A number of special events have already taken place to celebrate ‘Blein ny Gaelgey’ (the Year of the Manx Language), setting an exciting pace for the engagement in Manx language during the year ahead.

Looking back at the first month’s events, Tiffany Kerruish, coordinator of the year at Culture Vannin, commented: ‘So many enjoyable and memorable moments have happened already at events organised by a range of language stakeholders as well as the Manx community itself.

‘At the start of January, we saw several celebrations around the traditions of Old Manx Christmas. The “Arrane Son Mannin” (Song for Mann) competition gave us all the launch of four new original and beautifully composed Manx language songs.

‘There were public pop-up info sessions in Douglas, Port Erin and Ramsey. The Erin Arts centre played host to both a talk by Rob Teare about Red Beg Hom Ruy and an ongoing exhibition titled “Through Quirk’s Eyes” celebrating local artists.

‘The month was rounded off brilliantly with Oie’ll Vreeshey celebrations in Peel and the very exciting launch of Biskee Brisht’s new bi-lingual album “Treading Water/Brebbal Ushtey” in Laxey.’

The Year of the Manx Language aims to promote a positive image of Manx Gaelic, increase participation in the recognition and use of the language and inspire creativity, innovation and a lasting legacy.

‘We update this calendar constantly on behalf of everybody involved in the Year of Manx, making it the central hub,’ Tiffany added.

‘Anybody considering their own event will find useful information for event planning and hosting as well as advice on how to find potential funding support. Event details, once known, can be uploaded to the calendar for us to promote via our social media channels.’

Some forthcoming highlights for February include free content creation workshops in Ramsey and Peel with Ruth Keggin Gell and Doctor Cymraeg; a Manx language pub quiz’ at The Albert Hotel in Port St Mary; ‘Scran and Friends’ in concert at the Villa Marina; Caarjin Cooidjagh in concert at Peel Cathedral; ‘Say a Manx Phrase Week’ across the island; ‘International Mother Language Day’ celebration in Douglas; and a ‘Ceili under Mars’ At Peel Cathedral.

The upcoming events for February will look to provide opportunities for the Manx public to enjoy engaging with the language, perhaps for the first time, in new and accessible ways.

The best place to look out for the ever-growing list of events is by visiting the https://yearofmanx.im/ ‘What’s On’ calendar,

Breesha Maddrell, director at Culture Vannin, said: ‘It is really encouraging to see the growing number of community driven activities take shape.

‘Content creators on social media are sharing brilliant vlogs that demonstrate how much fun and creativity can be had with the Manx language while promoting it – even if you only have a few words of Manx.

‘From a Culture Vannin point of view we are very excited to be launching two of our Treisht grant projects later this month along with new Manx Language Taster Sessions called “Blass” for new learners.

‘There is plenty more excitement to come and we hope that the Manx public will continue to feel inspired.’