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Irish language protesters call for QUB bilingual signs

Robbie Meredith
BBC News NI education and arts correspondent
BBC Róisín Nic Liam has long reddish-brown hair and is wearing a light brown jacket. She is smiling to the camera and several other protesters are standing behind her at the front of Queen's UniversityBBC
Róisín Nic Liam said both Irish and English speakers should be recognised

Around 100 Irish-speaking students have held a demonstration to call for bilingual signage at Queen's University of Belfast (QUB).

The demonstration on Wednesday was organised by An Cumann Gaelach, the university's Irish language society.

They want "more visibility" for the Irish language on campus, including signage in Irish and English.

A QUB spokesperson said: "The university's leadership will meet with Cumann Gaelach next week to discuss this important issue."

Róisín Nic Liam is a PhD student at the university and spoke at the demonstration.

"There's been no problems with bilingual signage across the rest of the United Kingdom or in the Republic," she told BBC News NI.

"Queen's is actually lagging behind other universities in terms of representations and equality.

"It's not that we're looking for supremacy.

"We're not looking for Irish only signs, we're looking for bilingual signs which recognise both Irish speakers and English speakers in this country."

An Cumann Gaelach said that around 1,000 students and staff had backed their call for bilingual signage.

Between 15 and 20 young people are in the picture standing in front of the red-brick Queen's University main building. Two of the protesters are holding red flags and one, a man with cropped brown hair who is wearing long shorts and a yellow football top, is speaking through a loud hailer.
About 100 people took part in the protest on Wednesday

Some staff also came to Wednesday's demonstration to offer support, including Dr Michael Pierse.

He said that QUB had already made progress by appointing an Irish language support officer.

"We've seen a lot of movement forward at Queen's and I think this is an extra move that's a simple one, a straightforward one, " he said.

"Signage makes people feel welcome. It allows the expression of culture in a very basic way and it suggests that we're a tolerant open inclusive place."

But not all students have been supportive of the call for Irish and English bilingual signage.

In a statement posted on social media, the QUB Young Unionists said the "cost of such signage is not something which we would want to see the university try to cover, especially when the university is facing cutbacks in some areas.

"Queen's should strive to be a neutral and shared space, and we would urge the university to make this their priority.

"Forcing the issue could only play further into the idea that it is a cold house."

'Irish is for everyone'

But Eoghan Ó Conghaile from An Cumann Gaelach said that history showed that Irish was for everyone.

He said the QUB Irish language society had been founded by a Protestant unionist, William Mac Arthur, over a century ago.

"It's one of the oldest societies in Queen's University and he formed this society to protect and to progress the use of the visibility of the Irish language on and around campus,"

In a statement to BBC News NI, a QUB spokesperson said the university was "keen to continue to work in partnership with the Cumann and build on the progress to date".

It said this included "the creation of Irish language accommodation, the appointment of an Irish language support officer in the university's language centre, and engagement with a range of staff and student networks which support and promote Irish and other minority languages".