Edinburgh’s Gaelic week celebrates tenth year
The week-long programme of events will showcase Gaelic language and culture across the Scottish capital.
Gaelic Week Edinburgh – Seachdain Gàidhlig Dhùn Èideann – will take place at venues across the city from Monday 19 to Sunday 25 February.
Event highlights include film screenings, student drop-ins, ceilidh dancing and multilingual performances of story, song and poetry.
The events series is a collaboration between the University and City of Edinburgh Council to celebrate Gaelic language, culture and community in Edinburgh, past and present.
It is now held in conjunction with the World Gaelic Week, an international festival connecting people across the globe to promote Scottish Gaelic.
Events are open to all – from Gaelic enthusiasts, to those looking to gain more of an understanding of Gaelic language and culture.
Events programme
Gaelic enthusiasts will have various opportunities to immerse themselves in Gaelic’s unique language, art and culture.
Before the official programme opens, celebrations will kick off with a ceilidh hosted by the University’s Highland Society on Friday 16 February.
Continuing into Gaelic Week, on Tuesday 20 February, attendees can enjoy a film screening of ‘Calman nan Loch’, an award-winning documentary about a Gaelic speaking community in the Outer Hebrides.
Elsewhere in the city, the Scottish Storytelling Centre will host a multi-language cabaret of story, song and poetry to celebrate International Mother Language Day on Wednesday 21 February.
Included in the programme are a series of social events for those seeking to connect with fellow Gaelic enthusiasts, speakers and learners.
The Students’ Association will host a pop-up at Pottorrow to create a space for Gaelic-speaking students to connect and for newcomers to Gaelic to learn more about about the language and culture.
Later in the week, Gaelic speakers and learners can enjoy a ‘Gaelic Hub’ at Pop-up Ionad, with games, music, stories and films for all ages.
View the full events programme on the Edinburgh Gaelic Week website:
Edinburgh Gaelic Week programme
We’re delighted to be supporting Edinburgh’s Gaelic Week; there is a packed programme with events for people for all ages to take part in and celebrate the language. These are exciting times for Gaelic in Edinburgh; we are working collaboratively with the Gaelic community to plan for the implementation of our third Gaelic Language Plan this year, alongside a long-term strategy for the development of Gaelic medium education in the city. The Capital Gaelic project has given us, alongside other organisations, the opportunity to raise the visibility of the language in the city
Supporting Gaelic culture
The University of Edinburgh has a long history of supporting the Gaelic language and culture and established the first Chair of Celtic in Scotland in 1882.
Through its Gaelic Language Plan, the University is committed to strengthening connections with Gaelic communities in Edinburgh and further afield, as well as creating learning and research opportunities for students and staff.
Related links
Gaelic at the University of Edinburgh
Photo credit: Andrew Perry