East Belfast Irish language street signs damaged for second time in two months

Irish language signs on an east Belfast street have been damaged for the second time in two months.

A dual-language sign at Shandon Park had previously been the target of “hate-motivated” criminal damage.

In October, an angle grinder was used to remove the Irish language wording from one of the signs.

On Thursday morning, two signs on the street were discovered to have been damaged, with the Irish wording being painted over.

Police said that the latest incident was also being investigated as a hate crime.

“The criminal damage caused to signs in the Shandon Park area, at its junction with Knock Road, is being treated as a hate-crime,” a spokesperson said.

“The Police Service of Northern Ireland treats all reports of hate crime seriously and impartially.

“We will also continue to respond to any reports of criminal activity in a proportionate, unbiased and fair manner.

“Incidents of hate crime are investigated solely on facts and in line with what evidence we have available.”

The discovery on Thursday comes after The Irish News revealed that dual language street signs in Belfast were being damaged at a rate of at least one per week in 2025.

The total number for the year so far is almost double that of the previous year.

For the year until the start of December, the cost for repairing signs was just under that of 2024, at £2,050.40.

The targeting of signs recorded by the council does not always involve serious damage but can include incidents such as graffiti being sprayed.