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I have spotted quite a few of the directional signs around the city.
I thought that they warranted a blog post on their own. Someone obviously disagreed with one of the statements.
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 I do think that the building trade has contributed more than any other to this blog.
There have been multiple extentions, roof’s, some slabing, and even a piller. Last October, I spotted a stop issue as Gaeilge. Heading to Blackrock Village for lunch recently, I spotted Ward & Burke’s deliberate effort to provoke discussion as to the standard of Irish spelling. They must have definitely ordered the sign with both ‘bóthar’ and ‘bothar’. Over coffee, how many have discussed how they thought it should be ‘Bóthar Dúnta’? Any other than me? Once again, the Irish language conveys a more accurate message.  A while back, having attended the commemoration of Thomas Kent at Cork railway station, I learned that 15 train stations were renamed in 1966 to honour the 16 men executed after the 1916 Rising. 15 stations for 16 men – not sixteen stations. I was wondering as to Willie Pearse in that he is likely to be lost when people think of Pearse Station - and then think of his brother. Standing on the platform, waiting for the 08:39 to Donabate, I had a bit of a eureka moment, as Gaeilge. The photograph is slightly blurred as it was taken as engine approached and cut off the view but it clearly calls the station, Stáisiún na bPiarsach. This differs from Páirc an Phiarsaigh (Pearse Stadium in Galway) and Coláiste an Phiarsaigh in Glanmire and got me thinking as to whether the possessive case was plural. My Irish is improving but Tuiseal Ginneadach of weak plurals is still well beyond me. I may know of a difference but do not know why or when to use. POF was consulted and was able to confirm that the sign in Irish does indeed recognise both brothers – STATION OF THE PEARSES. I suspect that Irish Rail will not be rebranding as Pearses’ Station – but I do think it would be the right thing to do in the year that is in it.  I spotted this street art recently on Mary’s Lane, off Lower John Street. I like. When compared to treatment of wall on opposite site of the steps, I like even more. The more street art I see, the more I agree that it generally is not subject to graffiti and so does brighten and tidy the streetscape.
 The Cork County Board website confirms that Páirc Uí Chaoimh does have two ‘síneadh fada’s.
Maybe Sisk’s construction programme has the ‘síneadh fada’s being applied later in the project.  With thanks to Doc for the photo I suspect that Dungarvan Tourism are subsiding Bus Éireann fares to encourage passengers to spend some time in the town.
The bus from Waterford to Cork stops at Davitts Quay in Dungarvan. To avail of an €18 return trip to Cork, maybe the passenger has to get off and wait for the next bus. I expect that the many people in Sales, Marketing, Ad Production and Proof Reading in Bus Éireann all knew that the Dungarvan tickets were cheaper and that the message on the back of the bus is correct. With so many involved, it could never be a mistake, could it?  Chester
  The effects of the weather and exposure are evident on the sign and screws. I assume that it was not recently erected.
I wonder how many have paused to consider the use of the verb. Have many even read the sign fully? Is this a further argument that such signs are never read – they are merely scanned? Once an indication of the message has been interpreted, that is enough. This is more so when a clause separates the subject and the verb. With the innocence of youth, I would have thought that some child might have told the Community Association that the sign does not (or even ‘do not’) agree with what is taught in school. I suspect that three years at this blog – and decades of being pedantic and particular, although I prefer precise – has affected how I read signs and notices.   If the objective of the message is to find a new employee, I would have thought a message along the lines of ‘We are looking to employ a motivated and qualified chef’, ‘Motivated and qualified chef required’ or even, ‘We have a vacancy for a motivated and qualified chef’.
A few months back we dined at Les Gourmandises. The food and flavours definitely gave one to believe that the chef was very qualified and able. Maybe I am in a small minority but when I read the notice, the precise me asked ‘Why? Can’t you find one in the building?’ Maybe I need a drink……. Is ‘Waitstaff’ a word accepted by the dictionaries? Or just a word jumbled together to make the message as short as possible. Me – I thought the expression would have been ‘Waiting Staff’- but what do I know? Even as I type, Word suggests I split into ‘wait staff’.   McMillan put me firmly back in my box, advising that ‘waitstaff’ are ‘the people who bring food and drink to your table in a restaurant or café’ – ‘wait staff’ is an alternative. ‘Waiting staff’ has a similar definition.
Collins Dictionary does not like ‘waiting staff’ but has ‘waitstaff’ as a North American English word - (US & Canadian) the collective term for waiters and waitresses – Cork’s northside not being a hotbed of American English may be my excuse. But I know now. Chambers does not recognise ‘waitstaff’ or ‘waiting staff’. I knew what was intended by the sign as I suspect did all readers so it is probably another case of “Words are in dictionaries because they exist – they do not exist because they are in dictionaries”
 2016.04.24 Maybe there is someone, west of Dingle, actually reading my meandering thoughts and scribbles. Maybe Dingle Distillery spotted the issue themselves. Maybe Obi-Wan Kenobi dropped the rogue off when he was passing. However it arrived, the rogue fada has landed at Milltown bridge. Permission has changed to a hundred.  2015.10.26  Chester, England I have not seen or heard of a similar address in Ireland. In the week since I spotted the sign, it has been running around my head. In the Celtic Tiger years, with so many new developments all competing for a memorable name, I do not think anyone tried this. Maybe there is time yet for it to be used.
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