Northern Ireland signs photographed just north of the border indicating Belfast Newry Dublin and Dundalk via the A1. Republic of Ireland signs indicating Béal Feirste (or Feirsde) / Belfast, Áth Cliath / Dublin and Aerfort, i.e. Dublin Airport.

Road signs within Northern Ireland follow the UK Ministry of Transport design. In the Republic signs are bi-lingual, with the Irish (Gaelic) form of the place name in an adapted Irish script above the English language version in upper case letters.

As someone interested in design and layout, I find the UK signs to be the clearest and most visually pleasing in the world. The signs in the Republic are less well designed, not always consistent and often in need of replacement. But as a linguist, I find it interesting to see the Irish versions of the place names. In any country, road signs are an essential element of national identity.

About the photos

This image is from the portfolio of Aidan O'Rourke photographer writer website publisher. Most images are copyright Aidan O'Rourke and may be available as prints or high resolution files. Some images are by other artists, and are published with their approval, or are included in reviews of their work.

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Keywords: Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, road signs, Gaeilge, design, highways, high quality transport photography