ago. 

The Rockdale roundabout is called after Patrick 'Honest Patt' Lalor from Mountrath, a leading figure in Catholic Emancipation and close ally of Daniel O'Connell. He was an MP for the Queen's County from 1832-35 and a supporter of the Irish Tenant League. His three sons all became leading political figures in Ireland or Australia, James Fintan, Richard and Peter Lalor - famed for the Eureka Stockade.