http://www.gaelport.com/index.php?page=clippings&id=450

(Aimed mostly at Béarloirí na hÉireann)

very good article!

even non Gaeltacht areas could get in on the act of getting Irish learners to come to their areas?

the tourist board that runs this country is stuck in a silly rute..getting coaches of Yanks into Killarney and getting them out again..why not get the educated Irish American and the many other nationalities who want to stay to know about the real Ireland for maybe 10 days to two weeks!

Being an American I can say that Irish tourism has been more heavily advertised on TV, especially commercials for www.shamrock.org. I can't recall off the top of my head but they show things like people fishing in a mountain like, riding horses in a field, sitting in a very stony pub, and walking around a very old castle. They advertise it as a "place of warrior poets" and "friendship" et cetera.

I honestly had to laugh a bit while reading this article... I guarantee you, one of the reasons people (American or otherwise) go to Ireland is to experience the Irish language. I really doubt it has ever impacted tourism negatively. It is surprising that there is even this idea that Gaeilge roadsigns would keep people away. I remember talking to a Frenchman (who does not speak Irish) who was vacationing in a Gaeltacht and joked that he never knew where he was. He had a good laugh at his frustration and said he'd like to learn enough Irish to get by. Most maps of Ireland sold here in California have both English and Irish placenames on them.

On a related note, I enjoy the travel guides written by Rick Steves, and was just reading his Ireland guide. There is a short Irish language vocabulary list in the back, and the book is full of Irish placenames and other words someone might find useful. He encourages people to learn at least a few phrases and try and use the language while traveling through Ireland.

The problem is that the perception here is that Irish is somehow a problem for tourists. This, despite many tourists writing to Irish papers to say it is quite the opposite.

It is the mentality of some eejits in RTE/most stupid shoneen journalists in the Irish Independent/a ballygobackwards TD like Jackie Healy Rae and other stupids to make it look like Irish is a problem for foreigners visiting here...It is their problem as they have nothing better to say or do but criticise the language..they have a colonised mindset of inferiority for their Irishness..for them distinctiveness is a sign of embarrassment and shame in their race to become plastic Paddies!

While we are on the subject: an excellent letter in the Indo in June

http://www.gaelport.com/index.php?page=clippings&id=312

quote:

Irish signposts and place names will not prevent us from coming back to Ireland but the spread of English prohibition signs reading 'Private property! Trespassers will be executed' will. Or was it 'prosecuted'? Anyhow, it sounds the same.

to be fair i have seen keep out signs in irish while on my holliers. coinneal amach is the term used. I belive they put them up to keep dermot sommers out specifically.