Festival organisers of the Fuinneamh festival stand by their decision to reward the council for their support of the Irish lanugage. "They should have checked out the signs before putting them up but not a lot of them were wrong," said Anita Nic Amhl
aoidh, rúnaí of organisers Glor na Riogh.
"You get wrongly spelt signs everywhere and Naas is the only town in Ireland where the Irish takes up more space on the signs than the English. This is usually the reverse in most towns and the Irish only receives lip service.
"Naas Town Council took the decision they were going to give Irish and English the same height and width on the sign.
"That actually gives Irish the same status as the English. Money was wasted but I think the majority were spelt correctly."
A spokesperson for Naas Town Council confirmed that six signs have since been replaced at a cost of n90 per sign.
Meanwhile according to organisers Fuinneamh is the highlight of the year for the Irish speaking community in and around Naas.
An award will also be presented to Kildare VEC its support to the local Irish language youth clubs and in providing accommodation for Gaelscoil Nás na Ríogh.
The festival will feature events for young and old including conversation circles, sport and art workshops, a day trip and a family afternoon.
The town's Irish-speaking community will assemble in the Town House Hotel this Friday 5 December to officially open the festival with a ceilí, music and refreshments.
