The 'roaring pub scene', bands and craic behind the 'prim' Gaelic Royal National Mòd

Thousands of people are due to gather in Oban this week for the ​Royal National Mòd where Gaelic language is “recharged” in the face of crisis

In the “roaring pub scene” and the West Coast craic, the “prim and traditional” image of the Royal National Mòd shows another face.

As thousands of people prepare to gather in Oban for the world’s biggest celebration of Gaelic culture, the plaid is pressed and the medals shone as the finest choirs, solo singers, pipers and poets get set to reveal their talents.

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But behind the scenes, another side to the event unfolds and it is in the long Fringe nights that a different kind of energy surrounding the language and its people can be found. This is where Gaelic is let loose - and where it is “recharged”.

Thousands of people are due to descend on Oban from Friday for the 2024 The Royal National MòdThousands of people are due to descend on Oban from Friday for the 2024 The Royal National Mòd
Thousands of people are due to descend on Oban from Friday for the 2024 The Royal National Mòd | geograph.org/The Tartan Lens

Ross Christie, a Gaelic language consultant and member of this year’s organising committee, said: “The Mòd really has two sides - the formal and the informal.

“The competitions are still in that well loved, fairly formal prim, Victorian Music hall style, with the big events such as the Gaelic solo singing, the choral singing, the piping and accordion competitions etc.

“You also then have the Mòd Fringe where you will then see the most renowned traditional acts taking part in a roaring pub scene throughout the week, as well as other fringe events across the arts that have just grown over the years.

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“So often, in Scotland, Gaelic is treated so very formally, so prim and proper and well-behaved. But behind the scenes at the Mòd you have everything that is so significant about the west-coast Gaelic culture - the bands, the singing, the pub and the west coast craic.

“People are turning up to these nights and they are all speaking Gaelic. You feel recharged.”

Revellers at the Gaelic ModRevellers at the Gaelic Mod
Revellers at the Gaelic Mod | Contributed

Mr Christie said the impact of Gaelic used freely and naturally in a social setting was “so significant” for speakers given the validation it gave them as speakers of a “real living language”.

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This year, the Mòd returns to its cradle in Oban, the place of its birth. It is an event that, despite the challenges facing Gaelic, the culture and language feels “alive and kicking” despite the crisis in speaker numbers, Mr Christie said.

The Mòd was set up by An Comunn Gàidhealach, the Highland Society made up of generally more well-to-do Gaelic speakers whose family had moved to places such as Glasgow in the 1800s during periods of mass migration to urban Scotland.

They started a one-day competition in 1892 and then it grew to two days and then three. Now we have a nine-day event that covers music, arts, sports, literature and more.

Ross ChristieRoss Christie
Ross Christie | Contributed

Mr Christie said the event was launched to “stem the decline and shake up the standings of the speakers and its culture” and was regarded as not traditional, but “slightly avant garde”.

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He said: “This wasn't universally appreciated at the time, Gaelic hero Sorley MacLean being one of the earliest big critics of the Mòd.

“Despite this, it's gone on to inspire generations after generations to keep on, or to get involved with Gaelic. We are now, in 2024, once again at a time of crisis for the future of Gaelic - perhaps this Mòd, with all of its catalytic power, is the time for us to look to the future and approach the way we support our culture in a new and different way.”

While “so much amazing” Gaelic work comes from the creative arts and the public sector, the language needed to “thrive” in social life, business and innovation, Mr Christie added.

A couple dance at the Gaelic ModA couple dance at the Gaelic Mod
A couple dance at the Gaelic Mod | Contributed

Latest Census figures show 69,710 people nationwide can speak Gaelic – up 21 per cent – with 2.5 per cent of the population now having some Gaelic skills, with the level doubling over the period.

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The surge in Gaelic Medium Education is behind the rise, but deep concerns exit that native speakers are in decline. For the first time in the Western Isles heartlands, Gaelic is now a minority language, with a drop of 2,600 speakers over the decade to 2022.

There are now 11,426 speakers in the islands – a fall from 52 per cent to 45 per cent over the period. Meanwhile, researchers from the University of Highlands and Islands predicted in 2020 that Scotland’s Gaelic-speaking communities would die out within ten years unless a radical new approach was found in the heartlands of the language.

Mr Christie said: “Gaelic really is significantly marginalised, but when you go to the Mòd you're invigorated by the sheer concentration of exposure to speakers. You feel re-energised - it is a true cultural catalyst, and it's just a case of keeping that motivation and energy in spite of the negativity of census figures and the bad news stories.

“At the Mòd, you truly feel that the culture is alive and kicking.”

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Those keeping it alive were only the young competitors but also the older speakers who give up their time for the Mòd and a “large part of their life” to “keep the language going”, he said.

Mr Christie said: “The Mòd has become almost like a symbolic last stand for the entire culture. There is no denying that Gaelic is in crisis, but the Mòd reallyis the finest example of why the culture is so significant and worth protecting.

“The Mòd is essentially the biggest celebration of Gaelic culture there is. And this culture has given so much to Scottish culture - things like the pipes, tartan, whisky, trad music - all of this is rooted in traditional Gaelic culture, but too often the products are celebrated and the language forgotten.”

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