Placename spellings on road signage

Dear sir - In the Crossakeel Local Area Plan 2009-2015, the spelling throughout for the village is given as Crossakiel. May I respectfully point out that the official English version of the placename, according to the maps of Ordnance Survey Ireland, is Crossakeel, and the official Irish version is Crosa Caoil, according to An tOrdú Logainmneacha (Lárionaid Daonra agus Dúichí) 2005 (The Placenames (Centres of Population and Districts) Order 2005), Chapter 8, No. 26. This order may be viewed on the Placenames Database of Ireland web site at http://www.logainm.ie/orduithe/an-tordu-logainmneacha-larionaid-daonra-agus-duichi-2005.pdf The village of Kilskeer nearby has road signs spelt Kilskyre. According to the same authorities, the official versions of the name are Kilskeer in English and Cill Scíre in Irish. It should be pointed out that Crossakiel and Kilskyre were the spellings used in former times by the postal authority, the Department of Post and Telegraphs. I understand that the public bodies with responsibility for road signage are obliged to ensure that only the official English and the official Irish versions of placenames are displayed on road signs under their jurisdiction. The public bodies with responsibilities for road signs are the National Roads Authority, in the case of national primary roads, and the local authorities, in the case of all other roads. My interest in these matters goes back to the early 1950s when the first village signs were erected. Under the direction of the assistant county engineer, I was responsible for drafting the lettering for all village signs in the Kells engineer's area. All the signs were then painted by Mr John Maguire, who was afterwards for many years an esteemed elected member of Kells Urban District Council. Strangely enough, St Schira's church, now in ruins, is located in Crossakeel - not in Kilskeer as might be expected. Restoration of this beautiful and historic former Church of Ireland church should be a priority and there are references to that effect in the Local Area Plan but these are aspirations which may be regarded under the "pie in the sky" heading. What has been done in this regard? In the aforementioned LAP, there are references to Ballinalough and Drumbarragh - the correct spellings are Ballinlough and Drumbaragh. In 'The Plains of Royal Meath', a book I published in 1978, all the correct English versions of the townlands in Co Meath are given. I confirm that during preparation of the original town/village signs, there was considerable debate regarding correct versions and spellings. The matter was given the seriousness it deserved. Any sloppiness in this regard is not acceptable now and trivialises all the good work that has been done. Yours, Jack Fitzsimons, 13 John Street, Kells.