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Posted by on in Culture Blogs

As I write this entry, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia is in full, autumn glory and the Celtic Colours International Festival is well underway. For those of you who don't know, Cape Breton is a Gàidhealtachd, a place where the Scottish Gaelic language is still spoken and taught, a place where Gaelic culture still lives. Every year in mid-October, people come from all over the world to celebrate the rich heritage of this place with concerts, classes, discussions and demonstrations rooted in the Gaìdhlig language that traveled here when so many of its native speakers emigrated from Scotland.

Cape Breton is also my home. An American by birth, I immigrated to Canada three and a half years ago after twenty years of Celtic Paganism and a Celtic Studies degree because I wanted to become a fluent Gaìdhlig speaker and advocate. My local Gaìdhlig learning began in Halifax, where Sgoil Ghàidhlig an Àrd-bhaile serves the community with a wide range of classes and workshops. I have since come to sit on the Board of Directors of that organization and maintain its web site, which has given me the opportunity to understand more about the mechanics of Gaìdhlig transmission in the province and also put me in touch with many wonderful Gaìdhlig speakers and learners. More recently, my husband and I bought the Presbyterian minister's manse where the Reverend A.W.R. MacKenzie lived when he founded the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts in 1938, and it is our joy to bring the Gaìdhlig language back into this house where I sit, writing to you.

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Deborah Blake
    Deborah Blake says #
    I love hearing about your journey--I think it is a great adventure!
  • C.S. MacCath
    C.S. MacCath says #
    You're pretty adventurous yerself, lass. =)
  • Jamie
    Jamie says #
    Ms. MacCath, Good for you, honoring your Gods! Half my ancestry is Celtic, though I am devoted to Hellenic deities and embrace Pl
  • C.S. MacCath
    C.S. MacCath says #
    It's easy to forget sometimes that the mainstream religions of the world are followed primarily by people who do not have an ances

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