LL-L: "Celtic connections" LOWLANDS-L, 27.JUL.2000 (02) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 27.JUL.2000 (02) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: "Ian James Parsley" <parsley at highbury.fsnet.co.uk>
Subject: LL-L: "Celtic connections" LOWLANDS-L, 21.JUL.2000 (02) [E]

Sandy,

> It was two years ago, I think, that I mentioned that a friend
> of mine returned from a course in traditional music in Ireland,
> and told me that he had met someone from the extreme north east
> of Ireland who claimed that his native language was Pictish.
>
> Andy Eagle (I'm sure it was) replied that in fact Scottish Gaelic
> is spoken on a few islands off the north east coast of Ireland.
>
> Does this seem feasible, or has anyone heard of such a thing (Andy)?

It is true that the language of Rathlin Island, off Northern Ireland's
north
coast, was once Gaelic. It is, of course, impossible to define whether
it is
Scots or Irish Gaelic, as they both exist on a spectrum. However, it is
no
longer spoken there now, and nobody up there would speak "Pictish" or
"Gaelic" as their "native language". What the person probably meant as
"native language" was what I would call his "ancestral tongue", and I
suspect that by Pictish he meant a form of Gaelic (it couldn't have
been
anything else).

For the record, the Ulster-Scots name for Rathlin is "Racherie".

Best wishes,
---------------
Ian James Parsley

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