Accompanying us to Stormont today will be Alasdair Morrison, who was a member of the Scottish Assembly from 1999-2007 and has been nominated to stand for the Western Isles on behalf of the Labour Party in the coming elections. He played a leading role in the Better Together Campaign when his region, the Gaelic speaking islands voted no to independence. Alasdair is a Presbyterian and a native Gaelic speaker who believes that the Gaelic Language Act in Scotland has brought many benefits and he strongly supports the work of both POBAL and Turas. ‘Clearly we live and work in a different context, but speaking Gaelic in Scotland betrays nothing of your religion, politics or class. The positive work being carried out by Linda Ervine in East Belfast is already bearing fruit and deserves our support. Because in Scotland we have the Gaelic Language Act and in Wales theres the Welsh Language Act, were no less British. A compelling case is being made by Pobal, the advocacy group, for an Irish Language Act in Northern Ireland and this was endorsed in the St Andrews Agreement back in 2006. When the legislation is eventually enacted, you will find that the British identity in Northern Ireland will not suffer one iota - in fact it will be enhanced as then Northern Ireland will be on the same level as the other British nations of Scotland and Wales.’
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 08:57:40 +0000
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