Road signs in Ireland

thumb|290px|Various road signs outside [[Farranfore, County Kerry]]

thumb|290px|Typical road signs in rural areas of the Republic of Ireland. Here, a [[fingerpost with old road number and Bord Fáilte logo. Signpost located in Rathangan, County Kildare.]]

Road signs in Ireland do not differ greatly from those used elsewhere in Europe – with the notable exception that hazard or warning signs follow the 'MUTCD' style of a yellow diamond shape. The symbols used on these warning signs do, nevertheless, resemble much more closely those used (on red-bordered white or yellow triangles) in the rest of Europe than many of those seen in the United States.

Regulatory signs differ very little from those used in the rest of Europe, the main exception being that red-bordered white signs indicate a restriction as opposed to a prohibition, which is instead indicated with an additional red diagonal line across the sign.

The system of directional signs is based upon, and is very similar to, that employed in the United Kingdom, but is bilingual everywhere except in the Gaeltacht, where only the Irish language is used on signs.

Legal basis

Only regulatory signs and certain road markings are prescribed in regulations made by the Minister for Transport, the most recent being the Road Traffic (Traffic Signs) Regulations, 2025. Other traffic signs are provided for in directions issued by the Minister, primarily through the Traffic Signs Manual (TSM) issued by the Department of Transport or, in some cases, by circular letter. Regulatory signs and road markings are also defined in the TSM, but the regulations for them take precedence—the TSM simply provides guidance regarding the design and installation of signs and is not by itself a law.

The most recent edition of the TSM was published in 2019 (along with some chapters updated in 2021, 2024 and 2025). This succeeded two earlier editions, published in 1996 and 2010.

History

Directional information signs

thumb|290px| Early bilingual [[The Automobile Association (Ireland)|A.A. fingerpost sign]]

thumb|19th-century directional sign in [[Lismore, County Waterford; it gives distances in miles, furlongs and perches.]]

thumb|upright|A mixture of pre- and post-1977 fingerpost signs

thumb|290px| Advance directional sign used pre-1977. This sign has since been removed.

The former 'fingerpost' style of Irish directional signs can still be seen in many rural areas of Ireland. These signs differ from their modern-day equivalent as they have black raised text on a white background. Destinations are in all caps (the placename in Irish was on top and in a smaller font than the one in English). Sometimes, the former route number ("T" for trunk road, "L" for link road) can be seen, and the former Bord Fáilte logo can be seen on some (they had responsibility for signs for a time), as well as occasionally a harp. Distances on these signs are in miles.

This style of sign has become a common feature of many tourist images of Ireland and can be seen in some Irish pubs. However, they can be easily rotated, and have been done so on occasion and therefore are not completely reliable. While most examples of these signs still in situ are rural finger-posts, the advance directional sign of this era can still very occasionally be seen: this has a grey background, with the destinations in outlined, white-background boxes linked together with black lines, and the text is not raised on these, unlike on fingerposts. These signs, rare even when the system was in use, can be seen in some areas of Dún Laoghaire and Drogheda. These signs were prescribed under various regulations, with the final design prescribed under the Road Traffic Signs (Regulations) 1962.

Despite the new sign style being introduced in 1977, the design change was never legislated for (apart from a reference to the change to italics in 1989) and the old designs were repealed only under the 1997 regulations, 20 years later.

The first generation of the current sign system, introduced in 1977, can also be seen in on some national roads (and also on the oldest stretch of the M1). This is similar to the current system, but the signs are simpler, a different shade of green is used, and the Irish place names are not in italics. These signs were directly based on the Worboys Committee designs which had been adopted in the UK in 1965. These signs were replaced by the current system on 1 January 1989. The design of signs has continued to evolve with the introduction of patching under the Guildford Rules in 1994 and the introduction of cantilever directional signs in 2005, as well as the expansion in gantry signs since then.

"Compass-point directions" (such as "The North, "The South" and "The West") were formerly used, particularly in Dublin where the road network intersects. This system, inherited from the UK system, was permitted in the 1996 but subsequently prohibited in the 2010 , which mandated the use of the terminal destination and next primary destination of the route instead.

Motorway / high quality dual carriageway signs

Original design

The original design (1983–1989) of Irish motorway signs were a simpler version of the UK design. These signs were only ever in use on the M7 Naas Bypass and M1 Airport Motorway.

From 1989 to 2005, signs on motorways were nearly identical to that on UK motorways,

File:IE road sign RUS-027.svg|RUS 027 Stop

File:IE road sign RUS-028.svg|RUS 028 Nearside With-flow Bus Lane

File:IE road sign RUS-029.svg|RUS 029 Offside With-flow Bus Lane

File:IE road sign RUS-030.svg|RUS 030 Contra-Flow Bus Lane

File:IE road sign RUS-031 (square).svg|RUS 031 Bus Stop

File:IE road sign RUS-031 (circle).svg|RUS 031 Bus Stop

File:IE road sign RUS-032.svg|RUS 032 School Warden

File:IE road sign RUS-032A.svg|RUS 032A School Street

File:IE road sign RUS-033.svg|RUS 033 LRT Speed Limit

File:IE road sign RUS-034.svg|RUS 034 LRT Stop

File:IE road sign RUS-035.svg|RUS 035 LRT Yield

File:IE road sign RUS-036.svg|RUS 036 Nearside Tram Lane

File:IE road sign RUS-037.svg|RUS 037 Offside Tram Lane

File:IE road sign RUS-038.svg|RUS 038 No Pedestrians

File:IE road sign RUS-039.svg|RUS 039 Speed Limit (120 km/h)

File:IE road sign RUS-040.svg|RUS 040 Speed Limit (100 km/h)

File:IE road sign RUS-041.svg|RUS 041 Speed Limit (80 km/h)

File:IE road sign RUS-042.svg|RUS 042 Speed Limit (60 km/h)

File:IE road sign RUS-042A.svg|RUS 042A Rural Speed Limit

File:IE road sign RUS-043.svg|RUS 043 Speed Limit (50 km/h)

File:IE road sign RUS-044.svg|RUS 044 Speed Limit (30 km/h)

File:IE road sign RUS-046.svg|RUS 046 Prohibited Number of Axles

File:IE road sign RUS-047-W.svg|RUS 047 Prohibited Axles in Right Hand Lane

File:IE road sign RUS-049.svg|RUS 049 Mini Roundabout

File:IE road sign RUS-050.svg|RUS 050 No Entry

File:IE road sign RUS-051.svg|RUS 051 Maximum Vehicle Length

File:IE road sign RUS-052.svg|RUS 052 Maximum Vehicle Width

File:IE road sign RUS-053.svg|RUS 053 Maximum Gross Weight

File:IE road sign RUS-054.svg|RUS 054 Maximum Axle Weight

File:IE road sign RUS-055.svg|RUS 055 No Cycles

File:IE road sign RUS-056.svg|RUS 056 No Ridden or Accompanied Horses

File:IE road sign RUS-057.svg|RUS 057 No Horse and Carts

File:IE road sign RUS-058.svg|RUS 058 Shared Route for Pedal Cycles and Pedestrians

File:IE road sign RUS-058-CL.svg|RUS 058CL Segregated Route for Pedal Cycles and Pedestrians (Cycle on Left)

File:IE road sign RUS-058-CR.svg|RUS 058CR Segregated Route for Pedal Cycles and Pedestrians (Cycle on Right)

File:IE road sign RUS-059.svg|RUS 059 Contra-flow Cycle Track

File:IE road sign RUS-059A.svg|RUS 059A Contra-flow Cycling on One Way Street

File:IE road sign RUS-059B.svg|RUS 059B Contra-flow Cycling on One Way Street

File:IE road sign RUS-060.svg|RUS 060 Stop (Manual Control)

File:IE road sign RUS-061.svg|RUS 061 Go (Manual Control)

File:IE road sign RUS-061T.svg|RUS 061 (Manual Control)

File:IE road sign RUS-062.svg|RUS 062 No Vehicles Carrying Explosives

File:IE road sign RUS-063.svg|RUS 063 Restriction on Parking – Specified Events

File:IE road sign RUS-064.svg|RUS 064 Speed Limit (40 km/h)

File:IE road sign RUS-065.svg|RUS 065 Speed Limit (20 km/h)

File:IE road sign RUS-066.svg|RUS 066 Pedestrian Crossing

File:IE road sign RUS-067.svg|RUS 067 Parallel/Combined Zebra Crossing

File:IE road sign RUS-068.svg|RUS 068 Cycle Street

File:IE road sign RUS-068A.svg|RUS 068A End of Cycle Street

File:IE road sign RUS-070.svg|RUS 070 Shared Zone

File:IE road sign RUS-070A.svg|RUS 070A End of Shared Zone

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Warning signs

Warning signs are black on an amber (orangish-yellow) background, and are diamond-shaped. This type of road sign was introduced with the Traffic Signs Regulations, 1956. The design is based on the "end of all local prohibitions imposed on moving vehicles" sign from the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals,

Background

The metrication of speed limits in 2005 saw the abolition of the "general speed limit"/"end of speed limit" sign, a white circular sign with a single diagonal black stripe which imposed a speed limit, and the implementation of default speed limits to each classification of road. Given the extent of the Irish road network, a maximum speed limit of was thus applied to local roads (as well as regional roads) regardless of whether it was appropriate.

A speed limit review published in 2013 found signposting this speed limit on certain local roads, in particular boreens, to be inappropriate. It recommended the introduction of a "rural speed limit" sign to emphasise that the legal maximum speed was not necessarily a safe one. The sign was officially introduced in 2014 and began appearing on roads following the publication of the Guidelines for Setting and Managing Speed Limits in Ireland in 2015. It was expected that it would replace the existing 80 km/h signs at a cost of €8 million.

On 7 February 2025, in line with the reduction of the maximum speed limit on local roads from 80 km/h to 60 km/h, the meaning of the rural speed limit was also changed.

Comprehension and criticism

The sign was subject to two awareness campaigns by the Road Safety Authority: one following its introduction and one following the reduction of speed limits on local roads in 2025.

The sign, particularly its design, has been subject to criticism and has been deemed confusing for both Irish and visiting motorists.

A 2024 survey found that the sign was recognised by only 37% of Irish motorists, with 32% identifying it as a speed limit sign.

Notes

References

External links

The Transport Heavy font, including its Irish variant, is available here, free of charge.
One sign forward and two signs back? A niche article about Ireland's most confusing road sign – an article on the rural speed limit sign and inconsistencies in the Irish road sign system