A Gaelic Learning Centre for North Uist

Equal support, equal respect.

North Uist is often described as one of the last strongholds of Gaelic, but anyone living here knows how fragile that strength is. Daily Gaelic conversations are fewer, young people leave for study and work, and the community work that keeps the language visible is stretched thin. What the island lacks is a dedicated Gaelic Learning Centre — a place designed not just to teach, but to anchor the language in the heart of the community.

Why North Uist?

• Heritage at stake.  North Uist has been a cradle of Gaelic culture, song, and storytelling. A centre in the Gaelic Hearland here would protect that living heritage rather than letting it erode quietly.
  

• Geography matters.  Learners and locals shouldn’t always have to travel to the mainland or South Uist for structured opportunities. A local centre makes access real and regular.
  

• A natural hub.  With immersion courses, community groups, and visiting learners already in the area, the island is primed for a centre that ties these threads together.
  

What a centre could offer

• Structured learning.  Classes at all levels, from children to adult immersion, with continuity rather than short bursts.
  

• Community space, accommodation and business infrastructure.  A base for ceilidhs, workshops, song nights, and intergenerational projects.
  

• Digital reach.  Facilities for online broadcasting and teaching, linking the Hebrides to the world.
  

• Economic lift.  Jobs for local tutors, admin staff, and cultural workers — keeping skilled people on the island.

  
  

The role of established providers

National Gaelic organisations and established providers have an important role to play here. Their resources, networks, and professional expertise could help shape a centre that meets high standards of teaching and sustainability. But this must not come at the expense of local independence or by framing the new centre as “competition.” Instead, partnership is the way forward: the centre provides the space and community grounding, while established providers contribute curriculum design, accreditation routes, and teacher training.

Collaboration with independents

Independent Gaelic tutors and small businesses are already holding the line with little or no funding. A North Uist centre should not put them out of business — it should give them an income stream. By contracting local teachers, hosting workshops run by independents, and co-marketing their services, the centre could become a platform that sustains those micro-enterprises. This model would protect diversity, ensure money stays in the community, and prevent the damaging cycle where large funded projects crowd out smaller initiatives.

The question of fairness

Flagship Gaelic centres and projects elsewhere in Scotland have rightly received strong funding and political support. But fairness means ensuring rural island communities get the same chance. It cannot be acceptable that North Uist — an area still rich in Gaelic speakers — is left behind while resources are concentrated elsewhere.

Equal support, equal respect

A Gaelic Learning Centre in North Uist shouldn’t be seen as an optional extra. It should be recognised as an essential piece of the national Gaelic strategy, deserving the same funding and structural support as centres in Inverness, Glasgow, Skye or South Uist. Equal support signals equal respect — for the speakers, the culture, and the community doing the work every day.

A call to action

If politicians, agencies, and funders are serious about Gaelic survival, they must look beyond the big cities and flagship projects. North Uist deserves a dedicated Gaelic Learning Centre — one that is stable, collaborative, and designed to last. That means not only protecting existing initiatives but creating new income streams for the independent tutors and micro-businesses already keeping the language alive. Anything less risks hollowing out one of the language’s true heartlands.