Native Caithnessians who are native speakers of Gaelic?

[crayola]

Are there any native Caithnessians who are native speakers of Gaelic? I mean people who were born and bred in Caithness from Caithness stock and who learned Gaelic as infants because the language was spoken in their homes by their parents or grandparents?

I'm thinking of indigenous Caithness Gaelic speakers.

- Incomers don't count, wherever they're from.

- Learners don't count, however good they are.

I think I may remember some from Reay or just west of Reay when I was a child but I'm not sure. I recall there being some native speakers in Portskerra in Sutherland but language tends not to have too much respect for county boundaries.

I asked this deep in a thread last weekend but there were no responses and I've been wondering about it all week.

[weeboyagee]

Crayola - I think you know the answer - there are no indigenous Caithness Gaelic speakers. If there were any - I don't think that the political climate would have encouraged them (in their millions) to come forward and put their hand up high in the air ;)

Can I ask what you are asking for? Soon, we will be looking for folks who KNEW indigenous Caithness Gaelic speakers or knew of them. We are aware of a number of letters recently in the local press (in the past 18 months) from people who knew their ancestors were Caithnessians and were indigenous Gaelic speakers.

WBG :cool:

[crayola]

I asked because I want to know the answer! As I said....

I think I may remember some from Reay or just west of Reay when I was a child but I'm not sure. I recall there being some native speakers in Portskerra in Sutherland but language tends not to have too much respect for county boundaries.
If there were Gaelic speakers in or not far west of Reay in the 60s then there may still be some there today. :roll:

I've also heard rumours of pockets of native/indigenous Gaelic speakers in Wick but they are less substantial.

[Abewsed]

I dont think there are any left in Caithness. I knew of some of the old folk who could speak some of it when I was younger, but non that are left now. I think you might have to go to the west of Sutherland, to find anyone (local) who was brought up with it as their second language.

[weeboyagee]

The last native Gaelic speakers from Portskerra as far as I am aware - are now passed away unfortunately, I remember speaking with the last of them - and that person stated themselves that they were the last as far as they were aware - I'll ask one of the Convenors on the local organising committee for the Mod who's from Portskerra. Also, one of the singers in Melvich Choir's father, now passed away, was also a native Gaelic speaker of Portskerra. I am quite sure that there are, however, no Caithness born and bred (with Caithness Gaelic as recorded and held in the archives in the School of Scottish Studies) are surviving. Not that I can say with any authority.

There are still surviving native speakers in north west Sutherland - some of Willie Morrison, journalist for the P&J's family are native Gaelic speakers from the Durness area - I have been in his Aunt's house in Durness after a ceilidh there with three folk from Durness - and no English spoken in the house at all that evening.

I am not aware at all of any pockets of indigenous Caithness Gaelic speakers in WICK - but would love to think that they are there! :o Is it you just "want to know the answer" or have you got a reason for asking? Not that I need to know but thought that the info you come up with might be useful in the public domain since you are making the request in the public domain.

WBG :cool:

[crayola]

Are there no native speakers left in Bettyhill or Tongue or the surrounding area? In the 2001 census more than 20% of Melness claimed at least some ability in Gaelic. :confused

[cuddlepop]

Are there no native speakers left in Bettyhill or Tongue or the surrounding area? In the 2001 census more than 20% of Melness claimed at least some ability in Gaelic. :confused


My X had family originally from Skye who stayed in Bettyhill, the mother would have been a native speaker although not from Caithness her children were and spoke it .
Is that any good to you.:confused

Since 2001 one son of this family died and his two sisters moved away so maybe thats why you've now got no speakers.

[Hoida]

I know of someone in Portskerra who speaks gaelic and there are several in Bettyhill but don't think any are users of the org but I could check it out for you if that would help or ask if I can pass on their names.

[crayola]

Many thanks for your contributions, including those sent by PM.

I'm not looking for any names or to contact any native Gaelic speakers and I'm not looking to pass on any information to anyone, it's just my inquisitive nature and my passionate thirst for knowledge coming to the fore here. :)

[joxville]

My ex-wifes grandmother was a native speaker of Gaelic, though she was born and raised in Strathy. She and her 5 sisters spoke it, though the next generation weren't raised to use it as a second language. All 6 ladies have now passed on, the last dying last year at the age of 92.

[weeboyagee]

I'm not looking for any names or to contact any native Gaelic speakers and I'm not looking to pass on any information to anyone, it's just my inquisitive nature and my passionate thirst for knowledge coming to the fore here. :)
Eh? ...........

Given your previous empassioned and articulate contribution to Gaelic related threads this is just because you are inquisitive and just looking to know?

Am I the only one that's a wee bit at a loss to this thread now?

WBG :cool:

[spurtle]

Many thanks for your contributions, including those sent by PM.

I'm not looking for any names or to contact any native Gaelic speakers and I'm not looking to pass on any information to anyone, it's just my inquisitive nature and my passionate thirst for knowledge coming to the fore here. :)

There must have been a relatively high population of Gaelic speakers who came to the east coast during the herring boom. Many families would have stayed. The scale of the development of Pulteneytown and the other fishing villages springing up all the way down the east coast, bears witness to a huge population increase, and much of that increase would have been Gaelic speaking.
Coming down to our 20th /21stC era, does this count as "native" - does it matter anyway? Language is so important in expressing the culture of its users. In areas where it is still used, it should have all the support it can get.
What it does not need is being hijacked for political reasons in areas where it has not been used for many generations in any substantial way.

[crayola]

I would consider any Wick-born people who learned Gaelic in Wick from their Caithness-born parents as toddlers to be indigenous native speakers but some may disagree. Many of the people who came to Pulteneytown to work in the herring boom were indeed native Gaelic speakers.

WBG, I was speaking figuratively when I said I was 'looking for' Caithness Gaelic speakers. I've changed the wording of my orginal post.

[joxville]

My ex-wifes grandmother was a native speaker of Gaelic, though she was born and raised in Strathy. She and her 5 sisters spoke it, though the next generation weren't raised to use it as a second language. All 6 ladies have now passed on, the last dying last year at the age of 92.

Sorry, I was slightly wrong with my info., they were raised in Altiphurst, which is just a couple of miles along from Strathy. I've had a look on Google earth and the croft is still there, though it's now a ruin.

[roadbowler]

well, the mannie who lived at my croftie in the late 1800's was a native gaelic speaker, his son who later took on the croft to the north of me is known as the last native speaker of gaelic in the lybster area... According to the books anyways. He died in the early 1900's. My croft has a gaelic name which was anglicised afterwards on the records but, i've taken it upon mysel to change it back to the gaelic spelling because i believe it is important. So, there you have it lybster/latheron area there is likely to be few.

[crayola]

Thanks jox and roadbowler, I appreciate you taking the time to post.

[Steafan]

Hi..better late than never...but I spotted this post when I was looking for links to The Gaelic of Reay. My grandfather was from Reay and was born just before the First World War. He was a Mackay from Achvarasdal, and his wife, my Grandmother, was from Shebster. Neither of them spoke Gaelic when I was a child, but Reay Gaelic was still around in Reay according to the linguistic data from that time.

On the website of Tobar an Dualchais / Kist O' Riches, there is an interview with Henry Henderson from the 1950s or 60s. Henry Henderson was the Bard of Reay, a native speaker of the language. He speaks a little Gaelic in the interview, telling a story of a girl who says greets some important fellow, and says, "Cionnas a tha sibh?"..etc

[crayola]

Thank you so much Steafan. I loved listening to that.

C x

[canuck]

Crayola, is that you back from your exotic astral voyage, or did your find some kind of earth connecting link in the vast remoteness you now call home?

[Catharnach74]

The Gaelic language is originally from France then through the century's got diluted with Norse, old English and latin, Norse is more native to Caithness than Gaelic. The Gaelic language belongs in the Western Isles, West coast of Scotland and Ireland why should we speak it in Caithness when we have strong Viking heritage.