Fàilte chridheil, a chàirdean… a warm welcome, friends. I am so glad you’re here!
A bit about the inspiration behind starting this newsletter, behind igniting this bit of need-fire wood at the hearth.
Fàilte chridheil, a chàirdean… a warm welcome, friends. I am so glad you’re here!
Today I’d like to share a bit more about the foundational inspiration behind starting this newsletter, behind igniting this bit of need-fire wood at the hearth…
As some of you may know, I started my Scottish Gaelic journey with a deep dive into university level studies from the very first day with not one word in the Gaelic. While it was a shock to the system, I immediately felt as if I had arrived home to an ancient hearth, one where both myself and my ancestors had held a seat for eons.
As my studies and connection with the Gaelic have deepened, this is a continued, bone deep sensation that has filled my heart with as much warm belonging as it has fervent inspiration. I often imagine this hearth like the central fire in the Hebridean black houses, one that we can circle around.
For me, this hearth is a place where everyone still has a seat no matter how much time has transpired since they last filled it, where we return to sit with a greater family of kin through the virtue of heart and shared love for all that the hearth keeps alive: language, tradition, song, folklore, and ancestral wisdom to name but a few.
While this may sound romantic, and is not something I might share in a university context…
This hearth lies at the root of my sincere and honest calling to learn the Gaelic and all that she holds.
Indeed, the Gaelic resides in a living language and in a living culture on both sides of the pond, thank all that is right and good. In addition to my time in university, I have had the honour of staying with my dear friend’s Gaelic speaking granddad, of staying in two traditional villages in the Isle of Lewis’s Gaelic-speaking west side, and staying with a wonderful Carraroe family in Ireland’s Galway coast for an immersion in Irish. I have truly been so lucky and blessed to learn amongst the people and living communities as they are today, and with absolutely prolific professors in university.
Although there is a lot that lives amongst us, there is also a lot of precious knowledge and history from the people themselves that lives in the archives of libraries and universities. These pieces of heritage were so often collected, preserved, and passed on through the work of immensely passionate people guided by a greater force than the intellect alone. Like the ancestors who have passed on heritage and language through time and space, I believe that the force that connected them all was made of heart, and likely a dram or two of fortitude of spirit.
This is the force that connects us too.
Something I often ask myself about the things that I am learning about or researching is: how can we keep this alive amongst us rather than simply tucked away in an archive? How can we work with all of the precious heritage and heritage pieces that we have in this age in a way that feels relevant to our lives, in a way that is brìoghmhor… meaningful, substantial, significant, rich and full of essence?
For me, this answer lies within. While I cherish the opportunity to learn the language and about the culture through the medium of the Gaelic itself in university and always seek to produce academic work with meaning, there is also a part of me that longs for an opportunity to connect through the transmission of the heart.
I also long to share what I have learned with others (and those who don’t have Gaelic!)– and most especially those who also descend from the generations who left the great Gaelic and Celtic lands through the diaspora because it has begun to heal that deep, unspeakable, lifelong ache for home, family, and belonging that I could not find in humanity or the land itself alone.
In the end, the Gaelic has given me a link, a way to hold and do my wee part.
And so, this space is born of a calling to tend, to share, and to re-circulate some of the knowledge and gifts I have been given on my journey with the Gaelic, and to do so with sensitivity, with heart.
It is a space for the exploration of language, tradition, song, folklore, and ancestral wisdom as inspiration for greater wholeness and beauty in our modern world.
It is for all of those who feel the call of the hearth, hear the song of the language, and wish to join (or join in a new way) the concentric circles of those gathered around her fire.
It is also for those who seek to remember, to enliven a through-line not only to us but to the generations to come.
If this speaks to you, please do keep reading. I would be honoured to be joined by you.
Perhaps along the way, you, too, will find inspiration that brings heart healing, kin connection, and rich meaning at this great hearth of the Gaelic.
Tha mi beò ann an dòchas… I live in hope.
A beautiful summer day on the Aran Islands, Ireland.
What can you expect?
I will be posting an article for all subscribers every other Sunday starting on February 2, 2025.
While each article will be inspired by my time at university, I will not be writing in an academic format. Nevertheless, I will always try to include links to sources, references, and further reading or listening for those who feel called to venture deeper.
Why subscribe?
When you subscribe, you get full access to the newsletter and publication archives.
Free subscribers will receive:
Two articles a month shared every other Sunday starting on February 2, 2025
Full access to publication archives
Paid subscribers will receive:
Two articles a month shared every other Sunday starting on February 2, 2025
Monthly bonus article: one list of 13 Scottish Gaelic words with pronunciation guide pertaining to the month's articles
Monthly bonus article: one monthly poetry article with 1-2 pieces of poetry, mine and/or traditional, pertaining to the month's articles
Additional periodic bonus articles + special discounts and/or offers
Full access to publication archives
Founding subscribers, dear Hearth Tenders, will receive:
Two articles a month shared every other Sunday starting on February 2, 2025
Monthly bonus article: one list of 13 Scottish Gaelic words with pronunciation guide pertaining to the month's articles
Monthly bonus article: one monthly poetry article with 1-2 pieces of poetry, mine and/or traditional, pertaining to the month's articles
A personalised thank you message
Additional periodic bonus articles + extra special discounts and/or offers
Full access to publication archives
I fundamentally believe that there should be access to things like language and culture readily available to each and every one of us, so there is a free tier to this newsletter. Nevertheless, if you are in the position to be part of the paid subscription, in addition to the bonuses you receive, it supports the growth and evolution of what I’m able to offer at this hearth-fire and the creation of its living community. All the same and in all the ways, I am immensely grateful to all. Mìle taing is beannachdan!
Blackhouse ruins seen though the mist on the Isle of Lewis
Well until next time, a chàirdean. In the meantime and beyond, I am wishing you warm days and moonlit nights ahead.
Thank you for being here. I hope you will continue to join us!
Le gaol, ceòl, / With love, music,
Sylvie
After growing up hearing a lot of gaelic in music and around my Grannie's home in Tiree, I am now trying to learn the language. I find it reassuring to see the way it is constructed - the way many scottish english terms and I often find things I relate to the words. That said, I am still a long way off from speaking it well or mastering it, but I am happy to be able to recognise more words and understand more than before. I agree, that I want to find ways to keep the culture of the language alive still - especially when I know it is in my family history and somewhere got lost.