Gaelic Land and Lore (online with The Shieling Collective)

Gaelic Land and Lore 
Six evenings of Gaelic language and culture, online with The Shieling Collective

Gaelic is the indigenous language of the Scottish Highlands and Islands. The language opens up the land and culture in unique ways, and the Gaelic worldview is carried and passed on through song, story and the names in the natural environment. 

From descriptive plant names to waulking songs, ancient myth to turns of phrase, the Gaelic language is key to the native culture of the Highlands. Learn even a little of the language and the culture and landscape comes alive in new ways. 

Over six Thursday evenings this winter, six tutors from the Gaelic world present a distinct thread of Gaelic Land and Lore: the landscape and its plants, song, myth and story, the turning of the seasons, blessings, and everyday conversation. Every session teaches Gaelic words and phrases , as well as worldview and culture.

Who it's for
This course is open to complete beginners, and may be of interest to improvers and fluent Gaels too. It's open to Highlanders, Lowlanders, anyone curious about Gaelic language and heritage, and the Scottish diaspora wherever they may have ended up.

When and where

• Thursdays, 12 November to 17 December 2026

• 7pm to 8.30pm UK time (2pm Eastern, 11am Pacific)

• Online, on Zoom

• Recordings will be available throughout the duration of the course

The sessions
Hosted by Dougie Mackay 

NOV 12 - An Introduction to Gaelic: Isica NicMoire

NOV 19 - Gaelic Song & Oral Tradition: Christina Stewart

NOV 26 - Gaelic Cosmology and Carrying Tradition: Àdhamh Ó Broin

DEC 03 - Gaelic Myth & Story: Ruairidh MacIllEathain (Characters and Tales of the Fianna in the Scottish Gàidhealtachd)

DEC 10 - Exploring the Gaelic Landscape:Caoimhe Keohane

DEC 17 - Gaelic Midwinter: Fionnag NicChoinnich

Price
£80 standard. £60 concession. £100 Supporter.
Sliding scale for all six sessions. Pay what you can.

Note, this course is being run to help raise funds for a Highland based Land and Culture project, The Shieling Collective.
We are intentionally keeping prices accessible as a means of sharing culture and building community.

Places are limited

The Shieling Collective
The Shieling Collective is a community interest company looking after a 16-acre 'Shieling' site at Struy, near Beauly. When the Collective took it on, the project was close to ending. Now it hosts courses and gatherings, and people come to learn land skills and Highland culture there. All profits from Land and Lore go towards keeping that work going, maintaining the site and building capacity to offer more culture and land based work.

https://www.theshielingcollective.com/