Debate contribution: Irish Language Street Signage in Belfast

Debate contribution by Ms Sian Mulholland on 13 October 2025.

MLA

Ms Sian Mulholland

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

13 October 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Irish Language Street Signage in Belfast

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5176377

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I rise as someone with giota beag Gaeilge — a little bit of Irish. I am an aspiring learner; it is something that I have tried to do. I think of Béal Feirste — Belfast; the heart of my constituency, Ballymena — an Baile Meánach — the Middle Townland; and Loughguile — Loch gCaol — River of the Narrow Water. For me, all those things are part of the story. My favourite is somewhere that I pass every day as I come to Stormont: Knocknagoney — Cnoc na gCoiníní — Hill of the Rabbits, so called because, once upon a time, before Tesco was there, it was hiving with rabbits apparently. Bilingual street nameplates do not replace anyone's identity. We are not asking people to take on the culture as if it is their own. We are asking for respect. There is a myth about Alliance that we want everyone to be put into a big pot of homogenous beige; we do not want that. We want people to be able to celebrate and respect the culture of others.

Yes, go on ahead.

I will continue with my speech and get to that.

Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. What first struck me about the motion, aside from the fact that we are spending time discussing the outworkings of a council policy, not just the policy detail or lack thereof, was the tone. Using terms such as "oppressive", "marking of territory" and "imposed upon" is not the way in which to lower the temperature and open a door to our shared history, which is a history that also includes "others" and Presbyterians at its croí

, no matter how unfortunate that may be for people to hear. The motion states that only 12% of applications for Irish language signs — in fact, they are dual language signs — are approved by the majority of residents who live there. That is a distortion of the facts. The policy focuses on respondents, not on the total number of residents. That is a key distinction to make. On the motion's assertion that, in nine out of 10 cases, the wishes of the minority are trumping those of the majority, I would like to know from where those figures come, because I am not clear on that. Our peace settlement and international standards state that minority cultural rights matter. For years before 2022, a supermajority was required for the introduction of Irish signage. In practice, that meant that that visibility was kept, and refined, in areas that had already fully embraced the language. The more recent policy —.

I want to continue, because I do not have an awful lot of time. The more recent policy aimed to remove an unreasonable barrier while maintaining discretion, precisely so that we could weigh up local feeling and good relations, but community bridges will hold only if they are built with consent. Trust is built by talking to residents, answering questions and demystifying what a bilingual sign is, and that sometimes does mean saying, "Not here, not now, not yet". The point is to bring people along. As has been mentioned, councillors can still exercise discretion, including through a good relations test. My party, unlike the SDLP, Sinn Féin and Green Party groupings on Belfast City Council, has stuck to its position that a sign should not be put in place if a majority of residents respond against it. Indeed, in the words of a DUP councillor in Belfast City Hall:

"To be fair to the Alliance Party, they have stuck to their position, which was that if the majority oppose a street sign in their street, then we are not going to force it on them."

We want to clarify our position. We believe that the policy is not the problem. Rather, the problem is the way in which a number of cases have been approached. If we are to listen to the calls of the Irish language community, which wants to depoliticise the language, we have to do that on every level and from every side.

Just a second. To be clear, my children singing 'Baa, Baa, Caora Dubh'

is not a bullet for any cause, and nor should it be a reason for intimidation of others. Where therefore should we land? First, there is the potential for Irish and other minority languages to promote our common culture, and street signage can help to do that in a modest, everyday way. Secondly, it should not go where local people do not yet particularly want it. Consent and context matter. If a clear majority of residents on a given street are not interested, for whatever reason, it simply may not be the right place or the right time to introduce it. Thirdly, the way in which support is built is through respectful engagement, conversations, outreach and practical reassurance, not through street-by-street trench warfare, as the motion may have us believe. Fourthly, we should be proud of Belfast's progress. More people from different backgrounds are dipping a toe in the Irish language, even if it is just a wee one. That is a positive story that we should nurture, not politicise. That brings me back to tone. Calling neighbours' cultural expression "oppressive" or considering it territorial does nothing but harden hearts. It is not a zero-sum exercise. If we talk about the issue in that way, we will guarantee division and not achieve anything. This is not about forcing anyone to adopt the language as their own but about respect. There is also a practical path that we can take. The council committed to a two-year review of the policy, so let us wait for that in good faith. Let us look at the response rates and the engagement quality. Let us improve the information. Let us use our discretion, which we already have, to say when good relations would plainly be hindered. The choice today is not between Irish and English or between culture and consent. Rather, the debate is about seeing a Béal Feirste

and a Tuisceart Aontroma

that are quietly, confidently proud —

— of all their voices.

1,024 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:30 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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