26/02/2026
Glasgow Cathedral will echo to the sound of Gaelic psalms this Sunday in a special service celebrating the importance of the language to the history of Scotland's largest city as it marks its 850th anniversary.
The Gathering of the Clans (Cruinneachadh Clann Nan Gaidheil) service will be conducted entirely in Gaelic, but with a simultaneous English translation for non-speakers, and will include a contribution from the Rt Rev Rosie Frew, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, who will pronounce the benediction.
She joins native Gaelic speakers and learners from the city and beyond, among them Mod Gold Medal winning musicians and local Gaelic choirs, for the afternoon event.
Taking place on the final day of National Gaelic Week (Seachdain na Gaidhlig) the Gathering of the Clans forms part of the Glasgow 850 celebrations marking 850 years since Bishop Jocelin received the charter designating Glasgow as a Cathedral Town.
Also attending will be City of Glasgow Deputy Lord Provost Bailie Christy Mearns, office bearers from the various Hebridean Island Associations and representatives from the many trades, professions and roles that Glasgow's Gaelic community has served over the years.
Lord Minginish, chair of the Church of Scotland's Gaelic Committee, which is organising the service as part of Seachdain na Gaidhlig, is inviting the city's Gaels and all interested to attend and celebrate the involvement of the Gaels and the Gaelic language in the birth, growth and current life of the city of Glasgow and its part in the proclamation of the Gospel.
"This service is significant in a number of ways," he said.
"It commemorates the 850th anniversary of the founding of the City of Glasgow, home to thousands of Gaels over the years.
"The Moderator of the General Assembly, the Right Rev Rosie Frew, will be in attendance, so it's an opportunity for her to see something of Gaelic worship and for Glasgow's Gaelic community to meet and interact with her.
"And, thirdly, it's an attempt to kickstart the revival of Gaelic worship in the city, where it was once so significant and is now, if not extinct, certainly moribund.
"In that regard, the service will also reference an inter-denominational initiative being undertaken by two young people, Viktor Kardell and Anna Johnson, called Gabh an Leabhar, which holds its first meeting at An Lochran, the city's Gaelic cultural centre, at 7pm on Friday 10 March. It invites young people with an interest in Gaelic or faith or both to come together informally around the Bible.
"With God's blessing who knows what their initiative might lead to between now and Glasgow's nonacentennial anniversary?"
The Gathering of The Clans offers a rare opportunity to hear the Combined Gaelic Choirs of Glasgow, who will sing Joseph Mainzer's beautiful arrangement of Psalm 65 and the well-known Athchuinge (Invocation) under the baton of conductor and Mod Gold Medallist Kirsteen Grant.
Soloist Joan Morrison, winner of the Traditional Gold at the Royal National Mod in 2013, will sing the hymn "Tha'n gradh seo cho laidir" and precentor and journalist Murdo Angus MacLeod will lead the singing of Psalm 137 in the traditional lining out style.
The service will be led by the Rev Domhnall Micheal MacInnes, himself a double Mod Gold Medallist.
There will be an opportunity after the service to share refreshments and socialise in the magnificent setting of the cathedral.
The service begins at 3pm this Sunday, 1 March 2026.
