New funding to celebrate Gaelic Archive collections

Sgaoileadh an Sgeòil / Spreading the story

We're delighted to announce that our Highland Archive Service has been awarded an Archives Revealed Consortium Grant, for a project led by our Skye and Lochalsh Archive Centre.

We're working in partnership with the Scottish Council on Archives, Tasglann nan Eilean, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the National Centre for Gaelic Language and Culture, to help safeguard and increase access to Scotland's rich Gaelic archival heritage.

Supporting Scotland's Gaelic heritage

The project supports the preservation, visibility and use of Gaelic by improving access to culturally significant records, and aligns with the ambitions of Scotland's National Languages Act.

The grant will fund two Gaelic Archive Project Officers, one based in Skye and the other in Lewis. Through coordinated cataloguing and digitisation, important collections across Skye, Lochalsh and the Western Isles will be preserved and made more accessible in both Gaelic and English.

This work will improve the discoverability of Gaelic archives and support exhibitions, workshops and community engagement activities across the Highlands and Islands, throughout Scotland and beyond.

Poetry notebooks and sketches

A collaborative approach

A major strength of the project is its collaborative approach. By sharing expertise, resources and local knowledge, the partners can achieve far more collectively than they could individually.

The development of shared cataloguing standards, consistent digitisation practices and joint community engagement activities will create a sustainable model for preserving and promoting Gaelic heritage.

Alison Mason, Highland Archivist at High Life Highland, said: "Archives help us understand the people, places and traditions that have shaped our communities. This funding will enable us to preserve and share significant Gaelic collections that have remained largely hidden until now. By working together across the Highlands and Islands, we can safeguard this important heritage, strengthen connections with Gaelic culture and identity, and help more people discover, explore and enjoy these collections for years to come."

Colin George Morrison, Heritage and Culture Team Leader at Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, said: "We are delighted to be participating in this project. It will not only make an important Gaelic literary archive publicly accessible, but it will also provide opportunities for people to engage with all the archives at the heart of the project. We hope that present and future generations will be inspired to respond creatively to the wealth of material the project will reveal."

Recordings and handwritten pages

Collections of outstanding cultural significance

The collections at the heart of this project are of outstanding cultural and historical significance, documenting more than a century of intellectual, creative and community life in Gaelic-speaking communities across the Highlands and Islands. Together, they provide a remarkable record of a living cultural tradition that continues to shape identity in the Hebrides, across Scotland, and throughout the Scottish diaspora.

Many of the collections are unique, offering rare insights into Gaelic language, literature and everyday life. The papers of Rev. Donald MacCallum, for example, bring together literary works, personal reflections and visual material, including glass plate negatives, creating an exceptional record of Gaelic cultural life from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Similarly, the poetry notebooks of Donald Alick MacDonald and members of the MacLauchlan family preserve largely unpublished voices and perspectives on themes such as war, migration and diaspora — subjects that are often underrepresented in traditional archival collections.

At Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the National Centre for Gaelic Language and Culture, and Tasglann nan Eilean, significant drama and literary archives highlight the development of modern Gaelic arts. These include the papers of acclaimed writer Norman Malcolm Macdonald and the records of pioneering theatre companies such as Fir Chlis and Tosg. Together, these collections document a period of cultural renewal and creative innovation, charting the emergence of contemporary Gaelic theatre and showcasing the resilience and vitality of Gaelic artistic expression in the late twentieth century.

These collections are not only invaluable historical resources but also a powerful testament to the enduring strength, creativity and cultural heritage of Gaelic communities.

About Archives Revealed

Archives Revealed is the only grant programme in the United Kingdom dedicated to cataloguing and unlocking archival collections. It's funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Pilgrim Trust, the Wolfson Foundation and The National Archives. Its goal is to ensure that significant archive collections, representing the lives and perspectives of people across the UK, are made accessible for public research and enjoyment.