Mayo fury over shock removal of named village signposts

A Mayo councillor has questioned why signposts for villages and townlands have been removed.

Councillor Ger Deere has drawn attention to the removal of signposts for areas along the old Westport Road, outside Castlebar.

He noted these had been replaced with road numbers, failing to give any indication to motorists and visitors what areas they are in.

He hit out: “The main issue I have in relation to the removal of these signs is the historical and cultural identity of these signs.

"Even decades ago, signs were used to tell people what villages and townlands they were in.

"There is a historical aspect to this as people with an interest in the history of certain areas and who may also have family connections use these signs to guide them to where their ancestors once lived.

“I feel that with the loss of these signs, we are losing our own identity. People have a pride in their places and homelands.

"The identity of these is being removed with the removal of these signs which are being replaced by generic numbers.

"It is unfortunate that areas are now only identified by numbers.

“Further to this, these numbered signs are of no use to people who don’t have SatNav’s in their cars or on their phones.

"I am hoping there are no further plans to replace these signs with numbered signs in any other area of the town or county.

‘I am now calling on Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) or Mayo County Council to replace these signs with the old place names, in both English and Irish, as they had been for many years previous.

"If this is a new roads policy, it needs to be halted,” added Councillor Deere.