Sinn Féin and DUP clash over bilingual or trilingual signage as unionists call for Ulster Scots to be included

Sinn Féin versus DUP over bilingual or trilingual signage at Springfield Dam v.1

Sinn Féin and the DUP have clashed over whether Ulster Scots should be used on signage at Springfield Dam in Belfast

placeholder image — DUP and Sinn Fein councillors have clashed at Belfast City Hall

The two parties went at loggerheads at a special meeting of a Belfast City Council committee on Friday (November 1) during a discussion aiming to make a final decision on language signage across the length of the new Forth Meadow Greenway.

The matter came to head specifically over the use of bilingual or trilingual signage at the Springfield Dam part of the greenway. Sinn Féin argued that a council committee had already agreed to English and Irish signage at this spot, while the DUP proposed English, Ulster Scots and Irish there.

The Alliance Party argued that English, Irish and Ulster Scots should be used on each piece of signage along the full length of the greenway, with the Greens in support.

In the end, a Sinn Féin proposal to follow officer recommendations and have only English and Irish at Springfield Dam was voted for, by a tight margin. This decision will have to go to the full council on Monday (November 4) for ratification, but is likely to pass if it follows the party numbers from committee level.

The Forth Meadow Community Greenway is a £5.1million EU Peace IV funded project connecting existing open spaces in north and west Belfast along a 12 km route from Clarendon Playing Fields to Weavers Cross, to the new Grand Central Station in the city centre.

The break-down of the vote at the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee on Friday shows Alliance support for all proposals, and a Green no-vote on the DUP proposal.

On the Alliance proposal for trilingual signage on the full length of the greenway, five were in support from Alliance and the Greens, while 15 were against, from Sinn Féin, the DUP and the SDLP.

On the DUP proposal for trilingual signage at Springfield Dam, nine were in favour from the DUP and Alliance, 10 were against, from Sinn Féin and the SDLP, while one Green party councillor abstained.

On the Sinn Féin proposal for just English and Irish at Springfield Dam, 15 were in favour from Sinn Féin, Alliance, the SDLP and the Greens, while five were against, from the DUP.

Alliance Councillor Michael Long told the chamber: “This is a Peace IV funded project and is meant to bring areas of the city together, so we would prefer to avoid demarcating territory, and have a single policy right along. We would be keen to broaden it just beyond English, because there are obviously place names right along there that are from a Scottish background, or from Irish, and indeed English.”

Sinn Féin Councillor Ciaran Beattie said: “If you look at recent consultations, and the responses from the Ulster Scots Agency, there are no requests for trilingual there, and that didn’t show up in the consultation either. It didn’t show up in the recent consultation for the Olympia Leisure Centre either, where there was no demand for trilingual.

“This piece of land at the Springfield Dam sits in the Black Mountain District Electoral Area, where there are six Sinn Féin councillors, and one SDLP councillor, who all support the bilingual signage on this site. The two entrances, Millennium Way and Springfield Road, are already dual language.”

DUP Alderman Frank McCoubrey said: “I brought this up about a year ago, and my concern has been that work within our communities, along with our council officers, to get to where we were with Springfield Dam (is affected).

“There was big buy-in from both communities for that, from local schools, from youth clubs, no matter who it was. When this came up last year I was concerned that people from the Unionist community would see if it was only the Irish language, that (they would think) one community was dominant over this project. One that was funded by the EU, in a peace and reconciliation project. I am still concerned.”

Sinn Féin Councillor Ciaran Beattie said: “For us, Springfield Dam is in the Gaeltacht Quarter, which was agreed by this council in 2011, after Deloitte were employed to identify what the Gaeltacht Quarter would be. That has been the policy of this council since then.”

Green Councillor Áine Groogan said: “Having a greenway with multiple different sections with multiple different languages, some have Irish, some have Ulster Scots – it is messy for a start.

“It strays into very dangerous territory, that languages are for certain areas, and certain parts of the community. When that is exactly the opposite way we should be going. A language is not a threat to anyone, no matter what people might think.”

The decison for signage at the different greenway sections, are as follows:

Beacons

Section 1 – Glencairn – two sides English and two sides Ulster Scots

Section 2 – Forth River / Springfield Road/Innovation Factory – four sides English

Section 3 – Falls Park – two sides English and two sides Irish

Section 4 – Bog Meadows – two sides English and two sides Irish

Springfield Park/Dam – four faces English and Irish

Information Panels

Section 1 – Glencairn – English

Section 2 – Forth River / Springfield Road/Innovation Factory – English

Section 3 – Falls Park – English and Irish

Section 4 – Bog Meadows – English and Irish