Limerick City and County Council has been asked to remove new bilingual wayfinding signs in the city due to errors in the Irish language version on some of the signs.
Up to 70 new signs have been erected as part of the €1.2 million Limerick Wayfinding and Orientation Project.
The aim is to improve the tourism offering, and direct visitors to important and interesting sites in the city.
However, issues have been raised regarding the Irish language translation on the signs and the spelling of some of the locations.
The signs carry an engraved greeting of 'Welcome to Limerick'. However, the Irish version states ‘Fáilte Roimh Luimneach’ which translates as ‘Welcome, Limerick’ or ‘We Welcome Limerick’.
Other issues include the directional sign to Thomond Park. The stadium is known as Páirc Thuamhumhan in Irish, but the signs point to ‘Páirc na Thuamhan’.
Lecturer and Irish Language expert Dr Síle Ní Coincheannain said that the new signs were a source of embarrassment to anyone with an interest in the Irish language or Irish placenames.
"This would not be acceptable in any other European country regarding their own language or placenames, and it shouldn’t be acceptable here, Dr Ní Choincheannain said.
She added: "A lot has been done to promote the Irish language in Limerick and it’s something we should be proud of. These signs do nothing for that cause and should be taken down and corrected."
Public bodies have a duty to erect bilingual signage. A spokesperson from Oifig an Choimisinéir Teanga said that the office was aware of the issue and was in touch with Limerick City and County Council on the matter.
However, Fine Gael Councillor Olivia O’Sullivan said that the issues with the translation on the signs was raised at an early stage during the planning for the project.
"This project has been discussed for the past number of years. During a presentation to councillors on how the new signs would look, issues were raised on the translation on the signs.
"We were assured that all these issues would be rectified before the signs would be erected, so this is now very disappointing", she said.
In a statement Limerick City and County Council said it was "taking steps to rectify an error" in the Irish language translation on a recently installed sign.
"The Council are consulting with the sign supplier on options to amend the text. These map totem signs each cost circa €12,000 to produce (there are 18).
"The installation cost varies from sign to sign based on location of installation and under pavement conditions".
