Bid to create Gaelic centre

Campaigners in Inverness have launched a crowdfunding campaign in a bid to establish a home for Gaelic in the city.

Gaelic language and culture campaigners want to raise £50,000 towards the cost of creating a permanent home for Gaelic in the Highland capital.

The aim of the project is to create a communityowned Gaelic Cultural Centre – Cul tar lann Inbhir Nis.

The project was officially launched in Inverness at the cathedral yesterday morning.

The new space is envisioned as being a place “where everyone with an interest in the language and culture, either from the local community or from further afield, can come together to learn, to meet with friends, to take part in a wide range of activities, or simply to use and hear Gaelic within a relaxed and welcoming social environment”.

Maggie Mulholland, Cul tar lann Inbhir Nis board chairwoman, said: “Our aim via this crowdfunding campaign is to raise £50,000 as a very significant step towards achieving our overall target of £500,000.

“There is a higher proportion of Gaelic speakers in Inverness than any other city in the world and we have hundreds of young people in our community who have benefited from Gaelic medium education.

“We want to celebrate this by creating a place where people of all ages can use and experience Gaelic culture in a natural day-to-day environment.

“People interested in what we are aiming to achieve can find out more atwww. cul tar lann. scot and from there donate to our campaign in any way that they can.”

Cul tar lann Inbhir Nis has been supported by the principal public body in Scotland responsible for promoting Gaelic, Bòrd na Gàidhlig, to help establish and develop the project to this crucial point.

Shona MacLennan, cean nard of Bòrd na Gàidhlig, said: “We have been delighted to support Cul tar lann Inbhir Nis and in this way contribute to the National Gaelic Plan commitment to deliver a programme of support to enable urban Gaelic communities to thrive.”

The Cul tar lann Inbhir Nis crowdfunding campaign will run for eight weeks to the end of June.

CAMPAIGN: Some of the supporters of the Cultarlann Inbhir Nis project for Inverness.