Tha tiogaidean fhathast air fhàgail son a’ Chuirm Bhliadhnail ‘Guth na h-Òige’ an ath h-oidhch’ aig Eden Court – £12 / £10 – air (01463) 234234 no www.eden-court.co.uk. Faodaidh sibh cuideachd tiogaidean fhaighinn aig an dorus – bidh an consairt a’ tòiseachadh aig 7.30f.

Tickets are still available for the Annual Gaelic Showcase ‘Guth na h-Òige’ which is tomorrow (Friday) at Eden Court.

To buy tickets – £12 / £10 – call the Box Office on (01463) 234234 or see www.eden-court.co.uk. If you haven’t yet got plans, you can buy your tickets at the last minute at the door! The concert will start at 7.30pm.

Mar is dual bidh cuid de phrìomh luchd-ciùil na Gàidhlig air àrd-ùrlar, agus am measg na chluinnear an turas seo bidh: Jenna Chuimeanach, Kirsteen NicDhòmhnaill, Darren MacIlleathain agus Steven MacÌomhar, agus Canntaireachd a’ seinn, an Còmhlan Cèilidh Monach Isle, agus am pìobaire òg Brìghde Chaimbeul.

Tha sinn air leth toilichte gu bheil Ellen NicDhòmhnaill à Canntaireachd gu bhith na bean an taighe son na h-oidhche, còmhla ri Ailean Caimbeul a bhios na fhear an taighe. ’S ann an Gàidhlig a bhios an consairt ach le eadar-theangachadh agus dealbhan bho Chailean MacIlleathain. Tiogaidean bho Eden Court, £12/£10, 01463 234234 no www.eden-court.co.uk

Language and culture exist only where people sustain them, and the survival of any language requires young people to use and celebrate it. A week tonight, on Friday 18th March, in a concert entitled Guth na h-Òige (Voice of Youth), the Gaelic Society of Inverness will reflect some of the confidence which Scotland’s Gaelic community has in the future of its language.

Featuring leading Gaelic performers, and with a focus on youth, these themed concerts have become increasingly popular Gaelic showcase events. The 2011 programme will include singers Jenna Cumming, Kirsteen MacDonald, Darren MacLean and Steven MacIver (all four of them are Mòd Gold Medallists); Canntaireachd (youth singing group led by Eilidh Mackenzie); the Monach Isle Cèilidh Band, and young prize-winning piper Brìghde Chaimbeul.

In keeping with the theme of “Youth”, we are delighted that for the first time, the event will be co-hosted by Ellen MacDonald of Canntaireachd and our own Chairperson, Allan Campbell. The concert will be presented, as usual, in Gaelic. There will be a simultaneous translation to English by Powerpoint presentation and illustrated with beautiful photography by Cailean MacLean. Tickets from Eden Court, £12 / £10, 01463 234234 or www.eden-court.co.uk

Centre coordinator Fiona Mackenzie, said:

“We are absolutely delighted and extremely honoured to have Margaret  coming to visit us here in Evanton. She is one of the world’s most respected Scottish folklorists and is full of stories and songs of our forefathers, from all parts of Scotland. To entice her to come so far North is a great achievement in itself.  Her presentation is sure to keep us enthralled as well as prove immensely educational and interesting.”

The evening will include audio and visual clips gathered by Margaret from various parts of the world, of the people who have left Scotland for shores overseas and showing their importance to us today.

Margaret explained the motivation behind the creation of her presentation by saying:

“I’d like to use the example of emigrants who left the Isle of Canna and Moidart in particular,  in the early 1800s — some are related to the famous Glenuig pipers, Allan, Ian and Angus.

“I’ve got recordings of four generations of the one family (the fourth being and example of what happens if you don’t keep the language going) I’ll  be playing selections to illustrate their ‘story of emigration’ Those interested in the songs in particular will also have the opportunity to learn some of them.”

Ms Bennett’s presentation will be held at An t-Oisean Gaelic Community Centre (Cornerstone), in Evanton, on Friday March 11th at 7pm.  For more information, telephone 01349 864156, or visit the An t-Oisean Gaelic Community Centre website.

Margaret and Fiona are both members of the Gaelic Society of Inverness and would be delighted to see some other members in Evanton tomorrow night.

Writer and broadcaster Dr. Finlay MacLeod from Lewis will be delivering a talk tomorrow evening to the Gaelic Society at 7.30pm in the usual venue of the Netley Centre, Bishop’s Road. The topic will be “The Norse Mills of Lewis”. He has been researching the Norse Mills in Lewis for many years — their origin, structure and location as well as their significance in the social history of Lewis. Finlay’s book, Muilnean Beaga Leòdhais (published by Acair) — available in either a Gaelic or English version — will be on sale after the talk, priced at £15. The talk will be in Gaelic and non-members are most welcome to attend.

We hope you all had an enjoyable and peaceful Christmas and new year. Already it’s the middle of January, and the first gathering of GSI in 2011 is tomorrow night (Friday 21/1/11). Graeme Mackenzie from Inverness will be our guest speaker, and his topic will be ‘Murdoch MacKenzie of Ardross and his account of Clan Chattan’. The talk will be held at the usual venue, the Netley Centre on Bishop’s Road (opposite Eden Court) and will start at 19:30. The talks are always very interesting and it’s good to meet up with friends and acquaintances on an otherwise cold January evening! Please come along to hear the talk if you’re in the area.

Tha an òraid aig 19:30 aig an Ionad Netley, Rathaid an Easbaig ann an Inbhir Nis.

On Friday evening (5th November), Bill Innes will deliver a talk to the Gaelic Society of Inverness. The talk is called “Two Neglected Masterpieces” and deals with two epic poems on similar themes by Donald Sinclair (Domhnall Mac na Ceardaich) and Donald Macintyre (Domhnall Ruadh Phaislig). It will be illustrated with pictures, projected translations and recorded excerpts. Bill will talk in English but read bits from the poems in Gaelic.

The talk is at 19:30 in the Netley Centre, Bishop’s Road, Inverness.

Mairi Campbell is a Scottish singer and musician, born and raised in Edinburgh. Mairi is involved in several musical projects and has been much praised for her singing voice and musical skills. She was named Scots singer of the year at the Scots Trad Music Awards in 2007, and in 2008 she won the Live Ireland Music Award for Best Female Musician of the year, as well as the award for best composition of the year.

Mairi will present an evening of song and talk of her life in music, looking at the bigger picture of the growth in interest in traditional music in the last twenty years in Scotland, with songs and tunes to accompany.

Writer/actor Angus Peter Campbell is holding bi-lingual readings & stories for all ages

Venue: Evanton (Cornerstone), Cornerstone Gaelic Community Centre
Date: Friday 29th October at 7pm
Tickets: £3/£1 concessions/children. Refreshments provided.
Tel: 01349 864156 for information.

The site’s curator and chief writer Sarah has written an introduction to the relaunched website, and it’s an excellent place to start for both new and returning visitors. As always, she welcomes contributions of all kinds, and would gratefully receive any memories, notes, letters or photos that you may have to share.

GSI Online’s ‘Spotlight on the Web’ is an occasional series highlighting the best Gaelic– and Celtic–related sites from the length and breadth of the Internet.

Key responsibilities for Bòrd members are as follows:

• Contributing to the implementation of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 and the National Plan for Gaelic
• Assisting in defining and developing the Bòrd’s strategic direction and in setting challenging objectives
• Ensuring that the Bòrd, in reaching decisions, adheres to agreed corporate governance procedures and takes proper account of guidance provided by the Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Executive Education Department
• Working with key Gaelic groups and public sector bodies to promote the use of the Gaelic language, and identifying new opportunities for working in partnership with organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors as appropriate
• Increasing awareness of and promoting the use of the Gaelic language
• Promoting wider engagement by the public in cultural activity through innovation and partnership

Interested applicants can apply for the position online, or request an application pack, here.

The closing date for applications is Friday, 13th August, 2010.