First dual-language road sign approved for Portadown by council

The first ever bilingual English and Irish signs in Portadown have been approved tonight by Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council.

Dual language signage at Woodside Gardens in Portadown had been recommended for adoption by a committee last week.

All unionist councillors in attendance abstained from the committee vote.

Under the council’s current dual language street policy, applications must be supported by a petition from 33% of residents supporting the application.

This is only the second application to have exceeded the required thresholds of support in the council’s postal survey.

No Irish language signs had been approved by the unionist-dominated council since it first came into existence in 2015.

The first application to exceed the required thresholds was originally made in October 2023 by residents in the Woodside Hill area of Portadown, close to the Garvaghy Road, whose residents opposed an Orange Order parade that led to the Drumcree crisis in the late 1990s.

That application received support from 64 residents, with only three others opposing, but was rejected by the local authority.

This decision is currently before High-Court Judicial Review proceedings.

There are 10 dwellings and one commercial premises within the Woodside Gardens area, where the new signs will be erected.

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All residents and the commercial premises tenant were in favour of bilingual signage, while the owner of the commercial premises took a neutral view – well in excess of the two-thirds majority required.

A number of speakers spoke both in favour and against the bilingual signage application at a committee meeting regarding the matter in July, including the DUP’s Carla Lockhart MP, who expressed strong views against the decision, stating that the plans were part of “a concerted effort to cleanse this area of Protestantism”.

The plan came back before the committee this week and was passed after winning support from Sinn Féin and Alliance members.

The proposal was ratified at full council tonight, with Sinn Fein councillor Paul Duffy welcoming the news.

“The recognition of the Irish language by ABC council is long overdue,” he said.

“Residents of Woodside Gardens in Portadown entered into our bi-lingual street signage process, followed all aspects of our policy and tonight the signs have been given the go-ahead.

“I welcome this and commend the community of Woodside for their persistence.

“The Irish language is a vibrant part of our culture and identity, and the visibility of it enhances our surroundings.”

Cuisle Nic Liam, a language rights coordinator with Conradh na Gaeilge, a cultural organisation that promotes the Irish language, said that the ABC council “has one of the most restrictive street signage policies across all local councils here”.

"The unanimous support for Woodside Gardens is testament to the determination of the local Irish language community in reaffirming their right to see their language in public; a right which is enshrined in the council’s own dual language street signage policy which, up until this date, they have failed to honour.”