The Sabhal Mòr Lectures are a series of annual televised lectures held at the college
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig (; ) is a public higher education college situated in the Sleat peninsula in the south of the Isle of Skye, Scotland with an associate campus at Bowmore on the island of Islay. Sabhal Mòr is an independent Academic Part ...
on
Skye, Scotland. The lectures are held in English, but focus on topics related to the
Scottish Gaelic language, often with emphasis on related economic or cultural issues. The invited lecturers are sometimes very prominent personalities, and a number of the lectures have been seen as landmarks in the development of Scottish Gaelic policy. The lectures are sponsored and broadcast by
STV (formerly
Scottish Television and
Grampian Television). Notable speakers over the years have included
Mary Robinson,
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
,
Donald Dewar and
Jack McConnell.
List of Sabhal Mòr lecturers
#(1990)
James Hunter (Historian, Director of the
Scottish Crofters Union)
#(1991)
Gus Macdonald (Industrialist)
#(1992) John Goodlad, Secretary of Shetland Fisherman's Association
#(1993) Dr Una MacLean,
#(1994) Dr
John Purser, Writer, Composer and Musicologist
#(1995) Alistair Moffat (CEO of Scottish Television Enterprises)
#(1996)
Donnie Munro (SMO development officer and former
Runrig singer)
#(1997)
Mary Robinson (President of Ireland)
#(1998)
Calum MacDonald (Minister with responsibility for Gaelic affairs)
#(1999)
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
(
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...
)
#(2000)
Donald Dewar (
First Minister of Scotland)
#(2001)
Rhoda MacDonald (Head of Gaelic at Scottish Television)
#(2002)
Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin
#(2003)
#(2004)
Jack McConnell (
First Minister of Scotland )
#(2005)
Duncan Rice (Principal and Vice-Chancellor of
Aberdeen University)
#(2006)
#(2007)
Alex Salmond (
First Minister of Scotland)
#(2012)
Ken MacQuarrie
Significant lectures
A number of Sabhal Mòr Lectures have marked significant turning points in Scottish Gaelic language issues or caught the spirit of the day in striking ways which met with resonance in the Scottish Gaelic-speaking community.
Mary Robinson's lecture spoke of the possibility of creating ''an island space'' for the Hebrides and Ireland in which to celebrate what the two countries share. This led directly to the establishment of
Columba Initiative.
In his 1999 lecture, Gordon Brown famously declared: ''What a bland and uniform place this Britain of ours would be if Britishness meant we all spoke the same way, sang, danced and celebrated the same way.''
See also
*
Sàr Ghaidheal Fellowships
References
Roger Hutchinson, ''A Waxing Moon: The Modern Gaelic Revival'', Mainstream Publishing, Edinburgh, 2005. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabhal Mor Lectures
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig
Scottish Gaelic language
Television series by STV Studios
British lecture series
1990 establishments in Scotland
Recurring events established in 1990
Annual events in Scotland