Two from Sabhal Mòr Ostaig honoured at 2024 Mòd

Two people from Sabhal Mòr Ostaig received awards at the Royal National Mòd in Oban this week.

Prof. Meg Bateman, professor in Gaelic language and culture at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, was named this year’s Bard of An Comunn Gàidhealach, and second-year student Harry Josephine Giles was presented with the Gaelic Learner of the Year award.

Prof. Meg Bateman was born and raised in Edinburgh, before attending the University of Aberdeen to study Celtic Studies, during which she spent a year in South Uist immersed in the Gaelic language. She then went on to a PhD on Classical Gaelic religious verse. She has been teaching since then, at Telford College, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Aberdeen and Sabhal Mòr Ostaig.

She has published four collections of her own poetry, including Aotromachd/Lightness (1997), which won an award from the Scottish Arts Council and was on shortlisted for the Stakis Prize for Scottish Book of the Year.

She has also co-edited and translated five collections of historical Gaelic verse, religious poetry and poetry by women. Window to the West: Culture and Environment in the Scottish Gàidhealtachd was released in 2020, which asks if the Gaels have a unique view of the world.

Prof. Meg said: “It’s an honour to be chosen by An Comunn as their Bàrd, especially as I’m not a native speaker. It feels strange though for my private activity to become somehow corporate. Still, I suppose everyone has private thoughts and it’s part of poetry and song to give voice to them. I hope to do some good for Gaelic poetry in the coming year. It is wonderful that Gaelic exists at all, and that there are Gaelic speakers, both native and learned, who seek out their personal truths in that language. It is a beautiful language and tradition to work with, full of subtle music and earthiness.”

This year’s Gaelic Learner of the Year is Sabhal Mòr Ostaig student Harry Josephine Giles, a renowned author originally from Orkney and now based in Leith.

Harry Josephine completed the immersion course CertHE Gaelic and Communication last year and finished top of her class, which was a remarkable achievement considering she started learning Gaelic just over two years ago.

As well as excelling in her studies, she supported her peers, encouraging them to speak Gaelic on campus and setting an example of excellent scholarship for fellow students. She is now continuing her studies remotely with Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in her second year.

Harry Josephine said: “I feel so lucky to have learned Gaelic. Along with the language, I’ve made new friends, sung new songs and heard new stories. More than that, I have a broader perspective on the history, culture and people of the country – of my own country. I know full well that I only have a little Gaelic so fast, but with that I’m very grateful that I have so much more to learn! – and so also very grateful for the honour of this prize.”