Incorrect spelling means some signage in Mayo is lost in translation

SOME signage in Mayo is literally getting lost in translation.

The translation of names from English to Irish is incorrect in some instances, a meeting of Mayo County Council's committee that deals with matters cultural was told.

Liam Heffron said the matter of incorrect spelling has been raised with him by two separate groups.

There were issues with online maps - Moygownagh, for instance, had not been on Google Maps, which he got rectified.

Bonniconlon was another where there are various spellings in use. Mulranny - sometimes appearing as Mallaranny - is another.

Place names and their Irish translations are very important as part of their cultural aspect in the county, he said.

Councillor Gerry Murray said there is an official list of townland and names.

He recalled how when parishes were putting up townland stones, they couldn't get the grant unless they had the proper spelling of the legitimate Irish version.

The official Irish placenames database is available on logainm.ie.

Director of services Catherine McConnell said the council can only regulate official signs.

The matter will be raised with the Irish officer.