Illegal removal of fáilte/welcome sign causes controversy

A Sinn Féin councillor has condemned the removal of an Irish sign from a council owned facility in a County Derry town and branded it a hate crime.
The sign was installed in Mill Park, Tobermore by Mid Ulster District Council last Thursday. The erection of the sign caused controversy and According to DUP cllr Anne Forde 'a lot of people were very angry' about the 'Irish sign being put up in a Protestant village'.
The bilingual sign, which said Fáilte go Pairc an Mhuilinn and Welcome to Mill Park, was illegally removed within two days and two Union flags were left in its place.
Sinn Féin councillor Ian Milne said the removal of the sign is ‘an act of wanton destruction’ which should be condemned by all political parties.
“The removal of a bi-lingual signpost in Tobermore is an act of wanton destruction, which I unreservedly condemn,” he said.
"It is clearly a hate crime and an attack on the ratepayers of the district and I would call on all political parties to call it out and condemn this act of vandalism.
“The Irish language belongs to everyone, it’s not the preserve of any one section of our community.
"The erection of bi-lingual place name signage is an important element of protecting and promoting what has been a very important part of our shared history and culture.”
Police are treating the removal of the sign as a hate crime.
DUP councillor Anne Forde warned Mid Ulster District Council against replacing the stolen post.
"A lot of people were very angry about this and many residents have been voicing their opposition to an Irish sign being put up in a Protestant village,” she told the Belfast Telegraph.
"I didn’t want to get into any disputes about this, but people are very unhappy. Everyone was shocked, I was shocked myself.”
Cllr Forde accused the council of being ‘provocative’ by installing the sign warned against replacing it.
"This is not a village that speaks Irish. Most residents don’t accept the Irish language needs to be taught in Northern Ireland,” she said.
"I don’t know what way the council will deal with this going forward, but replacing the sign is a waste of ratepayers money because it’s obviously not going to get staying there.
"The council needs to accept that putting the sign there was not acceptable – it’s a Protestant village and no one was informed.”
She accused the local authority of failing to carry out proper consultation.
"I had no say over it and neither did anyone who lives here,” she said. "I did not know it was going there until it appeared.”