Down Memory Lane: Gaelic language continues to experience fought-for revival

THE Gaelic language, then as now, faced decline when William MacKenzie – a pupil at Raining’s School, Inverness – wrote a letter to this newspaper in May 1871.

His letter was answered, as the duo had planned, by his friend William MacKay, an Inverness trainee solicitor originally from Glenurquhart.

Their aim was to get a campaign going. Other people added further letters – and on September 4 a meeting formed the Gaelic Society of Inverness.

This year sees the 150th anniversary of that society, founded for “cultivating the language, poetry and music of the Scottish Highlands and generally furthering the interests of the Gaelic-speaking people”. Those Courier letters triggered something which endures.

Gaelic, a Celtic tongue, is generally believed to have been brought to Scotland by Irish settlers, and by the 11th century its use was widespread and it was the language of the Scottish monarchy. But economic and other pressures from the mid-18th century saw its use shrink. The 2011 Census showed 54,000 Gaelic speakers, although the rate of decline has slowed, notably through the rise in Gaelic medium schools.

MacKenzie, later the first secretary of the Crofters Commission, set the ball rolling while MacKay, would write Urquhart and Glenmoriston, a parish history acclaimed internationally.

Inverness land reform activist Alexander “Clach” Mackenzie told the first meeting it was ridiculous that anyone seeking information on Gaelic literature or tradition must approach societies in London and New York instead of the capital of the Highlands. Inverness town clerk Alexander Dallas, however, told those present that insisting children be taught Gaelic “would in no way promote their prosperity in the world”.

Cluny Macpherson, chief of Clan Chattan, was the first society chieftain while local MP Charles Fraser Mackintosh, from Dochgarroch, called for Gaelic literature and Highland history to be promoted, the neglect of Culloden Battlefield to end, and investment by Highlanders in the Highlands.

After five years, the society had 390 members, including poet Mary MacKellar, who became its bard in 1876 until her death 14 years later. At the society’s urging, local rural schools began to teach Gaelic, while in 1878 the Great Celtic Demonstration was held in Inverness, adding fresh impetus to the language’s cause.

Then the society successfully pressed for Gaelic to be included in the 1881 Census, but when the official number of Gaelic speakers was given as 230,000, language enthusiasts claimed the true figure was 300,000.

Nairnshire-born land reformer John Murdoch, ran his The Highlander weekly newspaper in Inverness for eight years, which did much to lead to the Crofters Act. Classes of nearly 150 Gaelic learners were held at Raining’s School – at the top of Raining’s Stairs – in that era with the rector Alex McBain becoming a noted scholar and author in the language.

Up to 1000 people attended the society’s annual assembly, held on the eve of the Inverness Wool and Sheep Fair. By 1892, the society started a Gaelic library.

A notable victory was secured when their campaign saw a Gaelic clause included in the

1918 Education Act to encourage teaching it in schools.

A further milestone came when the society set about restoring the Culloden graves and memorial cairn plus the old Leanach houses and the King’s Stables, and on April 18, 1925, a ceremony of remembrance was held for the first time at the battlefield, a tradition the society continues.

The Gaelic Language Act of 2005 gave it official status for the first time, leading to a Bòrd na Gàidhlig being set up, increased public funding and exposure on TV and radio.

The society has benefited from many outstanding stalwarts.

Some maintain Gaelic now has little relevance, but no one has the right to take it away from people who wish to speak or learn it.

Ironically, lockdown sparked a new spate of online Gaelic starter learning – the pandemic’s link to an ancient past!

– Sponsored by Ness Castle Lodges

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