Philatelists & Road Sign Collectors take note.
While astronaut Neil Armstrong may have taken one small step for mankind 50 years ago, An Post, our Irish postal service, has had to take one giant leap backwards, after July 4th last; releasing for sale commemorative postage stamps featuring an error using “gaelach” meaning “Irish”, instead of their intended word “gealach” meaning “moon”.
An Post have apologised for their unintentional error, after an actual Irish speaking member of the public spotted their error. Same appeared on two €1 stamps, featuring Armstrong and Michael Collins, (Apollo 11 Moon Mission).
The commemorative collection were issued as part of the four-stamp Space Exploration set unveiled just last week, by Ms Cady Coleman, latter a retired, ‘Irish rooted,’ Nasa astronaut. An Post said the error occurred during the stamps production process when the letters “a” and “e” decided to change places.
Here in Thurles of course we have had no apologies from Tipperary Co. Council and our residents have given up raising comments on such minor infringements with regards our native language.
Take a look at two signs on the Templemore road, out of Thurles [N.62], offering directions and positioned close to two of this country’s finest secondary centres of education and a Third Level collage.
Within five hundred yards of each other are two signs both displaying grammatical misspelling of our native language.
Take for example the housing estate direction sign entitled ‘Cluain Glas‘, (In English “Green Field”). Correct spelling should read ‘Cluain Ghlas‘.
Just a few yards closer to Thurles town we find the housing estate direction sign ‘Gort na tSagaire‘, (In English “The field of the priest”). Here we find two mistakes. Correct spelling should read ‘Gort an tSagairt‘. Latter correct spelling can be found in the official book “Liostaí Logainmneacha Contae Thiobraid Árann (County Tipperary)” published in 2004 by the placenames Branch of the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.
But sure, as Torquay builder Mr O’Reilly (Actor David Kelly) said to Mr Basil Fawlty (Actor John Cleese) in Faulty Towers “If the good Lord ment us to worry he would have given us things to worry about.”
Still, Philatelists & Road Sign Collectors take note, both could end up in Sotheby’s Auction Rooms, in London, in the near future, making a small fortune for the vendor.
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