Comunn Gàidhlig Inbhir Nis

Sorley MacLean, Photographed in 1996 by Cailean MacLean

The poetry of well-loved former bard of the Society, the late Sorley MacLean, is being put to music as part of the Celtic Connections festival, the Press & Journal reports.

Taking place on the 18th of January in Glasgow City Hall, the event — entitled ‘Hallaig: A Celebration of Sorley MacLean’ — will be directed by Ken Thomson, and compèred by Mary Ann Kennedy, who will also be performing.

More information on the event can be found at the Celtic Connections website.  Tickets are priced £16, and can be bought online from Celtic Connections directly, or via telephone from Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, on 0141 353 8000.

Those wishing to brush up on their Sorley prior to the event could do worse than visit the excellent Sorley MacLean Online, where ‘Hallaig’ is this month’s featured poem.

Air Dihaoine 6mh Dùbhlachd, bidh Aonghas Phàdraig agus Liondsaidh Caimbeul a’ deànamh òraid agus a’ sealltainn dealbhan mu bàrdachd agus cànain air feadh an t-  saoghal. Bidh an òraid aig 7.30f aig an Ionad Netley, Inbhir Nis. Bidh an òraid ann an Gàidhlig.

On Friday 6th December, Angus Peter and Lyndsay Campbell will give a talk and slide show about poetry and languages from around the world. The talk will be held at 7.30pm in the Netley Centre, Inverness. This meeting will be in Gaelic.

Ann an 2007, chuir “Urras an Eilein” air doigh an dàrna turas (bha iad thall an toiseach ann an 2004) a dh’ionnsaigh cladhan a’ Chiad Chogaidh Mhòir ann am Flanders. An turas seo, chaidh seirbheis cuimhneachaidh shònraichte sa Ghàidhlig a cumail an sin. Thadhail an luchd-siubhail cuideachd air St Valery-en-Caux far an deach a’ 51mh Feachd Gàidhealach a ghlacadh an greim anns a’ Cheitean 1940. Dh’fhàg sin mòran Ghàidheil òga nam prìosanaich cogaidh sa Ghearmailt is sa Phòlainn fad còig blia

Bha Murchadh Peutan as a’ Bhaile Mheadhanach san Eilean Sgitheanach gu mòr an sàs ann an deasachadh an turais agus, air Dihaoine 21mh Samhain, rinn e òraid mun turas aig Comunn Gàidhlig Inbhir Nis. Sheall Bill McGonagle tòrr dhealbhan mun turais agus chaidh fiolm ghoirid a shealltainn mu eachdraidh a 51mh.

In 2007 the Skye based charity “Urras an Eilein” organised a second visit to the First World War cemeteries in Flanders. This journey responded to demand which followed a successful tour in 2004, and on this occasion a special memorial service was held there in Gaelic. The tour included a visit to St Valery-en-Caux in northern France where the 51st Highland Division was forced to surrender in May 1940, resulting in so many young Highlanders spending five harrowing years as prisoners of war in Germany and Poland.

Murdo Beaton from Balmeanach in Skye was one of the organisers of the tour and Friday 21st November he presented a talk to the Gaelic Society of Inverness on the tour. Bill McGonagle illustrated the talk with pictures that were taken on he tour and a short film on the 51st Highland division was shown.

Fledgling Gaelic-language channel BBC Alba has pa a new milestone by reaching a high of 610,000 viewers.

Gaining this many viewers is a large step in the right direction for the newly-formed channel. Head of BBC Alba Margaret Mary Murray went on record saying that this was “an excellent start”.

The debate over bilingual signage in Caithness continues, the Press & Journal reports.

Nine out of the area’s ten councillors have come out against bilingual signage in their area.  

Speaking on the subject Independent councillor David Bremner said:

The council should respect the differences that exist within the different counties of the Highlands. We’re not anti-Gaelic, but let’s not waste public money on something the public don’t really want here.

Whilst Caithness council seems to be forming a bloc of opposition to the bilingual signage policy, the issue is unlikely to be resolved any time soon.

We would like to inform members and friends that the Gaelic Society talk which was scheduled for Friday 24th October (Calum Fearghusdan, MA, Eilean Leòdhais — “A Ghàidhlig a b’ aithne dhomh”) has been cancelled for the time being, with a view to holding the talk next year. This is because there is a concert being held in Eden Court Theatre on the same night to celebrate the life of the late Simon Mackenzie. The concert will feature many well-known Gaelic singers and Gaels. Tickets are priced at £20 and will go towards Simon’s legacy — The Simon Mackenzie Trust. Tickets are on sale at the Eden Court Box Office.

Metro has a mini-interview with the new Gaelic Ambassador of the Year, Julie Fowlis.

While the interview is neither long nor particularly deep, it is still worth a read, if only as an opportunity to get to know the language’s new ambassador slightly better.

A leading Scottish historian has spoken out against the BBC’s landmark, ten-part series A History of Scotland, the Scotsman reports.

Describing the series as “Anglo-centric”, broadcaster and historian Alastair Moffat went on to say:

The BBC seems to have ignored 3,000 years. It’s a pity to let the Romans tell the story of Scotland; couldn’t the Scots have told it?

The series, produced at a cost of £2m, begins with the defeat of the Picts by Roman general Agricola in AD 84. The first episode will be shown on 9th November at 9pm on BBC 1.

More information on the series — and the rest of the BBC’s cross-media initiative titled “Scotland’s History” — can be found at the Scotland’s History microsite.

At the opening of the Mod yesterday, Alex Salmond unveiled a £2.7m package to fund a range of Gaelic education initiatives, the Press & Journal reports.

Outlining the thinking behind the move, Mr. Salmond said:

The Gaelic language is a vital way of seeing and understanding Scotland. It contains the symbols and metaphors, stories and landscapes, that help define Scotland’s unique culture and history.

[…]

That is why the Scottish Government is committed to promoting Gaelic education, and why I’m delighted to announce more than £2.7million to support the development of this strand of our cultural matrix.

For more information on the Royal National Mod 2008 you can visit its website.

In a letter to the Inverness Courier Donald Morris, chair of Foram Gàidhlig Inbhir Nis, has stated that his organisation fully supports bilingual signage and that local councillors should accept them;  he notes that “Highland Council has voted on numerous occasions to use bilingual signage throughout the authority area”.

The letter ends with a stinging rebuke of those councillors who oppose the signage policies:

Their partisan and unreasonable behaviour flies in the face of the Gaelic Language Act and Highland Council’s own Gaelic Language Plan — both of which accept the place of Gaelic as a language deserving “equal respect” to English. It’s about time they showed some respect.