Gaelic language and culture are a huge part of Scotland’s identity as well as a large part of life at the University.
Bria Mason, Gaelic Officer, is passionate about promoting and sharing the Gaelic experience of life in Edinburgh to staff and students alike: “Gaelic is a rich part of the cultural life of the University, and of Edinburgh, that is often overlooked. The live tasters we used to offer were an opportunity for staff and students to learn more about Gaelic and how they could get involved.”
Like all of us, she’s had to adapt her usual calendar of events. In their place she has created a series of her normal taster sessions as videos, to showcase the Gaelic culture at the University. She shares a bit more about them: “Now that we’re filming videos and making them available online, there’s an opportunity to include even more content and to reach a wider audience.
“We hope that these online sessions will allow staff and students to learn more about the rich culture, history and language of Gaelic as well as appreciating its present and historical place in Scotland, in Edinburgh and at the University itself.”
While the Gaelic life of the city might not be obvious to most English speakers, the city’s Gaelic community has been thriving for centuries. Bria explains why it’s so important to her to celebrate and share the language: “I learned Gaelic when I was a student at the University, and it has enriched my life immeasurably as well as giving me a greater understanding of Scotland and its history and culture. I hope I can communicate some of this to staff and students through these videos, and perhaps even encourage some of them to continue on to learn Gaelic.”
You can watch the first taster session below.
The rest of the videos will be uploaded to the Gaelic website over the coming months.
Photography: Chris Close