THERE has been much talk in recent times of where the entrance signs to the county have gone, and now the wheels are in motion to have them returned.
Since the creation of the new ‘supercouncil’, when Fermanagh merged with Omagh, new signs have gone up marking the council district area.
At the same time the signs that once defined the county boundary, known for their slogan ‘Fermanagh welcomes you naturally’, have disappeared. This has been the source of much discussion on social media over the past couple of months.
Cllr Alex Baird raised the issue at the September meeting of the Council in Enniskillen last week, where he said he felt the county was “losing its identity” without the signs.
He said while Tyrone still had signs designating its county boundaries, there were no such signs in Fermanagh.
Acting chief executive of the Council, Robert Gibson, said the ‘Fermanagh welcomes you naturally’ signs had been a tourism initiative. Cllr Baird proposed the Council carry out a report into where the signs went, and to look at getting them reinstalled. This was supported by the other Fermanagh councillors, including Cllr Sheamus Greene who said it was “a mystery” and “curious” why they had been taken down.
It was about more than just our identity, said Cllr John Coyle, who said not having a sign was hampering tourism. He said tourists currently didn’t know when they were in the county and when they weren’t.
“They don’t have the local knowledge we have,” he said. “We need the signs so they know where the boundary is and they can know they are back home where their ancestors were from.”
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