Latest Scottish Gaelic Stories
Researchers say DNA techniques may have uncovered new scientific evidence of an ancient invasion of Scotland from Ireland, BBC News reported.Scots living on Islay, Lewis, Harris and Skye were found to have strong links with Irish people, according to the Edinburgh University study.Some time around 500 AD the Gaels came from Ireland and conquered the Picts in Argyll, but the researchers said the study was the first demonstration of a significant Irish genetics component in Scots'...
By TOM SHIELDS LOGICALLY, not being a Gaelophone, I should be outraged by the concept of GBP20 million of public money being spent annually on a TV channel for a language which is not so much minority as miniscule. But I don't have it in me to be a Gaelophobe. I have been watching BBC Alba, the new Gaelic channel. Despite my almost total lack of the Gaelic, I found Alba a lively and vital place to tune into. It is a Scottish TV station with a smile on its face and a refreshingly innocent...
By PHIL MILLER ARTS CORRESPONDENT IT is a mix of original drama and factual programming which TV executives hope will appeal not only to a Gaelic core but also to a wider, English-speaking audience. A drama about Elvis arriving on Lewis and a documentary about infamous killer Peter Manuel will feature on the opening night of Scotland's new Gaelic TV station, BBC Alba. Yesterday the BBC and MG Alba, the Gaelic media company, unveiled the line-up for the first night of broadcasting for the...
CHEWIN' The Fat star Greg Hemphill joined BBC Alba's presenters yesterday at the launch of the channel. Evelyn Coull, Kirsteen MacDonald and Fiona Mackenzie will be the faces of the Gaelic TV channel when it begins broadcasting this Friday. The channel will cover sport, news and entertainment, including a new drama set in 1970s Lewis starring Hemphill as Elvis. The launch will be marked with a live music special from Skye and a party in Edinburgh. BBC Alba is being delivered through a...
A GAELIC enthusiast friend (who has two kids in Gaelic medium education) recently commented to me: "We won't get BBC Alba in our house when it starts because we've only got 'poor people's television'". By which she meant Freeview. Asides from stellar cultural luminaries such as QVC, the online shopping channel, it's worth examining exactly what is on Freeview. To fulfill the rigidly high standards of the Independent Television Commission in London, it naturally contains the Bruce Willis...
By RUSSELL LEADBETTER and JAMES WATT A NEW digital TV channel could be offered to Scottish viewers alongside such familiar names as BBC, STV, C4, Five and Sky. It will look at domestic and international events from a Scottish perspective, will dedicate itself to coverage of Scots affairs, and will reportedly offer a mix of new programmes and repeats of such favourites as Still Game. According to reports, the new station could also be used to pilot a Scottish six o'clock news bulletin....
By DAMIEN HENDERSON A FATHER who sued his daughter's education authority has dropped the case after learning that her right to be taught English has less protection in law than her right to be given religious studies. Paul Tierney, 47, had claimed that South Lanarkshire Council should reimburse him the cost of paying for a private tutor - GBP250 - for his daughter Denise, 15, as there was no dedicated English teacher at her school for a three-month period in the run-up to her Standard Grade...
By VIVIENNE NICOLL PUPIL numbers at Glasgow Gaelic School are at an all-time high. But the popularity of the school has landed education bosses with a problem - they cannot find enough fluent Gaelicspeaking teachers. This year the secondary school has around 62 students on the roll but next year that number is set to rise to 100. Over 70 children will enroll in the primary school next term. Glasgow was the first council to provide a dedicated Gaelic secondary school, recognised...
By Omhovre, Claire The fact is that the beginning always begins in-between, intermezzo. GILLES DELEUZE AND FLIX GUATTARI, A THOUSAND PLATEAUS. Central to Alistair MacLeod's Island is the return to the original island or Highlands, phonetic closeness somehow reducing the geographical distance between the two referents. The motif is particularly prominent in four of the collection's sixteen short stories: "The Return" (1971), "The Closing Down of Summer" (1976), "As Birds Bring Forth the...
