The Mighty Cooish
Macmaster and Hay
SHE yn Chooish t’ayn reesht as ta shin çheet cooidjagh son feaillaghey yn Ghaelg as nyn eiraght Gaelgagh.
(The Cooish is here again and we are coming together to celebrate Manx and our Gaelic heritage.)
On Sunday, the week-long Cooish festival returns with yet another full and inviting programme of talks, classes and music.
‘It is a celebration of Manx language and culture,’ explained Dr Breesha Maddrell, of the Manx Heritage Foundation. ‘It’s so important as it’s an opportunity for speakers of all levels to come together, to use the language, enjoy the culture and celebrate one of the really unique ways to belong to this island.’
She explained: ‘This year’s festival has some pretty exciting names attached to it – Dr Emily McEwan-Fujita is coming all the way from Nova Scotia in Canada to talk about what is happening with the Scottish Gaelic language. She’ll be here all week visiting the Bunscoill Ghaelgagh Manx medium school, seeing the work of the Manx peripatetic team and the Manx language development officer for the Manx Heritage Foundation, Adrian Cain.
‘And the concert features two of my favourite musicians, Mary Macmaster and Donald Hay, who take Scottish music to a whole new level, mixing in sampled sounds.’
She concluded: ‘This year’s Cooish is fresh and modern, showing the importance of what is happening now and in the future as well as what has happened in the past. It is a way of enjoying what makes the Isle of Man the Isle of Man. Our independent spirit is reflected in a language which grows in strength each year and a vibrant culture which is great fun to be involved with and wonderful just to sit back and enjoy at concerts and festivals.’
Adrian added: ‘The number of people wanting to learn Manx continues to grow whilst there is a strong interest in the revival of the language from throughout the world. This success story seems to generate its own momentum leading to greater interest in the language and an increase in uptake and numbers going on to high levels of fluency: it’s a success story that we can all be proud of.’
Some of Adrian’s current students have started to learn Manx for a variety of reasons ranging from ‘it is part of the island’s cultural heritage’, ‘I want to encourage my children to be aware of the language and culture, and ‘Gaelic fluency boosts cultural self-confidence and sense of identity’ to ‘bilingualism is a great asset’, ‘to exercise my brain’ and ‘to make friends and a new social circle’.
For more information contact Adrian on 451098 or at greinneyder@mhf.org.im
2012 SCHEDULE:
• Sunday: Ned Maddrell Lecture by Candadian Dr Emily McEwan-Fujita at 2pm at St John’s Mill
• Monday: Manx Gaelic Youth Group at Cafe Laare, Douglas, at 7.30pm.
• Tuesday: Manx for Beginners at Patchwork Cafe, Port St Mary, at 7.30pm.
• Wednesday: Manx Gaelic Lecture ‘Boalley Hadrian’ with Peter Hayhurst at 7.30pm.
• Thursday: Food and Cooish at Greens in St John’s, from 7.30pm. Ticketed event. Call 451098 for details.
• Friday: Concert by Scottish musicians Mary Macmaster and Donald Hay at the Centenary Centre in Peel at 8pm. Tickets £10 or £7 on the door. See www.centenarycentre.com
• Saturday: Information and music in Regent Street, Douglas,1pm to 4pm. Followed by music at The Albert in Port St Mary, from 8pm.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Isle of Man
Saturday 18 May 2013
Today
Heavy rain
Temperature: 8 C to 11 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 8 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: East
