The First Gaelic Literary Festival at WORD 05

The First Gaelic Literary Festival at WORD 05

This year’s Word Festival 13 – 15 May welcomes a host of renowned Gaelic writers and poets to the University of Aberdeen. Following the success of the Gaelic strand of last year’s Word Festival programme, this year the University’s Celtic Studies Department has combined forces with the Word Festival and the Royal Mail Group to put on a full day Gaelic Festival on Saturday 14 May.

Highlights include:

· Angus Peter Campbell Aonghas Pàdraig Caimbeul author of An Oidhche Mus Do Sheòl Sinn – The Night Before we Sailed which was shortlisted for the 2004 Saltire Book of the Year Award and was runner up in the BBC’s Taghadh nan Leabhar in which the audience voted for their favourite Gaelic book.

· Aonghas MacNeacail – one of the finest poets writing in Gaelic today. Aonghas is a poet, journalist, resercher, broadcaster, scriptwriter and filmmaker.

· Moray Watson from the University of Aberdeen’s Celtic Studies Department who will pay tribute to the life and work of Iain Crichton Smith one of Scotland’s most important voices in literature.

Professor Bryan MacGregor, Vice-Principal and Head of College College of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Aberdeen said:

‘The inclusion of a full day of Gaelic events at Word 05 builds on the success of last year's Gaelic events. The University, through its Celtic Studies Department and the Word Festival is delighted to be able to harness the energy and enthusiasm that there is for Gaelic literature and to provide a platform for promoting new and established Gaelic writers alongside some of the finest writers from across the UK and beyond.’

Ian McKay, Scottish Affairs Director for Royal Mail Group said:

‘Royal Mail Group support a wide variety of community and education initiatives throughout Scotland and we touch the lives of everyone, through our postmen and woman delivering your mail, Parcelforce Worldwide taking your parcels right across the country and the network of Post Office branches you see on street corners.

This is why we are delighted to support the Word Festival, particularly the Gaelic Festival. Whilst Gaelic has no legal status within Scotland, there is a growing cultural support for its survival and we believe as a large organisation that we should play a role in the education of the language and culture. We have supported several Gaelic sponsorships over the last few years and are continually looking for ways of not only supporting the language but of supporting those employees we have, who value the culture so much.’

Other Gaelic events programmed include a creative writing competition for schools which is to be judged by Runrig’s lead singer Donnie Munro (entries close 22 April) and the launch of the ‘Wee Book of Gaelic’. The creation of this ‘wee book’ follows last year’s Great Book of Gaelic An Leabhar Mòr exhibition at the Peacock Visual Arts Centre. Working with Gaelic writer Anne Lorne Gilles and visual artist Simon Fraser students from the Gaelic Medium Units in Aberdeen have created the illustrations included in this new book.

The Gaelic Festival will run for one day only on Saturday 14 May as part of the Word Festival. Events will take place in a marquee on King’s Lawn at the University of Aberdeen.

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