Gaelic and Outlander Day, Dean Castle, Kilmarnock, 6 June 2026

A wee something I have been working on since the start of this year, having come up with the idea last year whilst on the committee of the East Ayrshire Gaelic Forum (https://eastayrshiregaelicforum.blogspot.com). Outlander has now finished its broadcast run, with the last episode shown on Friday, and here in Ayrshire we have a local connection to the series, with Dean Castle in Kilmarnock having appeared in the show ten years ago. As such, East Ayrshire has been working with Ayrshire360 on commemorating the event, and as such, I am delighted to announce the following, which I hope you might be willing to come along to!

Gaelic and Outlander Day, Dean Park, Kilmarnock 

On June 6, East Ayrshire Gaelic Forum and Ayrshire360 are hosting a Gaelic and Outlander Day at Dean Castle, Kilmarnock (which featured in the series 10 years ago). On the day we will have Gillebride MacMillan, singer, academic, and Scottish Gaelic language adviser to the series (and its sequel Blood of my Blood) giving three sessions to introduce Gaelic, discuss his work on the series, and sing songs connected to the Forty-Five Jacobite campaign that ended at Culloden in 1746 (the subject of the series).  

We also have Francesca Cozzari, embroiderer on many of the series' most iconic costumes, discussing her work, and we also have performances from Inverclyde Waulking Group, Largs Gaelic Choir, and the Fitzpatrick School of Highland Dance. In addition to this will be a session for the kids with the Ghillie Dhu Crew bringing Scottish folklore to life through storytelling and song, and many stalls connected to the Gaelic world, as well as other activities!

A full day's ticket (10am-5pm) is £10, or a half-day ticket for either the first or second half is £6 (please note there is a £2 online booking fee on top of this). Kids under 12 go free.

For the full day, book tickets via https://ayrshire360.com/events/gaelic-and-outlander-daylive-at-dean-castle/ - for half day tickets, please visit https://ayrshire360.com/events/gaelic-and-outlander-half-daylive-at-dean-castle/.

Looking forward to seeing you there! 

Comment: I'll obviously be there with the East Ayrshire Gaelic Forum and I'd be only too happy to talk about anything to you, from Scottish Gaelic and Outlander to genealogy and the weather! 

Chris 

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

Seachdain na Gàidhlig - World Gaelic Week 2026

Next week see's the latest Seachdain na Gàidhlig (https://seachdainnagaidhlig.scot), also known as World Gaelic Week, in which all things Scottish Gaelic are celebrated by those of us proud of Scotland's oldest continuously used language. 

The theme of the next week will be Cleachd i no caill i - Use it or lose it. The Gaelic language is in a fragile state after centuries of discrimination, although it is finally at the point where the numbers of speakers is finally beginning to rise again, thanks to initiatives such as Gaelic medium education and the efforts of our own governments here in Scotland, run by the SNP, Greens, and Labour/Liberal Democrats at various points since our parliament was reconvened in 1999. That being said, there is still an ongoing decline in usage in the native heartlands of the Western Isles, where it remains in regular community use, so much work has yet to still be done.

There will be various events across the country (and worldwide!) next week where you can find out more about the Gaelic language and ways to learn it, attend concerts, and much more - details can be found in the above website link. Here in East Ayrshire, the East Ayrshire Gaelic Forum (of which I am the secretary) will be holding two events next weekend - a Cafaidh Cabadaich or 'conversation cafe' on Saturday 28th at the Dick Institute in Kilmarnock, and on Sunday 1st March a Coisich anns a' Phàirc event, a walk around the park at Dean Castle, Kilmarnock, starting at the car park, where you can meet like minded learners, speakers and enthusiasts. Both events will be run from 1-3, and are free to attend. Our forum is also working on a few other exciting events over the next few months, but more on that in due course!

Cleachd i no caill i - agus bidh fàilte romhaibh uile! Use it or lose it - and you will all be most welcome!

Chris 

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

Tobar an Dualchais website adds interactive map

The Tobar an Dualchais / A Kist o' Riches website has been updated to include an interactive map, that now allows you to target specific areas where your family may have come from to find traditional songs and conversations from times past, in both the Gaelic and Scots languages. 

The site is freely available at https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk. 

Chris 

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

A search for bilingual Gaelic and English headstones in Scottish kirkyards

The BBC's Gaelic news page, Naidheachdan, has an interesting article entitled "Am faca sibhse clach-uaighe dhà-chànanach?", meaning "Have you seen bilingual headstones?", available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/naidheachdan/sgeulachdan/ckgkmel4vlko. 

The article discusses a headstone from Monzie graveyard in Perthshire, dated to 1793, which is written in English on one side, and in Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) on the other. The dialect of Gaelic spoken in Perthshire at that time has now been extinguished, making the find a sort of 'Rosetta Stone', providing evidence of local pronunications of the language in this part of Scotland at that time.  

The article discusses whether other examples can be found to help flesh out the picture some more. 

The article is written in Gaelic, but can be easily translated with Google Translate.

Chris 

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

New permanent Shinty's Story exhibition opens in Inverness

A new permanent exhibition has opened in Inverness telling the story of one of Scotland's national sports, shinty (known in Gaelic as iomain or camanachd). The exhibition, entitled 'Shinty's Story - Sgeul na Camanachd', is based at the Bught Park Pavilion, Inverness (the home of Inverness Shinity Club), and was part-funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund with a grant of £544,000.

'Shinty's Story' builds on four key pillars - Foundation, Community, Competition and Future, wih the exhibition featuring medals and other shinty memorabilia, digital displays and stories from players - both past and present. 

The exhibition is free to attend and open from Friday to Tuesday from 9.00am to 5.00pm. 

A BBC article in Gaelic about the opening is available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/naidheachdan/sgeulachdan/c0jdzj15v0no. The project has its own dedicated Facebook page in English at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61582280150903. 

Chris 

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

Is the National Records of Scotland anti-Gaelic?

A couple of years ago I asked the National Records of Scotland (www.nrscotland.gov.uk) via one of its social media platforms what it was doing by way of a Gaelic Language Plan, a document that outlines how organisations and public bodies will help to promote and use the Scottish Gaelic language (Gàidhlig), in line with requirements set out by the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 (see https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2023/03/how-is-national-records-of-scotland.html). To give examples of such plans, my local authority here in East Ayrshire has a Gaelic Language Plan available at https://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/Resources/PDF/G/gaelic-language-plan.pdf, whilst the National Library of Scotland has one available at https://www.nls.uk/about-us/plans-and-policies/corporate-documents/. Such plans show how Gaelic can be catered for on a range of issues, none of which take away from the bodies' responsibilities to deliver services in English.

The response that I got from the NRS was that "Gaelic culture has an important place in our archive", and to demonstrate this, it pointed to a page on its website at the time describing the events of the Declaration of Arbroath. It then mentioned they also had a page about the Iolaire disaster in 1919. And that was it! There was nothing on its website about how the organisation might field enquiries from Gaelic speakers, nothing about how the language can be made more visible at the institution, nothing about resources that might be available at the archive to assist with researching Gaelic Scotland, and crucially, absolutely no sign of a Gaelic Language Plan, or evidence of how the institution is complying with such a plan if one exists. 

The only other time I can point to the NRS having a connection with Gaelic is the work of the recent censuses. The 2022 census was made available bilingually, and there has been analysis of the question on Gaelic speakers subsequently carried out - as per the requirements and instructions of the Scottish Parliament, its parent agency. The 2022 census showed a remarkable turnaround for the language with an increase in the number of current speakers (albeit with a continuing fall in the Western Isles), ending years of decline. 

Earlier this year, both the Gaelic and the Scots languages were granted official status in the country through the Scottish Languages Bill, which came into effect in July. The purpose of this act was to seek the protection of, and promotion of, these languages in public life and in education. As part of a talk I am preparing to give next week, I decided to check if anything had changed at the NRS via its recently updated website. A search of 'Gaelic' produced just five results, including the Arbroath piece, and an item telling the story of Angus McPhee from Benbecula who ended up in a lunatic asylum in Perth after killing his parents on the island. The Iolaire piece is no longer found there, but can be found deep in its web archive at https://webarchive.nrscotland.gov.uk/20210917045704/https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/node/3171.

This is just woeful, and completely not in keeping with the spirit of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 and the 2025 Scottish Languages Bill.

So some questions for the NRS. 

• Do you have a Gaelic Language Plan? If so, where can it be viewed?
• If not, are you bound through some other Scottish Government agency to conform to a Gaelic Language Plan?
• If you are not subject to the requirements of a Gaelic Language Plan, why is this the case? 
• Are you in the midst of creating a Gaelic Language Plan (and if so, when will this be published)? 
• Are you opposed to the visibility of Gaelic at your institution?
• And following on from the 2025 act, how will you also cater for the Scots language at your institution?

It is a mark of how completely untransparent the NRS is with the Gaelic language that I cannot even state what the modern Gaelic for the archive is - is it, for example, Tasglann Nàiseanta na h-Alba (National Archive of Scotland), Clàran Nàiseanta na h-Alba (National Records of Scotland), or something else? By contrast, the National Library of Scotland proudly displays its Gaelic equivalent on its website's home page - Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba - and the world didn't end when it decided to do so.

There are many things I would love to see in Scotland that go beyond what the NRS can do in its day to day work, which cannot be changed without additional parliamentary action, for example the right to record births, marriages and deaths in English, Gaelic or Scots, and not just in English (as was recently catered for in Northern Ireland in 2022 with regards to the Irish language). It is bizarre that a marriage ceremony, for example, can be carried out in Gaelic or Scots, but the record of the event must be in English.  

But there are many things that the NRS can do to promote the use of Gaelic in its work. The NRS is a horrendously institutionalised body that cannot see beyond the borders of Edinburgh city centre. It is time to reflect the diversity of Scotland, and that includes obligations on the use of Gaelic (and Scots) in its work.  

Update: A search has revealed that the NRS does not have its own Gaelic Language Plan, but apparently is bound by the National Gaelic Language Plan 2023-2028 as set out by Bòrd na Gàidhlig and the Scottish Government. So where and how is this being implemented by the NRS?

Chris 

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

Scottish GENES Webinar: Gaelic Scotland for Family Historians, 25 October 2025

Thanks to all who attended my first Scottish GENES Webinar last Saturday on DNA for beginners, from the many comments I have received from folk it seems to have gone down a treat!

My next Scottish GENES Webinar will be entitled Gaelic Scotland for Family Historians, and will take place on Saturday 25th October at 7pm (UK time). 

Most of mainland Scotland and the Western Isles will have been Gaelic speaking at some point (the exceptions are a small part of Caithness, Orkney and Shetland, and a small part of the south-east Borders), indeed there is even some place name evidence to suggest that Gaelic was also spoken just over the border in parts of England centuries ago! This means that at some point, most Scots will most likely have Gaelic ancestry in their trees somewhere back in time, whilst indeed many Gaelic communities still exist in the country, predominantly in the Westerns Isles, with as many speakers on the mainland also (over 4000 in Glasgow alone).

The Gaels were the original Scots - indeed, the word 'Scot' was how the Romans used to describe them, and indeed the first Scottish census, created centuries ago, was carried out to enumerate them for military purposes. The language is the oldest continuously used language in Scotland (beating English and Scots by several centuries), and the story of Gaelic Scotland is the story of much of Scotland itself. 

In this session I will look at the Gaelic history of the country, including the events that led to the language's decline, who the Gaels were, the language they spoke, the culture and folklore of the Gaels, and more. For the family historians there are many unique resources that might help with researching your Highlands and islands based Gaelic speaking ancestors, things to be aware of when carrying out your research, and indeed, many resources to help you should you wish to pick up their language!

To register for the event, which will cost £10 to attend, please visit https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ynCiTOHbSuyvkwhCkEScdQ?fbclid=IwY2xjawNDj8JleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFNczJDemNuaHlnb0xLYkJVAR5wZ8XYjtGx1MdXFgvvk1nVLrOwwpPChpfMH6U8wn8N6i1R3ocPqhpkHGTjLg_aem_JZ9lm91r9NN43CykTrHIIw#/registration

Tha mi 'n dòchas gun tig thu dhan seisean agam, bidh fàilte romhat - I hope you'll come to my session, you'll be welcome!

Chris 

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

My Cert HE in Gaelic with Immersion from Glasgow University - and future plans

It's official - I have a Certificate in Higher Education, with Distinction, in Gaelic with Immersion from the University of Glasgow!

During the pandemic I set myself a five year plan to retrieve the Gaelic I had previously learned thirty years ago whilst living in Bristol a student, and to push myself further towards fluency. The culmination of this formal learning was to study a one year Cert HE course - the equivalent of the first year of a degree course - in Gaelic with Immersion at the University of Glasgow, culminating in three weeks immersion with the Gaelic speaking community on South Uist. I can now hold quite fluid conversations in Gaelic, and consider myself to be at a level of functional fluency, but I continue to study every day, because even after 54 years with English, I'm still learning there also!

So what will I do with the language? Scotland's oldest language, here long before the arrival of Scots and English, from at least the 5th century AD, is in trouble, with native speaker numbers declining, but at the same time, the recent census has shown us that that decline can be turned around. Right now I am involved as a committee member with the East Ayrshire Gaelic Forum in Kilmarnock, and will be stepping up on a few other fronts in the next few months. Last weekend I organised an event at Dean Castle Country Park where many learners came with their families to practice the language, which was great fun, whilst last night I was at An Lòchran in Glasgow, participating in a singing workshop with my friend Eilidh Cormack from the Gaelic band Sian.

I am also now seriously giving consideration to doing a teacher training course at Strathclyde University next year, with a view to becoming a teacher in Gaelic speaking schools in Scotland, where I think I might be able to do some positive work to help the next generation of speakers. I have quite a bit ahead of me before making a decision on that front, but it is the direction I am working towards, with some firm decisions to be made next spring. 

Whatever the future brings, I am looking forward to it - but don't worry, this blog will continue, as will my current genealogy efforts on many fronts!

Thig crìoch air an t-saoghal, ach mairidh gaol is ceòl!

Chris

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available - Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

The Scots and Gaelic languages gain official status in Scotland

A major development has just happened concerning Scotland's indigenous languages, Gaelic (Gàidhlig)  and Scots. As an Ulsterman with a Scots background, and as a speaker of Scottish Gaelic, I was properly impressed by the dignity and unanimity of our parliamentary representatives in Holyrood this afternoon at the third and final debate stage of the Scottish Languages Bill (https://www.parliament.scot/bills-and-laws/bills/s6/scottish-languages-bill). The final bill, as passed, is available to read at https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/legislation/bills/s6-bills/scottish-languages-bill/stage-3/spbill39bs062025.pdf and gives both languages official status in Scotland.

Its new measures include:

• introducing educational standards for Gaelic and Scots
• establishing Gaelic and Scots as official languages
• supporting the creation of areas of linguistic significance in Gaelic communities so that ministers can better target policies to support the language’s growth
• enabling parents in every part of Scotland to apply for Gaelic nursery and early years places for their children
• ensuring that more qualifications are available in Gaelic
• introducing targets on the number of people speaking and learning Gaelic 

(Source: Scottish Government https://www.gov.scot/news/scottish-languages-bill-passed/)

About three quarters of the Bill covers Gaelic, and a quarter Scots. 

As well as establishing Gaelic as an offical language of Scotland, the new bill extends current provisions for Gaelic, including the ability for local authorities to create areas of linguistic significance (with parliamentary oversight), which can apply to areas where there is a population of whom at least 20% have Gaelic language skills, or where the area is historically connected with the use of Gaelic, or is an area is one in which teaching and learning by means of the Gaelic language is provided, or if the area is one in which significant activity relating to the Gaelic language or Gaelic culture takes place. To an extent the measure is a nod towards the concept of Irish 'gaeltachts', where the Irish language is given special status in Ireland. There is also a requirement for our Government to have a national Gaelic strategy. Scottish Ministers may give guidance to relevant public authorities relating to Gaelic language plans (how about a Gaelic Language Plan at the NRS?!). There are also significant amendments to the 1980 Education (Scotland) Act with regards to Gaelic education provision.

As someone who has just passed a year long Gaelic immersion course at the University of Glasgow, and well supportive of the language, I am equally as proud of the fact that Scots is finally to be recognised as an official leid of Scotland. For many years it has been ludicrous that the only place in the world where the language had any legal status was my home country of Northern Ireland, where the Ulster dialect of Scots has a degree of legal protection, alongside the Irish language. Whilst the Bill is weaker on its commitment to the Scots language - something which was clear in the debate today also - it has its foot on the ladder at long last, and is long overdue. It is not bad English, or 'slang' - it's a centuries old Germanic language which has been compromised by its proximity to English, but which has survived.  

If you're a die-hard bore of a monoglot English speaker who can only say how "the money can be spent better elsewhere", all I can say to you is either "thalla gu Hiort" or "awa' an' boil yer heid"! Scotland is the sum of its parts, and none are more integral to its very soul than Gaelic and Scots. 

It's a good day for Scotland, its history, its culture, its languages, its soul - and its future.

Chris 

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available - Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

My university has confirmed I can speak Gaelic!

I'm delighted to announce that I have been awarded a Cert HE with Distinction in Gaelic with Immersion, from the University of Glasgow (a Cert HE is equivalent to the first year of undergraduate study, i.e. first year of a degree), with three A/Excellent grades for reading and writing, listening and speaking, and community. The course, which I have been studying full time since last September, was taught through the medium of Scottish Gaelic, with me attending the Gaelic and Celtic Department in Glasgow every day from 10am-3pm to study. In addition to thirty-six assessments, the course included me having to contribute to a Gaelic speaking tour of the University for World Gaelic Week, and concluded with three weeks on the island of South Uist, where we were immersed with the local Gaelic speaking community. This was my eighth year of attending a university in the last thirty-five years, and I can honestly say that it was by far the most enjoyable - but I think that's me now sorted on the academic front for a bit!

Scottish Gaelic is a part of me - my grandfather's family were from the Highlands (Highland Perthshire, Invernesshire and Rossshire), and I have evidence of several ancestors having spoken the language - and it has been an absolute pleasure to reclaim it as one of my ancestral tongues, one which I now use on a daily basis, alongside English. I'm hoping to explore some Gaelic opportunities in the coming months, in addition to continuing my genealogy work. Whilst I now consider myself functionally fluent, I still have a hell of a way to go, but it's going to be fun now to find and create opportunties to push myself even further!

A big thanks to Kathleen Reddy, Ruaraidh Mac an t-Saoir, Alasdair Mac Gille Bhain, and Eilidh Nic Carmaig for their tuition over the last year, as well as to Sara Robertson and Ruairidh Greumach, and especially to all my fellow students. Chòrd a h-uile rud rium gu mòr!

For information on the Gaelic Immersion course at the University of Glasgow, visit https://www.gla.ac.uk/study/cpd/gaelicwithimmersion/. 

Suas leis a' Ghàidhlig! 

Chris 

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available - Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

Decoding Hidden Heritages site launches

From Will Lamb, Professor of Gaelic Ethnology and Linguistics at The University of Edinburgh, via Facebook.

On this auspicious day - Latha Chaluim Chille / St Columba's Day - we have exciting news for anyone passionate about Gaelic folklore... our brand-new 'Hidden Heritages' website (www.hiddenheritages.ai) is now live!

This unique digital resource presents over 5000 Irish and Scottish folktales from the National Folklore Collection in Dublin and the School of Scottish Studies Archives in Edinburgh. The original paper-based texts have been enhanced using semi-automatic AI transcription. It’s the result of three years' hard work on our AHRC and IRC-funded project, 'Decoding Hidden Heritages', led by myself and Dr Brian Ó Raghallaigh at Dublin City University.

Check out our latest blog posts to learn more:

https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/garg/2025/06/09/launching-a-treasure-trove-of-gaelic-folktales-welcome-to-hidden-heritages/
https://www.gaois.ie/en/blog/colm-cille-decoding-hidden-heritages

And please explore the site and share with others. Let us know what you find! Dallaibh oirbh! 

NB: There are a mix of stories in English, Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig), and Irish (Gaeilge). 

Chris 

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Scottish GENES is back!

I'm back in genealogy land after a few months time off for good behaviour doing a Cert HE course at the University of Glasgow, entitled Gaelic with Immersion. The course was designed to help people with a degree of Scottish Gaelic push towards fluency, and it has certainly helped me to develop my abilities with the language. At the conclusion of the course I spent three weeks on the Hebridean island of South Uist (Uibhist a Deas), where I was able to meet many people in various walks of life who still use Gaelic as their first language in Scotland, and where I had a chance to also travel to other Hebridean islands, including Barra (Barraigh), Vatersay (Bhatarsaigh), Benbecula (Beinn na Foghla), Grimsay (Griomasaigh), North Uist (Uibhist a Tuath), and Berneray (Beàrnaraigh). 

During my time in the Western Isles, I was able to cut peat by Beinn Mhòr, plant potatoes on the machair at Daliburgh, visit cèilidhs and concerts, and talk to Gaelic speakers young and old across the islands, including former STV colleague Alex O' Henley, one of the BBC's and UEFA's football commentators, at his croft at Garrynamonie.

 

As a genealogist it was great to get a chance to visit many historical sites in South Uist and the other islands, including the township of Milton, where Flora MacDonald was born (she who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape “over the seas to Skye”), Castle Ormacleit (a MacDonald of Clanranald stronghold), and Kildonan Museum. At Kildonan I had a chance to see the 'tasglann' or archive of Comunn Eachdraidh Uibhist a Deas, otherwise known as South Uist Historical Society, where people can come to research their family history, or the history of the family croft or the local island. There are several 'comainn eachdraidh' in the islands, and I also had a chance to meet and talk to folk from Comunn Eachdraidh Èirisgeigh (Eriskay Historical Society), and to see where Comunn Eachdraidh Barraigh is Bhatarsaigh (Barra and Vatersay Historial Society) was based, albeit this was closed on the day I visited the island of Barra. For links to the various comainn eachdraidh, and to discover what they can offer for Hebridean research, read my blog post at https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2023/10/comainn-eachdraidh-historical-societies.html. 

My final two assignments have been submitted, and I now await the formal certificate to be awarded (assuming I haven't screwed these up!), but it is time to get back to the day job. Scottish GENES is back, and I look forward to sharing genealogy news with you over the next few days, weeks, months and years, just as I have done since 2007.

Finally, if you have been following my Gaelic journey, and wish to have a go yourself, check out my blog post at https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2025/01/resources-to-help-you-learn-scottish.html - agus gun tèid leibh leis an turas agaibh! 

In the meantime, some more pics from my recent Hebridean escapades!

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Resources to help you learn Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig)

The following was first published in my Scottish GENES Newsletter on Sunday 11th January 2025.

I've been asked by a couple of readers about advice on how to start learing Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig), following the recent positive 2022 census results showing a reversal of its decline. So here goes!

A good starting point is the free to access Duolingo course at www.duolingo.com, which can allow you to pick up some basic phrases and words at just 15 minutes a day study.

Once you have made a start on this, there are other courses available online with a bit more structure that can begin to help you understand some basic grammar, including the BBC's SpeakGaelic course and TV series - see https://speakgaelic.scot. The programmes can be watched on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@SpeakGaelic, including Gaelic subtitles for all the Gaelic spoken, to help you put the words to the sounds.

The Ceumannan series of lessons are used by schools across the country to teach Gaelic from National 5 to Advanced Higher levels - these are freely available at https://storlann.co.uk/ceumannan/ 

e-Sgoil (https://www.e-sgoil.com) offers access to adult learners wishing to study the National 5, Higher or Advanced Highers in Gaelic for Learners. Having achieved both the Higher and Advanced Higher through e-Sgoil, I can thoroughly recommend it! 

Sabhal Mòr Ostaig (https://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/?lang=en) on the Isle of Skye (pictured below) also offers distance learning options, including its Cùrsa Inntrigidh, and also short courses in the summer where you can attend and learn with like-minded students and gain confidence in speaking the language.

As with Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the Ceòlas centre (https://www.ceolas.co.uk) on South Uist also offers residential options for Gaelic study.  

There are many courses available as books also, and my favourite has always been Teach Yourself Gaelic by Boyd Robertson, now being printed as Complete Gaelic (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Gaelic-Beginner-Intermediate-Course/dp/1444102362/). The audio files to accompany this are freely available at https://library.teachyourself.com/id004325766/Complete-Gaelic-Free-resources.

The LearnGaelic platform has an absolute tonne of useful resources for learners at all levels, including content from the old STV series Speaking Our Language, and a brilliant online dictionary. You can freely access the site at https://learngaelic.scot/.

Around the country are various Gaelic learning community and conversation hubs, including Culturlann Inbhir Nis at Inverness (https://culturlann.scot/en), An Lòchran in Partick, Glasgow (https://www.anlochran.com), Edinburgh's Ionad Gàidhlig Dhùn Èidinn (https://ionaddhuneideann.org), and Stornoway's An Taigh Cèilidh (https://www.taighceilidh.com).

Bringing it back to the genealogy world, you may be interested in this article on ScotlandsPeope about the Gaelic will of Donald MacSwain (Dòmhnall MacSuain) - https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/news-and-articles/our-records-domhnall-macsuains-gaelic-will.

Finally, for genealogists, my free guide to useful words for family history is available at https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/p/gaelic-genealogy.html.

I hope that helps!

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Back to university in Glasgow!

So that's me now back at university! On Monday, I started the year long (well, nine months!) Certificate HE course in Gaelic Immersion at the University of Glasgow, which is essentially a full-time attendance based course that will allow me to become fully fluent in Scottish Gaelic. I've been able to speak in Gaelic for a while, and properly to have conversations for almost two years now, but as a learner there's still that process of constantly translating in the head, as opposed to just speaking a language without thinking. This course, taught entirely in Gaelic, will hopefully push me through the pain barrier to full fluency, and perhaps towards pastures new after, although predominantly fluency is my main goal. This is my fourth time at university, having previously studied for an HND in Graphic Design at the University of Ulster in Belfast, a degree in Time-Based Media at the University of the West of England, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Genealogical Studies at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, but I can honestly say that this is the one that I think that I have been looking forward to the most, and with the least pressure in terms of a pre-determined outcome. I'm going to enjoy this one!

As part of the course we'll be doing all sorts of assessed work, reading a Gaelic book each week and meeting the authors, doing weekly work experience in a Gaelic speaking environment, spending three weeks in South Uist next year, and much more. I'm in a class of fifteen, and the vibe is brilliant, everyone is rooting for each other and enjoying the craic - it'sdefinitely going to be a fun year. This is me pictured outside the university's library, where tomorrow I will be popping in to see a book written by a five times great uncle, which was published in 1870!

From a work point of view the only casualty will be that I am having to cut back considerably on client work (I will be doing very little at all on that for a while, but may be able to take on some small jobs), but it is business as usual on all other fronts, including Pharos courses tuition, giving talks, writing articles, book writing, and so on - and of course, going to Australia for three weeks in November/December for the 18th Unlock the Past Genealogy Cruise (https://www.gould.com.au/18th-cruise-southern-australia/) as the lead speaker! I will continue to put out a newsletter weekly, but may need to revisit that decision if the workload gets a bit too heavy.

In the meantime, a quick heads up that on Tuesday, October 17th, I will be giving a talk to the Joint Meeting of the Ayrshire Family History Societies, entitled Breaking Ancestral Brick Walls with DNA, to show how powerful DNA can be as a tool to help smash your genealogical headaches. The meeting will be at Troon Portland Church Hall, South Beach, Troon, at 7:30 pm.

I will hopefully see some of you there!

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Repairs begin at Kisimul Castle by Barra

Kisimul Castle, based in Castlebay, Barra, is undergoing conservation work just now, with a view to it being re-opened to the public at some stage in the near future. The castle, the former home of the MacNeil clan, has been closed since 2020.

For more on the story visit the BBC's story at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg585r3qe9po, or read it in Gaelic at https://www.bbc.co.uk/naidheachdan/sgeulachdan/c5y3ylq9e2eo.

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Air falbh airson seachdain - I'm off to Skye for a week!

Bidh mi air falbh an ath sheachdain anns an Eilean Sgitheanach agus mi a' dèanamh cùrsa aig a' cholaiste Ghàidhlig, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. Air sgath sin cha bhi mi a' blogadh fhad's a bhios mi ann, ach bidh mi air ais a dh' aithghearr!

I'll be away next week on the Isle of Skye doing a course at the Gaelic college, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. Because of that I won't be blogging whilst there, but will be back soon!

Tìoraidh an-dràsta / ciao fer now!

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Place-Names of Carrickfergus and Broadisland

On Saturday 1st June I took the ferry over the Irish Sea to attend the book launch in my home town of Carrickfergus of Philip Hoy's Place-Names of Carrickfergus and Broadisland, a superb book examining the origins of placenames in the East Antrim town, whether derived from the Irish language, Scots, Norman French, or English. 

I had the pleasure to talk to Philip prior to the event, and he discussed how the book was the result of a Facebook project he started a few years ago in 2021, Placenames of Carrickfergus (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069750918867). Philip is from an Ulster Scots background from Carrick, and has spent a few years learing the Irish language, and has applied what he has learned diligently!

The book is broken down geographically into placenames by tuath (a sub-kingdom), then parish and townland, with each entry noting the modern name, its Irish equivalernt, likely meaning, and then a grid reference as to where to find it. A surpise for me was to learn that the village of Eden, where my dad grew up intially on the outskirts of Carrick, had nothing to do with the Biblical Eden, but instead comes from the Irish equivalent of the Scots Gaelic word aodann, meaning face, with the original name being Éadan Gréine, meaning sunny face. You live and learn! 

If interested in obtaining a copy, keep an eye on Philip's Facebook page, and it will also be available on sale locally in Carrick. And it's throughly recommended! 

It was also great to meet Linda Ervine for the first time, who has been doing such great work with Turas in East Belfast in promoting the Irish language - you can find out more about course run there at https://turasbelfast.com.  

Chris  

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

End of the latest stage of my Gaelic journey

Yesterday I sat my Advanced Higher exam in Gaelic for Learners at Marr College in Troon, East Ayrshire, having studied the course through eSgoil (https://e-sgoil.com) over the last year. I was delighted with the two papers, they were definitely within my range, so I left the school feeling on a high!

Today, however, I was disappointed to hear that the University of the Highlands and Islands has substantially hiked the administration fee rates for 2024-2025 for the National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher courses in Gaelic for Learners, having decided to bring them into line with its other NQ courses. When I sat the Higher last year, it was free, whilst the admin fee for the Advanced Higher this year was just £75. As of 2024-2025, the fee for all courses is jumping substantially to £355.

ESgoil offers a great option for adult learners, and I will absolutely continue to recommend it to anyone wishing to progress beyond Duolingo or other courses to gain an actual National Qualification from the SQA. The hike in rates will put some off, but I can only suggest that the quality of the courses, and the method of their delivery, will still make it worth it. The deadline for registration for 2024-2025 is June 3rd at 5pm - the registration form is available at https://forms.office.com/e/L4s7q0fx0R.

It's just not great news in the wake of the positive figures recently showing a massive upsurge of 20% in just over 10 years of people being able to speak the language. 

Next up for me is a short week long course on Skye in July, my exam results at the start of August, and then my Cert HE course in Gaelic Immersion at Glasgow University from September. 

Cleachd i no caill it...!

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

2022 census - number of Gaelic speakers has increased since 2011

I'm spending today revising for my Advanced Higher exam next week in Gaelic, and what should suddenly be announced but the 2022 census results on the language's state in Scotland, for which there is some mixed news on its fortunes.

The absolutely brilliant news is that overall in Scotland the number of people aged over 3 who can speak Gaelic has risen from 57,602 in 2011 to 69,701, with some 2.5% of the population having some knowledge of the language, up from 1.7% (an increase of 50%). This is thanks to a growing and successful Gaelic Medium Education programme, as well as an increase in interest further afield (thanks to SpeakGaelic, Duolingo, etc). That means 1 in every 40 people in the country now has some level of understanding of Gaelic. However, on the negative side, its use in the Western Isles, the language's remaining native heartland, has fallen from 52% to 45% since 2011, although in Na h-Eileanan Siar the number of folk with skills in Gaelic stands at 57.2%. 

More work needs to be done to bolster the language's continued use in its remaining native heartland, at the same time recognising that a new form of language community is beginning to emerge beyond the Western Isles. Duolingo won't be around forever, so more sustainable policies need to be put in place, something it is hoped that the new languages bill before the Scottish Parliament will urgently address (as well as measures for the Scots language). Maybe it's also time to bring back Comunn an Luchd-Ionnsachaidh?

On the Scots language, the numbers claiming some knowledge of the language has risen to 46.2% in 2022 from 37.7% in 2011.

Incidentally, also released are figures on those who claim to be religious in Scotland - 51.1% have no religion in the country at all, the highest figure in the UK, up from 36.7% in 2011.

The census data is available at www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk.

Comment: Over the last 5 years I have been putting in a shift to learn the language of my Highland ancestors (Perthshire, Invernessshire and Rossshire), and so am delighted to see that the number of Gaelic speakers is finally growing again in the country, even if it is still struggling to find a steady baseline in the Western Isles. There are new Gaelic centre initiatives on the mainland at places such as the new Culturlann in Inverness, and continued enterprises such as An Lòchran in Glasgow, which I recently raised £2225 for by doing the Glasgow Kiltwalk. Next week I will be sitting my Advanced Higher exam, in the summer I am looking forward to a week's course at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig on the Isle of Skye, and then from September I will be returning to full-time education for eight months, doing a Cert HE course in Gaelic with Immersion at Glasgow University. I am still not sure where all this is taking me - I will certainly be applying it more to my genealogical work, but may well seek to take on new areas of interest after I finish the course. It's an exciting journey, and one that is certainly reshaping and rebalancing my connections to Scotland, but the key thing I want to point out is that if you are interested in Gaelic, it can be learned!

If you have an interest in the language, try the Duolingo Scottish Gaelic course to get underway (www.duolingo.com), as well as the BBC's Speak Gaelic series (www.speakgaelic.scot) and the Learn Gaelic platform (www.learngaelic.scot). If you are making progress with then language, and are resident in Scotland, I would also strongly recommend the National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher courses in Gaelic for Learners available via e-Sgoil (https://www.e-sgoil.com). If you're in the Glasgow area, do visit An Lòchran (www.anlochran.com) for its opportunities for learners to get comfortable using the language.

And don't forget this site's Genealogy Terms for Gaelic Learners page at http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/p/gaelic-genealogy.html...!

Deagh fòrtan dhuibh uile - agus suas leis a' Ghàidhlig!

For BBC Alba's coverage of the census results, visit https://www.bbc.co.uk/naidheachdan/sgeulachdan/c0kk8xrl8k2o.

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES