SPEECH BY FIRST MINISTER,
RT HON JACK McCONNELL MSP
AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE CENTENARY
MOD
OBAN,10 OCTOBER 2003
President, Convenor, Members of An Comunn, Ladies
and Gentlemen,
May I thank John MacIver for his kind words of
welcome and introduction and may I thank and commend the
Sponsors for their support for this Hundredth
Mod.
I am delighted to be here this evening, along
with the Minister for Gaelic. We are here for three
reasons.
First, to celebrate and affirm the place of Gaelic
in Scotland . Secondly, to congratulate you on the occasion of 100
th Royal National Mod. And, thirdly to publicly announce the launch of our
Gaelic Bill for consultation.
To paraphrase the late Donald Dewar - bithidh Achd
Gaidhlig ann. I like that.
Gaelic - A Language ofScotland
There should be no doubt about the status of Gaelic
as a language of Scotland . It is a unique and valuable part of our
culture and heritage.
Sorley MacLean said, 'if Gaelic dies,
Scotland will lose something of inexpressible worth, and the
Gaels will lose almost everything'.
I agree, and tonight I want to emphasise my support
for a thriving Gaelic language contributing to the economy,
culture and communities of Scotland - and for the place of Gaelic in our one Scotland with many cultures.
In Scotland there are strong and clear links between our
geography and people and Gaelic. Many of our family
names are of Gaelic origin and names of our towns and
rivers, hills and lochs carry the names given to them by
generations of Gaelic speakers.
However, Gaelic is about more than our past and our
place names. Gaelic is not only a living language,
it is the gateway to enter into a culture both ancient and
modern - a culture with a unique set of values and beliefs
celebrated through oral traditions, through music, song,
dance, poetry and literature.
The annual Mod embodies all these aspects of
Gaelic and contributes significantly to the status and
strength of the language.
Iain Crichton Smith said, 'he who loses his language
loses his world'. Now it falls to my generation of
politicians to ensure that Gaelic has a strong future and I
take my responsibilities as
Scotland 's First Minister to support Gaelic very seriously
indeed. We need to ensure not only that we retain
the close association between the Gaelic language and both
the history and geography of
Scotland , but also that Gaelic thrives. Gaelic must
not only be seen to have a past - it must be seen to have a
future too.
Gaelic does more than cling to the fringes of the
north-western coasts of Scotland . Gaelic speakers have helped shape many
aspects of Scottish life and society.
The Gaelic community has also demonstrated
notable achievements recently in broadcasting, technology,
education and the arts.
Gaelic - Official Recognition
There should be no doubt about the recognition of
Gaelic in Scotland .
In our devolved Scottish Government we have a
Minister with responsibility for Gaelic. Gaelic is
supported by Executive funding programmes. The Scottish
Parliament makes provision for Gaelic in its oral and
written business.
We support a successful and expanding network of
Gaelic schools. The Minister for Education and
Young People has announced recently his intention to
strengthen Gaelic Medium Education provision.
The Government supports a wide range of
Gaelic development groups and contributes to Gaelic
broadcasting.
Also, as you know, within the last year we have
established Bòrd na Gàidhlig to ensure a strategic approach
to Gaelic development in Scotland . These measures confer significant status
and recognition on the Gaelic language and culture.
And our challenge is to secure the future
of Gaelic as a language of
Scotland .
Gaelic is not a barrier to progress in 21
st century. We need to see a confident
bi-lingual community as part of the modern
Scotland . We want to see a growing Gaelic education
sector and an expanding Gaelic economy.
This will help create the sustainable future
for Gaelic in
Scotland that I want to see.
The hundredth Mod
And Gaelic culture enriches all our lives, so I
am proud to be with you on the occasion of this
hundredth Mod.
This is a great occasion and the Mod has come a long
way from that first tentative gathering here in Oban in
1892. It is now
Scotland 's second biggest cultural festival. It has
international appeal, it brings economic benefits and it is
part of the modern
Scotland of many cultures.
I was pleased to learn that this hundredth Mod has
competitors from Australia , Canada , Germany , America and from the Asian community in Scotland . I believe you also have visitors from
England , Wales and Ireland .
I was especially pleased to learn how many young
people are participating in the Mod next week. As
we all know this is the key to the future of Gaelic.
Indeed, the 2001 census figures show a rise in the number
of Gaelic speaking, primary school pupils.
This is both encouraging and
challenging.
The Gaelic Language Bill
There are references to Gaelic in a number of Acts of
Parliament throughout the last century. This has
continued into the present century with Gaelic provisions
in legislation in the Scottish Parliament and the UK
Parliament.
However, many episodes in Scottish history have been
less supportive.
The Report of the MacPherson Taskforce, appointed by
the Executive, summarised the history of the Gaelic
language by saying it has been, 'a chronicle of dereliction, official negligence,
malicious intent, deliberate denial and . . .
benign neglect'.
I expect there are some in this hall or listening
throughout Scotland who still have painful memories associated with their
use of Gaelic. There will be memories of being
disciplined in school for using the language of home and
community and of being told that Gaelic would hold them
back in life.
It was Neil Gunn who said that Highlanders were,
'made to despise their language and traditions'.
Such examples should remain in the past and have no place
in
Scotland today.
As far back as 1616 an Education Act of the Scottish
Parliament ruled that Gaelic should be 'abolisheit and
removeit'. Well I am pleased to say tonight that
the Gaelic Bill we have launched will lead to Gaelic being
'promoted and expanded'.
Let me be absolutely clear, our Government is firmly
committed to legislate to secure the status of Gaelic
in Scotland .
As First Minister, I made that promise in Stornoway
on 31 March this year. This commitment was repeated
in our Partnership Agreement and in my statement to
Parliament of our legislative intentions.
We made a commitment and we have delivered on
that commitment today.
A Gaelic Act has been the focus of petitions,
correspondence, press interest, parliamentary activity and
ministerial working groups. This has helped shape
the draft Bill we are launching today.
This Bill is a milestone in the history of Gaelic
in Scotland . It will greatly improve the position of
Gaelic in
Scotland and will remove any doubts about the legal or
official status of Gaelic as a language of Scotland .
This Bill will promote the use of Gaelic and enhance
the profile of the language. It will facilitate
increased public usage of Gaelic and extend the rights and
opportunities of Gaelic speakers to use Gaelic in a wide
range of contexts.
The Bill will establish a framework which will
require that Bord na Gaidhlig is given a key role in Gaelic
language planning. The establishment of Bord na
Gaidhlig is a very important development for the future of
Gaelic in
Scotland . The Bord represents the Gaelic community,
yet at the same time it is part of the extended framework
of devolved government in
Scotland .
Public bodies will be asked to consider the need
for Gaelic language plans in relation to their
services, and the Bord will produce a national plan for
Gaelic and guidance on language planning for the
approval of Ministers.
We are proposing that these provisions cover all
of Scotland .
This does not mean we will force all school children
to learn Gaelic. Nor will it require Gaelic road
signs in every part of the country with no Gaelic
tradition.
Our aim is to see the use of Gaelic advance
and to take all of
Scotland with us in that journey.
We have launched the Bill for consultation
today. The consultation period will be for three
months, and I encourage you all to read, think, discuss and
take part in the consultation process.
Concluding Comments