Researchers at Trinity College Dublin are calling on the public to help them track down the capital's old street signs to document them before they disappear.
The bilingual green and white signs, which feature the old Irish font Cló Gaelach, date back to the turn of the 20th century and are believed to have been introduced to Dublin as a subtle form of protest against British rule at the time.
However, as the signs are not on the list of protected structures, they are not preserved, unless they are in architectural areas of conservation.
The team at Trinity College Dublin are hoping to create a digital archive of the remaining signs and establish a timeline for when they were erected and eventually phased out.
Dr Nicole Volmering, Research Assistant Professor at TCD's Department of History, said the signs tell a story of a key part of Irish history.
Dr Volmering said modern signs in the capital "are blue and white".
She said: "Cló Gaelach means Irish type font and it was created to imitate the script in which people used to write Irish since the sixth century, you find it in manuscripts like the Book of Kells.
"It was first used on bilingual street signs in Dublin in the 1910s as a way to organise a silent protest against British rule.
"They then became a symbol of the use of Irish and Irish heritage on our streetscape."
She added the "script itself" is "very powerful as a way of communicating Irish heritage".
"We have found about 600 so far, and that's just in inner city Dublin," she said, adding "there's going to be a lot more to be found as I work my way out of the city centre".
Dr Volmering said the signs vary depending on the era of the 1900s they were created.
"The green ones with the decorative barrier go back at least to the start of the century," she said, noting the area of Kimmage has "a lot of these".
"Whereas if you go to Dublin 10, which is built around the 40s and 50s, you tend to see the dark green ones with the postal code," she said.
"So, there is a rough timeline but exactly what the timeline is - is something that I'm still working on. That's part of this project," she added.
The Cló Gaelach also featured on some blue and white signs before it was phased out, which is believed to be around the 1960s.
Dublin City Council now mainly replace the green signs with blue and white signs that have a modern font, unless they are in particular parts of the city.
"Every time we lose a sign, we lose a little bit of the history of Dublin and the history of Irishness," she said.
"They're only conserved in architectural conservation areas at the moment and any signs that are outside of these areas, when they break or fall down, they are simply lost," she added.
Dr Volmering said it is understandable that not all the signs can be conserved as "they would have huge cost implications".
"But what I'm trying to do with the project is preserve them for the future by creating a digital archive where you can see all of them," she said.
Another person who has been studying these signs separately is Ultan Ó Conchubhair, an architect with Gró Works and partner in the Irish architectural collective Ailtireachtúil.
Mr Ó Conchubhair said that due to their unique character, he would like to see them preserved in more than conservation areas.
"These were kind of a small act of disobedience that was done in order to kind of make a statement," he said, adding "there's a beautiful craft in them".
He said the signs were made "by individual crafts people, so you can see between the variations of signs, a difference in the hand, in the actual individuals and painting style".
"These very early signs would have been painted with enamel paint onto a metal sign," he said.
"There was lots of nuance in the hand painting," he added.
Mr Ó Conchubhair said: "We wouldn't be advocating for the kind of pastiche reuse of these signs, where possible, they should definitely be retained".
"There's such a rich amount of history contained within them that it would be a real shame to see them replaced by an inferior modern sign," he added.
Dublin City Council said the green and white signs are replaced as required such as when they are damaged.
While they are not protected structures, the council said it would support their retention in architectural conservation areas but there is currently no policy for their retention in other areas.
The team at TCD want those who spot the signs to send them a picture, which will be added to its digital archive.
The ClóSCAPE pilot project is focusing on Dublin initially, but it is hoped that a larger national survey will be undertaken in the future.
Funded by the Trinity Long Room Hub Research Incentive Scheme, the photos will be published as part of the Irish Historic Street Signs Archive on the Digital Repository of Ireland, which will be freely available to the public and researchers.
Photos of the streets signs can be submitted to http://www.nicolevolmering.ie/closcape/
