Translation ill-thought out

Those of us lucky enough to speak the two official languages are hardened to the mistakes of our bilingual signage.

Translation ill-thought out

But an official passenger sign at Dublin Airport could have brought on apoplexy. It read: All passengers departing from these gates, please be patient, as these doors will open in advance of your boarding times, or gach paisinéirí ag imeacht ó na geataí le do thoil a n-othar mar go mbeidh na doirse a oscailt roimh do amanna bordála.

The Irish version seems straight out of Google translate. The patience requested of departing passengers has become their patient [as in a sick patient] in the Irish. One has to ask if this is the best an Irish public body can do to comply with a Languages Act passed unanimously by our legislature?

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