By Iain Gray

Copyright newsletter

More than twice as many councillors were in favour of blazing the language across Northern Ireland’s capital than were against it, with a 90-minute debate on the previously secret move descending into party-political sniping on Wednesday night. Alliance and the Greens joined nationalists in pushing through the move, and both unaligned parties took swipes at unionists for objecting to an Irish language policy that one politicians opposed to it said amounted to the “subjugation” of his people and identity. Every council-owned building, park, playground, leisure centre and sports pitch will now get new signs in both English and Irish – even ones in staunchly unionist areas, where the Irish language is barely spoken and often opposed. Major landmarks and some street signage in the heart of the city will also be reworked, while Belfast Council’s current logo will be junked and replaced with one that includes Irish; that, it’s stated, has staff who live or work in loyalist areas worried about their safety if the Irish-text logo features on their uniforms. The first phase of the language blitz – taking in the city centre, west Belfast’s Gaeltacht quarter, and landmarks such as Belfast Castle and Belfast Zoo – is to happen over a two-year period, using a £1.9m underspend the council has found in its coffers. It’s eventually to be rolled out over the whole city, however, and during Wednesday night’s debate DUP councillor Sarah Bunting pointed out that no one’s said where the cash to cover the rest of Belfast will come from. Suggesting the price would possibly be met by bumping up the city’s rates bills, she said: “We’re spending money like it’s going out of fashion on a fantasy programme. Here we are, in 2025, being asked to sign up to a policy where there’s not a clear figure in mind.” Fellow DUP councillor Ian McLaughlin argued the rights of unionists, now a minority on the council, are being trampled over by imposing Irish language and identity on communities that don’t want it. “This is about the greening of Belfast,” he said. “The greening of Belfast for domination; the greening of Belfast for minority aggression.” Describing the policy as following a “sectarian agenda”, something he said was backed up by the absence of “good relations” cross-community measures in it, he added: “We will not be going quietly into the night, we will fight this.” Welcoming the legislation with a speech in a mix of Irish and English, Sinn Fein councillor Tomas O Neill said the move is “one of the most progressive Irish language polices in the island” and would “ensure Gaelic is more visible than ever, right across the city”. Alliance councillor Michael Long said he was pleased to see an “education suggestion” in the policy, and compared it to moves in Wales, Cornwall and parts of Scotland. There wasn’t a clear solution to staff safety fears on the night; a DUP attempt to take council uniforms out of the Irish language policy was defeated, though there were indications that talks with workers and unions would continue.