Scots Gaelic Activists Put on the Pressure With an Eye on the Scottish Parliamentary Elections

Misneachd, a group supporting Scots Gaelic, is launching its new manifesto ahead of the Holyrood election in May with hopes to influence party policies. Misneachid is dedicated to the promotion of the use of Gaelic in all aspects of daily life.  

The group are calling for controls on second homes and consideration of Gaelic-speaking housing developments alongside a raft of other proposals.

The Herald, a Scottish newspaper, is reporting that Misneachd are launching its new manifesto in the wake of recent studies warning that Gaelic-speaking communities are unlikely to survive unless urgent action is taken. 

Màrtainn Mac a’ Bhàillidh, a member of the group, said it is about recognising the policies in place at the moment are “thoroughly ineffective”. He said: “We really need to take a long, hard look at what we’re doing in rural areas. As a starting point we must acknowledge the scale and nature of the crisis honestly and soberly, and undertake to create policy solutions based on evidence and best practice, rather than on fantasy and denial of the truth.” 

Misneachd wants to increase Gaelic-medium secondary provision and phase out English-medium education in the Western Isles “so that all children will have the opportunity and the right to fluency in Gaelic”. It also wants the Scottish Government to fund universities to offer a “Gaelic community immersion year to all Gaelic undergraduates” and encourage students to choose Gaelic at university, for example through “generous scholarships and bursaries”.

SNP MP Alasdair Allan, who represents the Western Isles, recently launched a series of community conversations on Gaelic’s future as a community language in the Outer Hebrides, Skye and Tiree.

But all is not doom and gloom for Scots Gaelic. In 2015 it was reported that Gaelic will become the language of instruction at approximately 25% of Primary schools in the Western Isles.  As recently as 1921 census figure shows 75% of the area’s populations were Gaelic speaking.  There is also growing pressure to make Gaelic the language of education in 100% of the primary schools in the Western Isles.  Many viewed the 2015 announcement as a stop gap measure looking toward that objective.

Catriona Stewart - Chairman of the Education and Children’s Services Committee of the Western Isles Council (Comhairle nan Eilean Siar), was quoted at the time: "The Comhairle (Council) remains committed to strengthening Gaelic in the Western Isles and although we realise there is much work to do, there are also some very encouraging signs, not least that 47% of primary pupils are in Gaelic-medium education”

In April of this year the Bòrd na Gàidhlig, an organisation formed under Scotland’s 2005 Language Act, issued its Annual Report and made the following statement: “Our initiative with partners to deliver support to young people using Gaelic at home, has delivered thousands of activity sessions online during lockdown and will continue to create more opportunities in the coming months, and we have agreed with our main partners alternative ways to deliver the activities that we fund. The number of children learning through Gaelic medium education has risen in the past 12 months by 10%, and the number of Gaelic teachers has increased by 5% this year, which represent an increase of 33% in the past 10 years.”

Read the Full Herald Article Here: https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18757517.gaelic-campaign-group-launc...