Letter To Gaelic Learners

Roddy travels to Wales this week. He is enchanted by the red kite. The hawk was obliterated in Scotland twenty years ago. The hawk has a rich history which is illustrated in this week's podcast.

Roddy explores the history of Stanley in Perthshire this week. The region's Gaelic roots are explored as he looks to the area's cotton mills. The thistle's importance also stemmed from that area, saving Scots from a vicious end from some barefooted, bloodthirsty Vikings!

An ancient feud between the MacSorlie family and Clan Chattan in the Glen Nevis area comes to a violent conclusion when an irate piper plays a war tune. You’ll find out what happened and how the cave, Uamh Shomhairle, played its part and got its name in this week’s podcast.

Continuing the theme of the Orkney islands, Roddy sails down the Òigh-sgeir in the hope of seeing some sharks, but what happens when he and his fellow voyagers get a bit more than they bargained for?

Roddy is at sea for this week's letter. On a recent trip to Orkney he discovered seasickness for the first time.

Could the origin of the ancient Kirkwall Ba' game lie with the battle between two earls? This was a vicious and bloody battle in which even the victor ultimately met his violent end!

The place-names of Orkney are examined this week, including the Glens of Kinnaird on Hoy. Roddy questions whether this name is of Highland origin, just as scholar Hugh Marwick had done years beforehand.

The similarities between Highland and Scandanavian place names are examined this week. During a recent trip to Orkney, Roddy discovered the majority of the island's place names derived from the old Norse language.

Find out what became of the prince in the final instalment of 'The Three Green Dogs' tale. Also, Roddy offers an explanation as to how the village of Luss on the banks of Loch Lomond got its name.

The fascinating tale of 'The Three Green Dogs' continues this week. In this part, the prince comes under the influence of somebody out to do him harm. Listen to this letter and find out what the wrongdoer does and how the mighty hounds react to this!

A magic tale of three green dogs, Knowledge, Swiftness and Heaviness are the topic of this week's letter. They are bought by a prince and they help him catch deer, but can they help their royal owner overcome battle with some mischievous giants?

Gaelic speakers in Scotland are confident that they have a Gaelic minister looking after the language's interests. Roddy looks to the nineteenth century, when there was a movement to protect Scottish and Irish Gaelic, in Canada!

Cho beò ri eun, cho marbh ri cloich. Ruairidh brings you a wealth of Gaelic similies in this week's letter.

Gaelic has many names for the fingers! Roddy starts off this week's letter with a rhyme his kids learnt at nursery and muses on how the fingers got their splendid names.

This week's letter looks at the Isle of Skye's famous mountains, The Cuillins. There are many theories as to where their name came from, ranging from two Gaelic heroes, a plant, to ancient Norse words from Viking invaders!