The Gaelic College ( gd, Colaisde na Gàidhlig), formally The Royal Cape Breton Gaelic College ( gd, Colaisde Rìoghail na Gàidhlig), is a non-profit educational institution located in the community of St. Ann's, on Nova Scotia's

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

, along the

Cabot Trail The Cabot Trail is a scenic highway on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a loop around the northern tip of the island, passing along and through the Cape Breton Highlands and the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. It is named ...

. Founded in 1938, its focus has been on the perpetuation of Highland Scottish Gaelic culture.

History

''Colaisde na Gàidhlig'', The Gaelic College, was founded in 1938 by

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

minister the Reverend A.W.R. MacKenzie, opening in a one-room log building on land in St. Ann's. Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts

In September 2011, former Premier of Nova Scotia

Rodney MacDonald Rodney Joseph MacDonald (born January 2, 1972) is a Canadian politician, educator and musician who served as the 26th premier of Nova Scotia from 2006 to 2009 and as MLA for the riding of Inverness in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1999 ...

was named president of the college. In December 2013, to recognize the 75th anniversary of the college's founding, its name was changed to "The Royal Cape Breton Gaelic College" (''Colaisde Rìoghail na Gàidhlig'') after

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

, the reigning

Canadian monarch The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional Canadian federalism, federal structure and Westminster system, Westminster-style Parliamentar ...

, granted permission for use of the prefix "royal", as requested to the federal Cabinet by the college's board of directors. The college spelt the word ''Rioghail'' rather than ''Rìoghail''. However some, including Allan MacMaster, Member of the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia of the province of Nova Scotia ...

for

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histor ...

, objected to the name change as offensive to Nova Scotians descended from Highlanders who had had to leave Scotland because of the

Highland Clearances The Highland Clearances ( gd, Fuadaichean nan Gàidheal , the "eviction of the Gaels") were the evictions of a significant number of tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, mostly in two phases from 1750 to 1860. The first phase result ...

. In response Kirk McRae, the Acting Chair of the Gaelic College, said it was "just an honour of name, it doesn't take away what the goals are of the college ... that is to grow the Gaelic culture." The Chairman of the

Monarchist League of Canada The Monarchist League of Canada (french: Ligue monarchiste du Canada) is a Canadian nonprofit monarchist advocacy organization.

, Robert Finch, characterized the prefix as "a Canadian honour distinct from history's disputes between English and Scots." In March 2014, the board of governors decided to discontinue day-to-day use of the "royal" prefix. In 2021, the college announced the opening of a new Gaelic-medium school at its satellite campus, ''Beinn Mhabu'' (Mabou Hill College) – the first of its kind in North America. The satellite centre will also host a Gaelic-language internet radio station, as well as artists, and will provide courses accredited by

Cape Breton University , "Diligence Will Prevail" , mottoeng = Perseverance Will Triumph , established = 1951 as Xavier Junior College 1968 as NSEIT 1974 as College Of Cape Breton 1982 as University College of Cape Breton 2005 as Cape Breton ...

Mission

The institution's mission is:

"To promote, preserve and perpetuate through studies in all related areas: the culture, music, language, arts, crafts, customs and traditions of immigrants from the Highlands of Scotland."

The early years of the college's history were dedicated to the instruction of the Scottish Gaelic language, which, in the 1930s, was under significant threat of dying out. It had once been spoken by over 100,000 Nova Scotians until the advent of modern transport and communications in the early 20th century began to force English assimilation in the agrarian economies of Cape Breton Island and Nova Scotia. Today, the organization has a broader mandate to preserve the culture of the

Scottish Highlanders The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sc ...

, who settled in the area. Thousands of students from all over

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

and around the world attend both summer sessions and courses held throughout the year. The college is also home base for organizations like the Cape Breton Fiddlers' Association and the annual

Celtic Colours Celtic Colours International Festival is a Celtic music festival held annually in October in communities on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. First held in 1997, the festival has featured musicians from the Celtic world and attracted vi ...

International Festival.

Program

The college's curriculum covers the following: *

Gaelic language The Goidelic or Gaelic languages ( ga, teangacha Gaelacha; gd, cànanan Goidhealach; gv, çhengaghyn Gaelgagh) form one of the two groups of Insular Celtic languages, the other being the Brittonic languages. Goidelic languages historicall ...

Gaelic song Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, a ...

* Gaelic history * Gaelic storytelling * Gaelic drama * Highland bagpiping * Cape Breton fiddling * Cape Breton piano accompaniment *

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

accompaniment * Cape Breton step dance *

Scottish highland dance Highland dance or Highland dancing ( gd, dannsa Gàidhealach) is a style of competitive dancing developed in the Scottish Highlands in the 19th and 20th centuries, in the context of competitions at public events such as the Highland games. It ...

Bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'' or ''bodhráns'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or oth ...

Celtic harp The Celtic harp is a triangular frame harp traditional to the Celtic nations of northwest Europe. It is known as in Irish, in Scottish Gaelic, in Breton and in Welsh. In Ireland and Scotland, it was a wire-strung instrument requiring grea ...

Tin Whistle The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria ...

* Celtic weaving and textiles

References

External links

Colaisde na Gàidhlig/The Gaelic College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cape Breton Gaelic College, The Colleges in Nova Scotia Education in Victoria County, Nova Scotia Canadian Gaelic Buildings and structures in Victoria County, Nova Scotia Educational institutions established in 1938 1938 establishments in Nova Scotia

History

Mission

Program

See also

References

External links