Comunn Gàidhlig Inbhir Nis

Aig 11.00 Disathairne 19 Cèitean thèid dithis ainmeil à sgìre Mhùrlagain faisg air an Drochaid Ruadh a chuimhneachadh aig seirbheis shònraichte anns an t-seann eaglais eireachdail aig Cille Choirill anns an Drochaid Ruadh. Bidh Teàrlach Ceanadach BP cuideachd a’ gabhail pàirt.

Le taic sagart Caitligeach na sgìre, Monsignor Tòmas Wynne, tha Comunn Gàidhlig Inbhir Nis air cuimhneachan a stèidheachadh anns an eaglais a chomharrachadh na h-uaighe, aig doras caibeal Chille Choirill, aig Bàrd na Ceapaich Dòmhnall Fionnlagh MacPhilip, Dòmhnall Mac Fhionnlaigh nan Dàn a sgrìobh Òran na Comhachaig.   Tha an cuimhneachan cuideachd a’ comharrachadh gun do thadhail tè de shliochd Chloinn ‘icPhilip Mhùrlagain air an Drochaid Ruadh ann an 1873. B’ ise an neach-teagaisg ainmeil Astràilianach am Màthair Màiri Crois Pheathraichean Naoimh Eòsaph a chaidh a naomhachadh san Ròimh ann an 2010 mar Naomh Màiri na Croise NicPhilip.

Bidh Cathraiche Chomunn Gàidhlig Inbhir Nis Ailean Caimbeul os cionn na seirbheis Disathairne agus an dèidh beagan a chluinntinn mu eachdraidh na cùise, thèid an cuimhneachan fhoillseachadh gu h-oifigeil le Sister Therese a tha na ball den òrdan dam buineadh an Naomh Màiri. Bidh Monsignor Wynne, an tuathanach ionadail Ronnie Caimbeul, agus am pìobaire Dòmhnall Seathach cuideachd a’ gabhail pàirt.

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At 11.00 a.m. on Saturday 19^th May two famous natives of Murlagan near Roy Bridge will be remembered at a special service at the ancient and beautiful church of Cille Choirill in Roy Bridge, and Charles Kennedy MP will participate.

With support from the local Roman Catholic priest Monsignor Tom Wynne, the Gaelic Society of Inverness has erected a memorial plaque in the church to record the interment at the door of Cille Choirill Chapel of the Keppoch Bard Donald Finlay MacKillop, Dòmhnall Mac Fhionnlaigh nan Dàn, always remembered for his Òran na Comhachaig (Song of the owl). The memorial also records the visit to Roybridge in 1873 of the renowned Australian teacher Mother Mary of the Cross of the Sisters of St Joseph who was canonised in Rome in 2010 as Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop, and who was a descendant of the MacKillops of Murlagan.

At Saturday’s short ceremony led by GSI Chairman Allan Campbell, the background to the memorial will be explained and the plaque will be formally unveiled by Sister Therese a member of Saint Mary’s order. Monsignor Wynne, local farmer Ronnie Campbell and piper Donald Shaw will also take part in the service.

There is a bus going to Lochaber for the service leaving Inverness at 8.15am – please email shona@gsi.org.uk or telephone 01463792318 if you would like to reserve a place on the bus. The ceremony at Cille Choirill Church is at 11am and in the afternoon there will be visits to places of interest and a lunch at Spean Bridge.

Tha tiogaidean fhathast air fhàgail son a’ Chuirm Bhliadhnail ‘Fàilt’ air an Dùthaich’ cola deug bhon diugh (Dihaoine 4mh Cèitean. 7.30f) aig Eden Court – £12 / £10 – air (01463) 234234 no www.eden-court.co.uk.

Tickets are still available for the Annual Gaelic Showcase ‘Fàilt air an Dùthaich (Homeland Salute)’ which is a fortnight from tonight (Friday 4th May, 7.30pm) at Eden Court.

To buy tickets – £12 / £10 – call the Box Office on (01463) 234234 or see www.eden-court.co.uk.

The 2012 Annual Business Meeting will be held tomorrow evening (Friday 13th april) at 7.30pm, at the Netley Centre, Bishop’s Road. There will be the usual review of the past year and election of Office Bearers and Council Members.

Directly after the ABM, there will be an address by the current Society Chief, Professor Boyd Robertson. The talk is entitled “Beairteas Cainnt” (“Language Wealth”). For the first time at a Society meeting, we will have in attendance someone to do simultaneous interpretation so that members and friends with only a basic knowledge of Gaelic can come and enjoy the talk.

Please also be reminded that the Annual Culloden Anniversary Service takes place this Saturday (14th April). We will be meeting at the visitor centre for 10.30am and then will follow the Society’s Hon. Piper Dr Angus MacDonald over to the Cairn where the short service will be held. Society Chief for 2012–13, Professor Donald MacLeod, will address the congregation in an appropriate tribute to the occasion.

The past year has been another busy and successful year for the Society. Once again we were fortunate to have had a variety of high quality papers presented at our meetings and we wish to record our sincere thanks to our speakers and also to the members who attended these meetings. The meeting room was frequently filled to capacity, which is encouraging for both the speakers and the Society.

Our sincere thanks also to Professor Boyd Robertson, for his support and contribution to the Society during his year as the Society Chief.

Ceannard 2012–13 / Chief of the Society 2012–13

The Co-Chomhairle is pleased to announce that Professor Donald MacLeod M.A D.D. has agreed to serve as Society Chief for the year 2012–13. Donald Macleod retired as principal of the Free Church of Scotland College in Edinburgh in March 2011, but he is still professor of systematic theology.

Donald began his ministry in Kilmallie Free Church where he served from 1964–1970. The next stage of his ministry was urban, in Partick Highland Free Church in Glasgow from 1970–1978. Ever good with words, he edited the Monthly Record from 1977–1990. He has been a Visiting Professor in Glasgow University since 1999. In 2007, he was honoured with a D.D. by Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia.

Prior to coming to the Free Church College in 1978, Donald was already highly regarded for his incisive theological mind. During the last 30 years, he has moulded the minds of many students, and published numerous books and articles. Donald Macleod is well known as a previous editor of the Monthly Record of the Free Church and as a columnist in the West Highland Free Press and the Observer newspaper.

Donald and his wife Mary are both from Lewis, and have three sons.

Clàr 2012-13/ Syllabus 2012-13

The Syllabus Sub-committee will shortly be selecting papers for the September 2012–April 2013 meetings and would welcome any suitably prepared papers for selection either this year or next year.

Coinneamh Bhliadhnail 2012 / Annual Business Meeting 2012.

The Annual Business Meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Friday 13th April in the Netley Centre, Bishop’s Road. All members and friends are welcome to attend. This will be followed by a talk by Society Chief, Professor Boyd Robertson, on “Beairteas Cainnt” (“Language Wealth”).

Seirbhis-chuimneachaidh / Culloden Anniversary 2012

The Anniversary Service will be held at the Cairn on Saturday 14th April. This will follow the usual pattern with the Society Chief giving his Address followed by prayers and a blessing by members of The Clergy. A lament will be played by one of the Society Honorary Pipers after which a wreath will be laid on behalf of the Society.

Cuirm Chiuil 2012 / Annual Event 2012

This year the Annual Gaelic Showcase will be on Friday 4th May at 7.30pm at Eden Court Theatre, Inverness. The theme of the evening will be “Fàilt’ air an dùthaich” / “Homeland Salute”. The solo singers this year are: Margaret Stewart, Norman MacArthur, Jenna Cumming, James Graham, Kathleen MacInnes and Paul MacCallum. The ceilidh band this year will be the Robert Nairn Ceilidh Band. Piper this year is Dr. Angus MacDonald, Society piper, and the chairman for the evening will be Allan Campbell.

Tickets are £12 / £10 and available from Eden Court on 01463 234234 or via the Eden Court website.

We anticipate an exceptional evening of entertainment this year and would urge you to book tickets soon to avoid disappointment!

Cille Choirill Memorial Plaque and summer excursion

Last year the Society commissioned a memorial plaque for Cille Choiril Chapel, to mark the interment there of the Keppoch Bard Donald Finlay MacKillop, and to record the visit to Roybridge in 1873 of Mary Mackillop who was canonised in Rome in 2010 as St Mary of the cross MacKillop.

The plaque is to be formally unveiled at a ceremony at Cille Choirill on Saturday 19th May, and the GSI 2012 Summer Outing from Inverness will take place on 19th May to coincide with the ceremony. If you would like to attend the Outing to Lochaber and the ceremony at Cille Choirill, please contact the Secretary.

Leabharlann / The Society Library

We are grateful for the donations of books, records, etc. received in the past months. All members are reminded that they are free to make use of the Library (within the Public Library) at Farraline Park, Inverness.

Indices to volumes I to LXIV of the Transactions are available and can be accessed on the Gaelic Society’s website in the following formats: sorted by subject or sorted alphabetically by title.

Transactions Volume LXV

Some of you would have noticed that a page of Professor William Gillies’ paper on “The Gaelic of Niall MacMhuirich” appeared twice resulting in one page of the text being missing in the volume. We have apologised to Professor Gillies for this most unfortunate technical error and have issued by post the corrected page 70 to all members.

Northern Scotland

Launched in 1972 by the Centre for Scottish Studies in the University of Aberdeen, Northern Scotland has been published by Aberdeen University ever since. Ownership of the title has now been transferred to a company limited by guarantee, Northern Scotland Journal Limited, trading as Northern Scotland, and from now on the periodical will be published annually by Edinburgh University Press. Northern Scotland Journal Limited is a joint venture by the School of Divinity, History and Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen and the UHI Centre for History. An order form for the publication Northern Scotland is enclosed should anyone be interested in subscribing.

Ballrachd / Membership

We have welcomed a number of new members since the beginning of the session and it is most encouraging to do this on a regular basis. Our Treasurer, Alec Graham, is grateful to all of you who complied with our request to pay your subscription by Standing Order. Those of you who have not yet taken advantage of this facility are reminded that this can be done by contacting the Treasurer at any time.

Membership remains at £15 per annum and is due for renewal on 1st July each year. Sending reminders to such a large membership is quite costly, so please put this date in your diary to avoid any lapse of your membership. Anyone requiring further information should contact the Treasurer or the Secretary.

Caoidh / Obituaries

Sadly, we have noted the loss of some of our members in the past few months. We would like to extend our sincere sympathy to those members who are mourning the loss of family and friends at this time. We would ask that you keep us informed of the passing of any of our members in order that a formal tribute may be paid to them at our members’ meetings and subsequently recorded in the Society Transactions.

Tomorrow evening (Friday 2nd March), Iona MacDonald from the Isle of Skye will deliver a talk to the Gaelic Society of Inverness. The talk is titled “The MacDonalds of Belfinlay and Waternish: a family and community history”. The talk will be illustrated with documents and photographs from the family collection.

The MacDonalds of Belfinlay and Waternish were an old Highland family, closely connected to the chiefs of Clanranald, and connected by marriage to most of the notable Hebridean families. Regimental and business matters took them abroad to a wide selection of destinations.  Meanwhile, their farming and other business ventures continued at home – in Benbecula, Arisaig, Moidart and more recently the tack of Ostaig (1820s), the inheritance of Ardmore, Waternish by Flora Nicolson MacDonald (1832), and the purchase of the adjoining Fasach estate from Charles Grant, Lord Glenelg (1833).

The talk is at 19:30 in the Netley Centre, Bishop’s Road, Inverness.

Tha tiogaidean fhathast air fhàgail son a’ Chuirm Bhliadhnail ‘Guth na h-Òige’ an ath h-oidhch’ aig Eden Court – £12 / £10 – air (01463) 234234 no www.eden-court.co.uk. Faodaidh sibh cuideachd tiogaidean fhaighinn aig an dorus – bidh an consairt a’ tòiseachadh aig 7.30f.

Tickets are still available for the Annual Gaelic Showcase ‘Guth na h-Òige’ which is tomorrow (Friday) at Eden Court.

To buy tickets – £12 / £10 – call the Box Office on (01463) 234234 or see www.eden-court.co.uk. If you haven’t yet got plans, you can buy your tickets at the last minute at the door! The concert will start at 7.30pm.

Far nach bi sluagh cha bhi cànan, agus far nach bi òigridh ga cleachdadh chan eil dòchas leantainneachd aig cànan sam bith. Ann an consairt fon ainm Guth na h-Òige aig Talla-Cluiche Eden Court air Dihaoine 18 Màrt 2011, dearbhaidh Comunn Gàidhlig Inbhir Nis cuid de mhisneachd coimhearsnachd Ghàidhlig na h-Alba ann an tèarainteachd an cànain.

Mar is dual bidh cuid de phrìomh luchd-ciùil na Gàidhlig air àrd-ùrlar, agus am measg na chluinnear an turas seo bidh: Jenna Chuimeanach, Kirsteen NicDhòmhnaill, Darren MacIlleathain agus Steven MacÌomhar, agus Canntaireachd a’ seinn, an Còmhlan Cèilidh Monach Isle, agus am pìobaire òg Brìghde Chaimbeul.

Tha sinn air leth toilichte gu bheil Ellen NicDhòmhnaill à Canntaireachd gu bhith na bean an taighe son na h-oidhche, còmhla ri Ailean Caimbeul a bhios na fhear an taighe. ’S ann an Gàidhlig a bhios an consairt ach le eadar-theangachadh agus dealbhan bho Chailean MacIlleathain. Tiogaidean bho Eden Court, £12/£10, 01463 234234 no www.eden-court.co.uk

Language and culture exist only where people sustain them, and the survival of any language requires young people to use and celebrate it. A week tonight, on Friday 18th March, in a concert entitled Guth na h-Òige (Voice of Youth), the Gaelic Society of Inverness will reflect some of the confidence which Scotland’s Gaelic community has in the future of its language.

Featuring leading Gaelic performers, and with a focus on youth, these themed concerts have become increasingly popular Gaelic showcase events. The 2011 programme will include singers Jenna Cumming, Kirsteen MacDonald, Darren MacLean and Steven MacIver (all four of them are Mòd Gold Medallists); Canntaireachd (youth singing group led by Eilidh Mackenzie); the Monach Isle Cèilidh Band, and young prize-winning piper Brìghde Chaimbeul.

In keeping with the theme of “Youth”, we are delighted that for the first time, the event will be co-hosted by Ellen MacDonald of Canntaireachd and our own Chairperson, Allan Campbell. The concert will be presented, as usual, in Gaelic. There will be a simultaneous translation to English by Powerpoint presentation and illustrated with beautiful photography by Cailean MacLean. Tickets from Eden Court, £12 / £10, 01463 234234 or www.eden-court.co.uk

Celebrated Scottish folklorist, historian and Gaelic singer Margaret Bennett will be warning local Ross-shire residents about the dangers of not passing on traditions, stories and songs to the next generation, at  a social evening in the Gaelic centre, An t-Oisean, in Evanton tomorrow night. Entitled “Bhon chaill mi a’ Ghàidhlig na b’ fheàrr cha d’ fhuair mi” (Handing on Tradition across the Generations), the evening promises to be an occasion of little heard words and music, coupled with a strong message of how to ensure that  the youth of today will retain a valuable sense of their own heritage.

Centre coordinator Fiona Mackenzie, said:

“We are absolutely delighted and extremely honoured to have Margaret  coming to visit us here in Evanton. She is one of the world’s most respected Scottish folklorists and is full of stories and songs of our forefathers, from all parts of Scotland. To entice her to come so far North is a great achievement in itself.  Her presentation is sure to keep us enthralled as well as prove immensely educational and interesting.”

The evening will include audio and visual clips gathered by Margaret from various parts of the world, of the people who have left Scotland for shores overseas and showing their importance to us today.

Margaret explained the motivation behind the creation of her presentation by saying:

“I’d like to use the example of emigrants who left the Isle of Canna and Moidart in particular,  in the early 1800s — some are related to the famous Glenuig pipers, Allan, Ian and Angus.

“I’ve got recordings of four generations of the one family (the fourth being and example of what happens if you don’t keep the language going) I’ll  be playing selections to illustrate their ‘story of emigration’ Those interested in the songs in particular will also have the opportunity to learn some of them.”

Ms Bennett’s presentation will be held at An t-Oisean Gaelic Community Centre (Cornerstone), in Evanton, on Friday March 11th at 7pm.  For more information, telephone 01349 864156, or visit the An t-Oisean Gaelic Community Centre website.

Margaret and Fiona are both members of the Gaelic Society of Inverness and would be delighted to see some other members in Evanton tomorrow night.

Bha Iain MacCoinnich, à Loch an Inbhir, gu bhith toirt seachad an òraid aige air Dihaoine 3 Dùbhlachd 2010 ach bha againn ri chur dheth air sgàth an droch aimsir.
Tha sinn air leth toilichte gum bi e a-nise a’ bruidhinn leinn an ath-oidhch’ (Dihaoine 4 Màrt 2011) aig 19:30 — aig Ionad Netley. ’S e an cuspair: “Assynt Crofters : the Mould Breakers”.
Bidh fàilte air neach sam bith.

John Mackenzie, Lochinver, was scheduled to give a talk on Friday 3 December 2010 but it had to be cancelled due to adverse weather conditions. We are delighted to have rescheduled the talk for tomorrow evening (Friday 4 March 2011) at 19:30 in the usual venue of the Netley Centre. The topic is: “Assynt Crofters : the Mould Breakers”. John will also present some slides which were prepared for a seminar in Norway a few years ago. These essentially focused on a micro hydro-electric project that John managed to bring to completion on the Assynt estate in 2000 after 7 years of battle with the conservation agencies but there are a few that show the kind of landscape that they now possess in community ownership.

Bha fìor dheagh choinneamh againn a-raoir aig an Ionad Netley, is an t-Oll. Fionnlagh MacLeòid a’ toirt seachad òraid air “Muilnean Beaga Leòdhais”. Sheall e dealbhan dhe na muilnean às na diofar sgìrean is bailtean ann an Leòdhas. Bha 32 neach an làthair agus bha sinn toilichte fàilte a chur air dà bhall ùr.

There was an enjoyable meeting last night at the Netley Centre, with Dr. Finlay MacLeod speaking on “The Norse Mills of Lewis”. Finlay showed some photographs of the various mills from different areas of Lewis, on a Powerpoint presentation. All together there were 32 members and friends in attendance and we were pleased to welcome two new members to the Society.