TESCO HAS REMOVED an incorrect sign in Irish in its new store in Headford, Galway, after a shopper complained about the matter online.

A picture of the sign, which gave “Díbholaígh do Mhná” as the Irish for “Domestic Appliances”, was posted online by a woman who said “domestic appliances does not translate as “appliances for women” please amend.”

A customer care representative for the supermarket apologised to the shopper, and Tesco Ireland has now told The Journal that the sign has been taken down, and will be amended, adding, “At Tesco, we’re very proud of our dual language signage.”

Conradh na Gaelige, an organisation which promotes the Irish language, pointed out that the Irish translation did not actually read ‘Appliances for women’.

Advocacy Manager Róisín Ní Chinnéide said: “‘Díbholaígh do Mhná’ translates to ‘Deodorants for Women’ – not ‘Domestic Appliances,’ as the English writing on the sign reads, nor ‘appliances for women’ as the author of the tweet initially suggested.”

“It seems to be a simple error, with the Irish notice for a different section of the shop mistakenly placed as the translation under the English notice for Domestic Appliances,” she added, further suggesting that the sign should be changed so it gives the correct translation.

Ní Chinnéide recognised that Tesco has done work to increase their use of Irish, particularly in Galway, and to make the language more visible.

“The recently re-opened Siopa an Phobail – Tesco in Indreabhán, Conamara (previously owned by Joyce’s) provides a fully bilingual service to its customers, including self-checkout machines. They place advertisements in the local Galway newspapers in Irish, and have Irish messages on their delivery vans in my own area, Knocknacarra,” she said.

Ní Chinnéide also suggested that the Irish wording on shop signs should be given equal prominence, rather than being in a smaller font, when they could be differentiated through using a different colour. She also called for the option to use self-checkout in Irish in all stores.