{"id":393489,"date":"2026-03-19T16:33:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T16:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/393489\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T16:33:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T16:33:14","slug":"queens-university-belfast-students-vote-on-return-of-irish-language-signage-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/393489\/","title":{"rendered":"Queen\u2019s University Belfast students vote on return of Irish-language signage \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eoghan \u00d3 Conghaile is walking across the quad at Queen\u2019s University Belfast<\/a> with a big smile on his face.<\/p>\n

Pink magnolia blossoms are in full bloom in a corner of the quiet courtyard where the sun has come out on a Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u00d3 Conghaile greets The Irish Times and points to his phone showing a member of rap trio, Kneecap<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cDJ Pr\u00f3va\u00ed and Kneecap have just given us video support for our campaign,\u201d he says, beaming.<\/p>\n

The Belfast<\/a> student has become the face of the \u2018Yes\u2019 campaign in a referendum to reintroduce Irish-language<\/a> dual signage in the university\u2019s students\u2019 union following its removal almost 30 years ago. <\/p>\n

It was removed after opposition from some unionist students and a recommendation by the Fair Employment Commission for a more neutral working environment.<\/p>\n

Online voting closes on Thursday evening and results are expected as early as Friday.<\/p>\n

If the referendum passes, the university name will appear as Ollscoil na Banr\u00edona B\u00e9al Feirste, alongside the English-language equivalent, in an official bilingual logo.<\/p>\n

Students will also be asked whether Irish and English should be given equal status by the university.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a complete overhaul, we\u2019re talking about a comprehensive standalone language policy within the university,\u201d says \u00d3 Conghaile, a member of An Cumann Gaelach, the Irish language society at Queen\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Much like the rollout of Irish- and English-language street signage across Belfast, the referendum has proved divisive.<\/p>\n

Members of the university\u2019s Young Unionists society say reintroduction of the bilingual signage would create a \u201cchill factor\u201d. Jay Basra, the society\u2019s chair, has warned the move will lead to the students\u2019 union becoming a \u201ccold house for unionists\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve no issue with the Irish language, it\u2019s a language and people are entitled to learn it,\u201d says Basra, who is also a member of the Orange and Ulster Scots societies at Queen\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think there could have been a better way of going about this. We don\u2019t think a student vote helps anything in terms of improving relations on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the Irish signage was removed from the students\u2019 union in 1997, there was a reluctance among some unionists to take jobs or engage with the body, according to Basra.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat chill factor still exists,\u201d he adds. \u201cI do think this will play into the wider debate over Irish dual-language signage and how it\u2019s been politicised.”<\/p>\n

Another unionist student, Matthew Shanks, describes Irish-language signage as a way of \u201cmarking territory\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s akin to painting kerbs, hanging up flags,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u00d3 Conghaile disagrees.<\/p>\n

Standing in the quad, the 21-year-old points to the Senate room, which he describes as the \u201cmost important decision-making room\u201d in the magnificent red-brick Lanyon building.<\/p>\n

We push open the door of the small meeting room, where a portrait of British King Charles hangs.<\/p>\n

Outside, \u201cVR 1848\u2033 is engraved into the brickwork on a chimney breast \u2013 a permanent mark of remembrance to Queen Victoria, the university\u2019s founder.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want unionists to feel this is a cold house but I\u2019d love some explanation as to how \u2013 it\u2019s actually engraved in the physical infrastructure of the buildings around us. It\u2019s in the brick work,\u201d says \u00d3 Conghaile.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe university is named after Queen Victoria and [also features] the king in his full British military gear with all his medals in a portrait hanging in the Senate. The cenotaph is at the front entrance.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople\u2019s concerns are very important but I feel this chill factor claim has to be challenged. There is no bilingual signage. You\u2019re talking about a fully monolingual campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the mere idea of the two languages co-existing together and the democratic pursuit of equality creates a chill factor for unionism, we can\u2019t accommodate for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00d3 Conghaile, an Irish and politics student in second year, insists bilingual signage doesn\u2019t take away anyone\u2019s rights. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not talking about removing English language signs, we want the English there,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

When he first came to Queen\u2019s, it was a \u201cbit of a culture shock\u201d after being educated in Irish-medium schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want my education, that\u2019s what\u2019s important to me. But what\u2019s also important to me is representation of my language that I speak every day. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe university that we\u2019re part of, and even our students\u2019 union, is not reflective of the progressive changes happening across the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cA cultural revolution is taking place, the university is not reflecting that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Queen\u2019s has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n

In December, the university released figures on the 227 per cent increase in the number of students registering for its Irish-language courses. As well as this, an Irish language officer based in the university\u2019s language centre was appointed last year.<\/p>\n

Across the road from Queen\u2019s is the modern, glass-fronted students\u2019 union building.<\/p>\n

Some students approached admit they are unaware the referendum is taking place, while others are apathetic.<\/p>\n

But Ciara Donnelly and Hamza Ally are eager to express their support.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe signage should never have left Queen\u2019s to be honest. Bit of a disgrace it did,\u201d says Donnelly, a law and politics student.<\/p>\n

She is unaware of any opposition.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody I\u2019ve spoken to either don\u2019t really care about it or welcome it,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere has been an explosion in the number of people speaking Irish, especially after Kneecap and the language revival.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ally is from Egypt and also studying law and politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an international student, coming to Ireland, the idea of learning Irish and seeing Irish was something I expected but didn\u2019t really see,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not really being exposed to the culture here. So I honestly think it is a good idea to bring it back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Student Scarlett Murray says she has cast her vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cI voted in favour of it. People try to make the language a very divisive issue. It\u2019s not and it should never have been,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard when people view the Irish language as a threat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00d3 Conghaile is rushing from the students\u2019 union to his youth leader job at Gl\u00f3r na M\u00f3na, an Irish language project in west Belfast. The organisation received half the money Kneecap won in a case against the UK government last year.<\/p>\n

A member of the project since he was eight, he says he wants to remind us that the founder of An Cumann Gaelach in 1906 was William McArthur, a \u201cproud middle-class Protestant unionist\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a lieutenant general in the British army. He saw the importance of protecting, promoting and cherishing the Irish language,\u201d adds \u00d3 Conghaile.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also an indigenous language. The Irish language was here a long time before Queen\u2019s . . . it\u2019s everybody\u2019s language.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Eoghan \u00d3 Conghaile is walking across the quad at Queen\u2019s University Belfast with a big smile on his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393490,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[41],"tags":[663,9,10,13,14,6,26303,11,12,15,16,5,29624,7,8,65,66,67],"class_list":["post-393489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","tag-belfast","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-featured-news","tag-featurednews","tag-headlines","tag-irish-language","tag-latest-news","tag-latestnews","tag-main-news","tag-mainnews","tag-news","tag-queens-university","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-world","tag-world-news","tag-worldnews"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116256807680833525","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=393489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393489\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/393490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=393489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=393489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=393489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}