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It can be a challenge for teenagers to come together and use Gaelic, but an odyssey by bus and boat is helping a group in County Derry to meet that challenge.

For a number of years, a 50 seater bus from the Donegal Gaeltacht has been travelling to County Derry and onwards to the Isle of Lewis. The bus is full of teenagers and those helping them, and their face is set on Fèis Eilean an Fhraoich, the youth festival in Lewis, and on young people of their own age who speak Scottish Gaelic.

The journey is organised by a youth group, Club Óige Luraigh, a one of a network of Irish language organisations which has developed in a rural area of County Derry. The club works in partnership with the Fèis in Lewis, and with Muintearas, a Gaeltacht youth organisation in Ireland: there are teenagers from the Donegal and Conamara Gaeltachts on the bus as well as from Derry.

The young people from Ireland take part in music activities and iomáin (hurling/shinty) in Lewis as well as language classes, and drama workshops help them to use Scottish Gaelic.

Joe Ó Dochartaigh, a youth worker at Club Óige Luraigh, says that the annual odyssey transforms the work of the youth club. Even though they have had Irish-medium primary education, those teenagers who do not speak Irish at home can succumb to pressure to speak English among themselves. But the annual odyssey to Lewis has its own effect: as the young people put effort into the feis and the long journey there and back, they choose to speak Irish among themselves, a choice they maintain on their return home to County Derry.

New friendships are another result of the odyssey; friendships between people in Lewis and County Derry, between teenagers in County Derry and in the Gaeltacht in Ireland. Young musicians from Ireland have been invited to play at the big Lewis musical festival, the Hebcelt.; families from Lewis have come to visit families in County Derry . One young man who has been on the journey, Dubhaltach Mac Conmidhe is studying for a degree in Scottish Gaelic in Glasgow.

Film Première: Calman nan Loch 9th November, An Lanntair, Stornoway

Maolcholaim Scott · December 5, 2022 ·

In the film we discover how, through the singing of the Gaelic psalms the people of Lochs keep the spirit of the Celtic Church alive to this day. The film takes inspiration from the amazing story of the traditional sailing boats resounding with the iconic sound of the Gaelic psalms as they once set off from the services in Keose to their villages up and down Loch Erisort. The film is based on a community-arts project, and marks 1500 years of Colmcille’s influence in the Gàidhealtachd lands and farther afield.

The première will be at 7.30 on Friday the 9th December. Tickets are available here, and the film can also be viewed here. The director and artist Déirdre Ní Mhathúna gave the following account of how the project came about:

“It is a great honour to release the film “Calman nan Loch – The Dove of Lochs” to mark 1500 years of Colmcille’s influence in the Gàidhealtachd lands and farther afield. This is a wonderful story from Lochs in the Isle of Lewis which came to light while I was showing my artwork in the small village of Keose, on the north side of Loch Erisort, in 2007. On that day I had intended to say a grateful and fond farewell to the people who had made me welcome over several years.

“But it was on that very day that we heard the amazing story of the traditional sailing boats resounding with the iconic sound of the Gaelic psalms as they set off from the services in Keose to their villages up and down Loch Erisort. We were all completely taken with this image and it wasn’t long before the name ‘psalmboats’ was coined to describe it.

“Over the years an open, welcoming community of psalmsingers, sailors, artists and friends developed. The project members came from different island churches and welcomed those with no faith at all. We collected funny and fascinating lore from folk who were still young in the days when the boats were the “Austins and Fords of their day”.

“Without a doubt, The Psalmboat Project altered what was ahead of me as an artist. Although I had no inkling that I’d be involved in such a long-lasting project on Lewis, nor that I’d forge such deep friendship through the Gàidhlig language, at the time I met the people of Lochs and heard the story of the psalmboats I was on a quest for a meaningful artist’s practice as a Gael. It was there, in that wee village on Loch Erisort that I found my lodestone which finally connected my Irish identity and my creative life in Scotland. I will forever be grateful for this unexpected gift.”

In the film you will come with me into the heart of a faith journey that has Colm Cille’s Island and the iconic image of the dove at its centre. We discover how, through the singing of the Gaelic psalms the legacy of the pre-Reformation monks endures and how the people of Lochs keep the spirit of the Celtic Church alive to this day.

Laa Columb Cilley

Maolcholaim Scott · June 24, 2022 ·

Today in the Isle of Man, is the feastday of Columb Killey or Colm Cille, and celebrations take place in the parish of Arbory. Composer and educationalist Aalin Clague has made a special composition Y Folliaght (the secret) to lyrics by Marie Clague. You can listen to it here, and the lyrics in Manx and English are available below. Choose Gaeilge and Gàidhlig tabs to see the lyrics in those languages.

S’eunyssagh dou dy ve er cronk aalin er baare carrick.
Dy voddym mennick fakin er yn ‘aarkey kiune.

Delightful to me to be on an island hill on the crest of a rock,
that I might often watch the quiet sea.

Dy voddym fakin ny tonnyn trome erskyn yn ushtey
myr t’ad cantal kiaull da nyn Ayr dy bea veayn,
kiaull da nyn Ayr dy bea veayn.

That I might watch the heavy waves above the water,
as they chant music to their Father everlastingly,
music to their Father everlastingly.

Dy voddym fakin ny tonnyn trome,
Dy voddym fakin yn traie gial-oirrit,
Dy voddym clashtyn cronnane ny tonnyn,
Dy voddym fakin possanyn eanlee, possanyn eanlee.

That I might watch the heavy waves,
That I might watch the bright-bordered shore,
That I might hear the murmur of the waves,
That I might see/watch flocks of birds, flocks of birds.

My vees my ennym, folliaght ta mee ginsh
Eshyn chass e chooyl er Nerin
Eshyn chass e chooyl er Nerin

that my name should be–it is a secret that I tell–
“he who turned his back upon Ireland.”
“he who turned his back upon Ireland.”

S’eunyssagh dou dy ve er cronk aalin er baare carrick.
Dy voddym mennick fakin er yn ‘aarkey kiune.
Delightful to me to be on an island hill on the crest of a rock,
that I might often watch the quiet sea.

Dy voddym fakin yn yindys mooar,
Dy voddym fakin muic varrey niartal,
Dy voddym clashtyn eam taitnyssagh
Dy voddym clashtyn eanlee joarreeaght, eanlee joarreeaght.

That I might see the great wonder,
That I might see the mighty whales,
That I might hear a pleasing [bird]call,
That I might hear strange birds, strange birds.

My vees my ennym, folliaght ta mee ginsh
Eshyn chass e chooyl er Nerin
Eshyn chass e chooyl er Nerin

that my name should be–it is a secret that I tell–
“he who turned his back upon Ireland.”
“he who turned his back upon Ireland.”

Dy voddym clashtyn cronnane ny tonnyn
er oaie ny carrickyn, eam ny faarkey myr keayney liorish oaie.

That I might watch the heavy waves
against the rocks, the sound of the sea like mourning beside a grave

My vees my ennym, she folliaght ta mee ginsh,
Eshyn chass e chooyl er Nerin
Eshyn chass e chooyl er Nerin.

Columb Killey.

Imagine there were no poets …

Maolcholaim Scott · May 20, 2022 ·

Colmcille and the poets

In the year 575 the High King of Ireland Aodh Mac Ainmire invited dignitaries to attend an important gathering in Droim Ceat, county Derry. Among the topics up for discission was the question of what should be done with Ireland’s poets, who had become, in his view, rather impudent. One of the measures proposed was the banishing of poets from Ireland.

Colm Cille was in attendance, and took a stand on behalf of the poets. But what would have happened had he not intervened and what would we have lost as a nation?

These are the questions that prompted poet Daire Ní Chanáin as she began working on a specially-commissioned poem as part of Colmcille 1500. The resulting poetry video received its premiere on Poetry Day Ireland on April 28^th 2022.

Daire Ní Chanáin says: “Before I began working on this piece I had little knowledge of Colm Cille and it was exciting to discover so much about him. I feel I have a stronger connection with him having undertaken this work and I now notice more and more of his legacy all around me, especially given that I live in Derry.

In the poem I wanted to pay homage to the poets who have gone before me, and also to those who continue to write in Irish. I am greatly indebted to them. And we are all greatly indebted to Colm Cille.”

Tristan Rosenstock, co-ordinator of Colmcille 1500, adds:

“Daire belongs to a new generation of poets who present their work in new and exciting ways. Her poetry itself is highly artistic, as is the way she presents it. When you view the video and hear her words it is immediately apparent that she is a poet who has a deep understanding of the tradition, but that she is following her own path and has a unique voice of her own. We were thrilled to have a young Derry poet involved in Colmcille 1500”

You can watch the video here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z-IhodljN8

#Colmcille1500

£88k awarded to Colmcille Projects

Brian Ó hEadhra · April 4, 2022 ·

Bòrd na Gàidhlig (BnG) are pleased to announce that they are awarding £88,880 to 10 projects in Scotland and 3 Irish Gaelic learners through their Colmcille funding scheme.

Colmcille is a partnership between Foras na Gaeilge in Ireland and Bòrd na Gàidhlig in Scotland. It fosters communication and collaboration between the language communities of Scottish and Irish Gaelic.

In 2022 we will continue to celebrate the legacy of Colmcille 1500, with special events and projects.

Funding is available to help support projects which will bring Gaelic and Irish speakers together, and also for Gaelic speakers looking to undertake an Irish course.

This year, we are supporting three people who will be undertaking Irish Gaelic language courses as well as 10 various projects aimed at strengthening the links between Scotland and Ireland. Among those projects is Bragar and Arnol Community Trust (BACT) in Lewis with their Ceangal2022 project. As part of their project, they intend to engage with community groups, social enterprises and voluntary organisations and others in and around the Dingle Peninsula to learn and to share knowledge, customs and experiences.

Murdo Morrison, Community Officer at BACT said: “We are delighted and grateful for this support in building international links between our own community on the West Side of Lewis and the people of County Kerry. Through this initiative, we will be looking to establish community, language, cultural, educational, arts and other links.”

Funding will be given to 10 projects throughout the country and in a host of different environments including a Celtic Eco-Museum in the Isle of Skye, an Edinburgh based poetry project, and shinty for youth in both Scotland and Ireland as well as a project regarding tourism in the Highlands.

Brian Ó hEadhra, Partnerships and Funding Manager, Bòrd na Gàidhlig said: “It gives us great joy to support these groups whilst they continue to build connections with our friends in Ireland. The Colmcille funding scheme has been running for many years and this demonstrates the importance of these connections. It’s also encouraging to see applications each year from Gaelic speakers who are not only keen to learn Irish Gaelic but also to strengthen the linguistic connections.”

The scheme was open for 13 weeks between 11 November 2021 and 10 February 2022. Foras na Gaeilge have their scheme open until 20 April and further information can be found here.

A full list of successful projects can be found here.