page_title: Road signs in Ireland
section_title: Earlier directional signage
hierarchical_section_title: Road signs in Ireland / Republic of Ireland / Obsolete signage / Earlier directional signage
caption_attribution_description: English: Sign for Roscrea on the N62
context_page_description: Road signs in Ireland do not differ greatly from those used elsewhere in Europe, but there are some differences between those used in the Republic of Ireland and those used in Northern Ireland, including different systems of units used in each jurisdiction.
context_section_description: The former 'fingerpost' style of Irish directional signage can still be seen in many rural areas of the Republic 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 signage for a time), as well as occasionally a harp. Distances on these signs are in miles.
  This style of signage 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 signage 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change was never legislated for (apart from a reference to the change to italics in 1989) and the old designs were repealed only under the 1997 regulations, 20 years later.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 signage 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 signage since then.
  The Republic of Ireland's 'Yield' sign formerly read 'Yield Right of Way', and many of this older variant can still be seen around the State.
caption: Advance directional sign used pre-1975. This sign has since been removed.
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