If you are in Antigonish during Gaelic Awareness Month in
May, then be sure to catch the Guest Lecture program at the Antigonish museum
where Peter and Carol Anne MacKenzie will be sharing their experience in
learning Gaelic here in Nova Scotia and beyond. I sat down with Peter earlier
this week. In our conversation Peter expressed the kind of enthusiasm for
Gaelic culture which I have heard echoed in everyone who is a part of it—an enthusiasm
that comes from a connection with a part of ourselves that is fundamental to
our history and identity, but which, for whatever reason, we have been unable
to fully engage with.
“I always had a feeling, somewhere deep in me, that there
was something about my family that I should know more about.”
Peter’s first opportunity for an in-depth exploration into
that feeling came with a community Gaelic class in Antigonish. “My wife was on
a cruise with her girlfriends at the time, and I saw an ad in town that asked
to ‘come out and learn to speak Gaelic.’ When Carol Anne got home I was so
excited to talk to her about it. My
exact words were: ‘I went to the community Gaelic class when you were gone, and
I can’t remember ever feeling so immediately positive in knowing that what that
guy in front of the class has is something that I want.’” Carol Anne signed up
for the classes after that, and the two have been involved ever since.
“Since we became involved with learning the Gaelic we have
never met such a group of people who are so approachable. Mairi Parr, Brian
MacDonald, Patrick Yancey, Jeffery (Gioridh) MacDonald, and Louis MacKinnon
have all gone out of their way to let us know where the opportunities are. They
told us about classes in Pictou and Mabou and hooked us up with the Gaelic
College where I spent 3 or 4 long weekends. It you show the interest, they
circle around you. It’s just a phone call away.
Through a combination of their hard work and dedication to
learning Gaelic, and the support of the Gaelic community Peter and Carol Anne
spent the month of August studying at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig on the Isle of Skye in
2015.
“That’s where my second eureka moment came,” says Peter.
“Sitting over the sound of Sleat, looking toward the Highlands, listening to Gaelic
songs playing somewhere in the background and being able to pick out enough of
the songs to get the gist—realizing that 3 generations ago my people…that was
their language.”
Since their return, both Peter and Carol Anne have continued
to study Gaelic, and they hope to be in a position to teach Gaelic classes.
“It is my fervent hope that 3 years from now Carol Anne and
I will be in a position to volunteer our time, at no cost, to teach people
Gaelic.”
In this blog I have mentioned how Gaelic has never been a
huge part of my life. My interest is primarily in the role that culture plays
in our development. The more that I speak to people like Peter, the more I
realize how little of the culture of my fore-fathers has influenced my life. I
am an Ahern, a MacLeod and a Campbell, but my only association with those names
comes from the Highland Games and St. Patrick’s Day. For the rest of the time,
I am…what? I guess I’m Brendan from Nova Scotia, but what does it mean to be an
“Ahern” or a “Campbell”?
As I spoke with Peter I got to see what it looks like when
we discover our deep roots and how sustaining that can be. As Peter said, “Family
is important, and I want to get to know all of it. The extended family of all
the Gaels.”
Updates on when and where to catch Peter and Carol Anne
MacKenzie’s lecture will be posted on our calendar and on Facebook.
Gach deagh dhùrachd / Every good wish!
Peter’s favorite Gaelic phrase is: Mo chù boidheach / My beautiful dog
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