Guthan an Eilein: Island Gaelic Voices

Everyone is invited to a public talk by Summerside's Dr. Tiber F. M. Falzett on Scottish Gaelic language and culture as passed down through generations on Prince Edward Island. Hosted by the Institute of Island Studies at UPEI, the presentation is Tuesday, May 26, 2015, 7:30 pm in the UPEI Faculty Lounge of SDU Main Building.

Through oral traditions, music, songs, poetry, newspaper articles, and census returns, attendees will be taken on a journey in the life of Scottish Gaels on Prince Edward Island from their arrival on these shores to the decline and eventual disappearance of the language from everyday Island life by the close of the last century.

Excerpts of field recordings made by Dr. John Shaw for the Institute of Island Studies in 1987, as well as earlier recordings made by others, will serve as primary vehicles in our explorations. Tiber will play these Gaelic recordings, which can be easily followed with the English translations he'll provide. This small but significant collection of recordings holds tremendous potential for the homegrown linguistic and cultural renewal of these local traditions at the communal level.

Tiber has himself conducted more than a decade of fieldwork among Scottish Gaels in Cape Breton and the Scottish Highlands and Western Isles. He enjoys a good cèilidh, sharing Gaelic songs and tunes on the bagpipes. He recently completed his PhD in Celtic and Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh and has now returned home to the Island, where he is now a Research Associate of the Institute of Island Studies. He looks forward to making connections with fellow Islanders interested in Scottish Gaelic in our province.

For more information, please contact Laurie Brinklow at (902) 894-2881 or brinklow@upei.ca.