SCOTTISH nationalism is celebrated in various forms throughout the year, but Seachdain na Gáidhlig, or World Gaelic Week, hopes to encourage Gaelic and non-Gaelic-speaking Scots alike to get involved with the national language.
Joy Dunlop, a Gaelic speaker, singer and presenter on BBC Alba and SpeakGaelic, is involved in a seemingly endless list of Gaelic-based projects and initiatives. In 2022, she helped found Seachdain na Gáidhlig after being inspired by similar celebrations in Ireland and Nova Scotia, Canada.
This year the celebration is taking place from February 24 to March 2.
However, beyond a national week – which this year began on Monday and runs until March 2 – Dunlop understands that there is much more to be done to integrate Gaelic with daily life.
While educational initiatives are both useful and important, musical integration could play a large part in making Gaelic normal in people’s lives. Yet she faces pushback.
“As a performer, I know I’ve had festivals say to me, ‘We don’t do Gaelic’,” says Dunlop.
“Now, I can’t imagine them turning around saying they don’t do Scots or bagpipes. It very much becomes, ‘Oh, we don’t speak your language, so we don’t understand your music’.”
Dunlop finds this reaction to Gaelic music and performers not only disheartening but also confusing.
“It’s hard, because I’ve personally found that if you can get people into a venue, it doesn’t matter that they don’t understand the language,” she says.
“If you explain the songs and set the scene, they enjoy it anyway. We listen to lots of music – opera in Italian or pop in Spanish – and nobody has ever gone, ‘Wait a minute, I’m sorry I don’t understand this; I can’t join in’.”
There is plenty of proof of people enjoying music in unfamiliar languages, Dunlop says. With the recent success of Kneecap, Celtic languages have proved they can be enjoyable and exist outwith traditional spaces.
Yet, while the Irish rap trio are set to take to the main of TRNSMT on Glasgow Green this summer among more than 10 Scottish acts, there are no Scottish Gaelic language performers on the line-up.
More can be done, Dunlop says, to help platform Gaelic acts in front of a mainstream audience: “It’s about understanding that Gaelic doesn’t always mean traditional.
“I also absolutely understand that, if you’re organising TRNSMT, you need a group you can put up on stage and get the crowd going.
“However, there are Gaelic bands out there who are like that. It’s sometimes just taking the chance on an act.
“If it’s a big festival, and the act has a beat, a lift, then they are going to get a crowd going no matter what. It doesn’t matter what language they are performing in.”
Although, like Kneecap famously do, Dunlop says that sticking to your guns is important. She personally loves traditional music and is incredibly grateful for the range of Gaelic-centred events that welcome Gaelic artists and audiences alike, such as Celtic Connections and the Royal National Mòd.
They are needed, Dunlop says, as she finds Gaelic isn’t welcomed in environments if they don’t find it “useful”.
“There are people who are just not interested,” Dunlop says. “Within some areas, there are still a lot of people who are anti-Gaelic, and that can be quite difficult.
“However, as a singer, I would absolutely say, ‘Aw, you don’t have Gaelic? That’s fine.’ People can still understand the music and get something from it despite the fact they don’t understand each word.”
To foster the success and growth of Gaelic, Dunlop believes more support needs to be given. While she is grateful for the efforts that have already been made, she is “a big fan of more is more” and hopes that, with more contributions from everyone, Gaelic can be seen as more relevant and an integral part of Scottish life.
She says: “For me, Gaelic is just that missing piece of the jigsaw that fills in all the gaps.
“Maybe you want to know how to pronounce the hill or loch names, or understand all our many Scottish first names and surnames. Maybe it’s just as small as that – having people understand that Gaelic is all around you.”
Not only is Gaelic in the physical world, but online there are a range of free online sources to encourage more people to learn. Dunlop knows people want to get stuck into Gaelic, so with the digital resources, she hopes Gaelic will get the widespread exposure she dreams of.
“I think we are really lucky, we have such a rich cultural heritage. People are always saying they want to be able to learn. Now there are more free resources than ever.”
Dunlop wants Gaelic to have a strong, stable future in Scotland. She is proud of Scotland’s multicultural nature and wants Gaelic to stand firmly among the other cultures in her country.
“We’re so lucky Scotland is multicultural,” she stresses. “It’s wonderful. You go into schools now, and they are speaking so many languages, so why not make sure Gaelic is one?
“We want it to become something where people aren’t worried about how to pronounce it or how to start.
“Make sure Gaelic is a part of life, that it’s celebrated. Then, it becomes something we all have a wee bit of knowledge of, and it won’t seem so unusual.”
