Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council considering more applications for Irish street signs

The latest applications relate to Glenville Mews, Bawnmore Terrace and Mount Street in Newtownabbey.

At last month’s council meeting, the authority progressed applications for these signs in Bawnmore Grove, Bawnmore Place and Newton Gardens, also in Newtownabbey, to the next stage in the application procedure.

Councillors were told that residents signing these petitions meet the “one-third threshold as required within the approved policy” and have proceeded to stage two of the procedure for a residents’ canvass.

At a meeting of the borough council at Mossley Mill, on Monday evening, councillors were advised that the most recent applications also meet the “one-third” threshold as required.

They were also told that one further application has been received but in line with council policy, a maximum of three applications per month can be processed on a “first come basis”.

It was agreed that a canvass of the residents of Glenville Mews, Bawnmore Terrace and Mount Street be approved following a recommendation by Glengormley Sinn Fein Councillor Michael Goodman and seconded by party colleague Councillor Maighréad Ní Chonghaile, an Airport representative.

An application for dual language street signs must be supported by a petition representing at least one-third of residents and must have the backing of the local authority before it can proceed to the next stage of canvassing street residents by post to seek their views on the request to erect a street sign in a second specified language.

The council’s Dual Language Street Sign Policy states that two-thirds or more of all those canvassed must indicate that they are in favour of the erection of a second language street sign before the application can be brought before the council for a decision.

If a decision is approved by the authority to erect a street sign in a second language, a translation will have to be carried out by an independent body. The second language sign will be placed below the English in lettering the same size.

The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 gives councils the power to erect dual language street signs or secondary nameplates in a language other than English.

Macedon Sinn Fein Councillor Taylor McGrann commented on social media recently: “We will be working closely with residents to ensure that the process can go as smoothly as possible in order for us to be successful in achieving the first ever Irish street signs in Antrim and Newtownabbey.”

In January, a bid for an Irish language street sign in Newtownabbey was defeated due to insufficient support in the community.

In a canvass of 67 residents of Cashelton Manor, Glengormley, carried out by Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, 25 of the 34 who replied were in favour of a dual language sign. The result of the canvass will not allow any further applications from that area to be considered by the council until February 2026.

The issue first arose in Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough in February 2018 when the council received a request from Abbeyville Residents’ Association for five Irish language street signs which was turned down after councillors voted in favour of a policy retaining street signs in English only.

However, in September 2018, the council was forced to do a U-turn after being challenged in the High Court by a resident who sought a judicial review over a “deeply held concern that the policy adopted by the borough council was unlawful”.

According to the 2021 census, 6.52 per cent of Antrim and Newtownabbey residents have some knowledge of Irish; 2.9 per cent can speak, read, write and understand Irish and 1,164 residents can speak Irish.