Glasgow airport uses Irish Gaelic on new pub sign

Image source, Murdo MacSween

Image caption, The sign shows the Irish spelling of "are you hungry"

15 May 2024

Glasgow Airport has been criticised after accidentally using Irish Gaelic in an advertising sign for its new Caledonian Bar and Restaurant

An image shared on social media showed the words: "An bhfuil ocras ort? Caledonia. Coming soon."

It is the Irish translation of "are you hungry". The Scottish Gaelic should have read "A bheil an t-acras ort?".

Gaelic speaker and campaigner Murdo MacSween, who took the photo said it was "frustrating and thoughtless".

In his post, Mr MacSween said: "Good morning @GLA_Airport, maybe don’t just Google your translations. That’s Irish not Scottish Gaelic. Show some respect.

"Hire someone to translate it or even just try @LearnGaelicScot maybe."

Mr MacSween, 37, is the Co-owner of a media projects company, Astar, based in Stornoway.

He said it was a shame as there were good intention behind the poster.

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He added: "Sometimes it’s not just good intentions, they see Gaelic as an asset, ever since Outlander and Gaelic went on Duolingo we’ve seen a real spike in Gaelic as a marketing tool because it appeals to tourism."

Mr MacSween said he checked the spelling which Google Translate suggested and immediately, the spelling was Irish Gaelic.

He added: "If it was French or Chinese, they would have checked it with somebody. But they just don’t do it here in Scotland."

“It’s good we’re having this conversation, it’s good that we’re using Gaelic, just do it right."

A Glasgow Airport spokesperson said: “The translation error was spotted yesterday morning by our team and quickly removed by the airport partner responsible for the hoarding.”