South Belfast: Bilingual street sign defaced in Cranmore Park

A bilingual sign on a south Belfast street has been vandalised for the second time in the space of three months.

Red paint was splashed over the Irish translation of Cranmore Gardens, off Lisburn Road.

The sign was also vandalized in April, just weeks after the council approved it.

At the time, police described the crime as “a sectarian hate crime.”

Belfast Mayor and Councillor Micky Murray has shared his disappointment at the attack on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He also tried to clean up the graffiti before submitting it to the council.

George Rodgers lives in the area and describes himself as someone of nationalist origin.

He said: “Why don’t they put it in Ulster Scots? Then it would be three languages ​​which might stop people damaging it.

“Here in the community we respect everyone.”

Lauren Elizabeth, owner of a local bridal shop, says she feels we live in a time where “everyone needs to be represented.”

“I’m shocked why we can’t have English and Irish on one sign,” she told BBC News NI.

“I don’t see the point, it doesn’t reflect any of the local business owners, we are mixed in our clientele. We like to be very inclusive in this area.”

An Irish speaker from the Republic of Ireland who now lives in the area, Niall Walsh, said he is on the fence when it comes to bilingual signage.

“There is disagreement over whether or not this should be done, but damaging this sign is a criminal offence.

“I’m from the South and everywhere we have double signs, it’s normal, but if people don’t agree they should vote to not put them up, it could be because of the marches and the time of year.”

Vincent Hurson, who was a teacher at a local school, described the disfigurement as “disgusting behavior.”

“They didn’t just damage the sign, they damaged the leaves and vegetation around it. It’s absolutely outrageous.”

Mr. Hurson believes there has never been any animosity between residents of the area.

“Maybe this is done by someone who opposes the double signal, but I didn’t realize this area was a large local community,” he said.

Claire Hanna, MP for South Belfast, said: “This is a live-and-let-live part of the world, with a growing number of people interested in the Irish language and the meaning of place names.”

“The signs were put up in line with council agreed policy and defacing them is bigoted, unsightly and a waste of taxpayers’ money.”

Sinn Féin, Alliance, SDLP, the Green Party and People Before Profit support the policy, while the unionist parties – DUP, UUP, PUP – oppose it.

Under the new rules, a resident or councilor can initiate a consultation for a second identification plate, with 15% support required for construction.

Previously, 33.3% of the electorate needed to petition and 66.6% needed to agree to the installation of a bilingual sign.

Bilingual street signs in Cranmore Gardens, which feature the street name in both English and Irish, were approved in February.

This consultation with 124 local residents reflected a 50-50 split.