A row that has broken out between the DUP and Sinn Féin over the funding of the place-names project has resulted in Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald saying she will fund the project.
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has denied cutting the £90,000 annual funding for the project, saying it has been funded by the Department of Finance for the past four years. He argues they have ended the funding by transferring it to his department and not providing any money.
Speaking to Cool FM, Lyons said: “The place-names project ran out of funding on 31 March 2026. It had been funded for the previous four years by the Department of Finance. My officials asked whether or not they would be able to extend that funding; they said no.”
“Sinn Féin have tried to use this for political purposes, to say I made a decision and that I cut funding. I didn’t do either of those things; they are trying to politicise this.”
⛔️🗣NEW: Gordon Lyons says he’s not anti-Irish and calls it 'shameful' that Sinn Féin are trying to 'paint him as the bogeyman.'
— Cool FM News (@newsoncool) May 5, 2026
🎤Chief Reporter @jamesgould23 speaking to Communities Minister @gordonlyons1.
👥It comes as a row over funding for the Northern Ireland Place-Name… https://t.co/qcBgMrMPHg pic.twitter.com/xNTjdpUvTW
The place-names project is based at Queen’s University and was set up in the 1980s to research the origins and meaning of local place names.
Sinn Féin’s Colm Gildernew MLA chairs the communities committee at Stormont and says, “The DUP and Gordon Lyons have shown only contempt towards the Irish identity.”
On Tuesday evening, Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald posted on social media, saying she is “stepping in to ensure that the place-names project can continue its vital work, providing accurate translations for Irish language street signage and protecting that important heritage.”
The Economy department has said that officials are engaging with the university to ensure the project can continue but did not set out any details about funding.
Colm Gildernew has welcomed Archibald stepping in: “I am delighted that the Place-Name Project will be able to continue its vital work with the help of Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald.
“Losing this organisation, which plays a huge role in preserving our heritage and providing accurate translations for street signage, would be an assault on our culture.
“This is just the latest desperate and shameful act by a Communities Minister who is clearly determined to make Irish invisible, despite having a duty to promote and develop the language.
