Gaelic place-names booklet launched in Skye

Gaelic in the Landscape: Place-names of Strath, Isle of Skye, is bilingual and was co-ordinated by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba (AÀA), the national advisory partnership for Gaelic place-names in Scotland.

The project has received funding from the national Gaelic language and culture research network Soillse.

The booklet celebrates the specific cultural and natural heritage of some of Strath’s lesser-known names.

Place-name researchers Ruairidh Graham and Edit Wenelius, with training and support from Dr Jacob King and Eilidh Scammell of AÀA, collected information and associated stories on more than 100 place-names from members of the community.

Many have never appeared in print before.

Robyn Ireland of SNH, the project co-ordinator said: “In understanding the meaning behind place-names we have an opportunity to interpret the landscape differently.

“These place-names generally offer a uniquely Scottish, and Highland, perspective of the link between the land and the communities who lived there for generations. We are thrilled to launch this new bilingual publication which captures the local place-name knowledge passed down through generations.”

Eilidh Scammell of AÀA said: “The preservation of Scotland’s Gaelic place-names is very much at the heart of AÀA and we are delighted to have been a part of this project, which we hope will secure their future in Skye’s landscape, and help future generations understand the connections between the language and the land.”