The Gaelic Society of Inverness has been active for close to 150 years. Having survived some difficult periods, it has undergone a notable revival in recent years, with a current membership roll of about 500: whilst the majority of members are in the north of Scotland, it has members all over the world. Since it began, the Society has been active in different ways, including: Campaigning in the 18
70s for a Chair of Celtic at the University of Edinburgh — the first such chair in Scotland; Proposing the appointment of a commission to investigate conditions in the crofting districts of the Highlands and Islands, leading eventually in the Crofter’s Act of 1886, the cornerstone of the modern crofting system; Close involvement in the first Gaelic question in the 1881 Census and the Education Act of 1918 which contained a dedicated ‘Gaelic Clause’; and, more recently, supporting the establishment of a Gaelic Language Board. Central to the Society’s work is a series of between eight and ten meetings, held each winter in Inverness, at which invited speakers present papers to the Society. Every two years a selection of these papers is published in book form as the Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness. So far 69 Volumes have been published and the Transactions now form an invaluable source of information regarding Gaelic, Highland history and related subjects. Members of the Society receive the Transactions free of charge. An account of the Society’s activities is contained in the centenary “History of the Gaelic Society 1871–1971” written by Mairi A. Macdonald and ‘A Short History of the Gaelic Society’ written by D J MacLeod, both of which can be accessed on the Society’s website: www.gsi.org.uk/archive. The Society has, since 1926, held an annual Culloden Anniversary Service each April on the Saturday nearest to the actual date of the battle. This is held at the Cairn and all those who wish to remember the fallen at Culloden are welcome to attend the Service, which is conducted in Gaelic.
