Caley Thistle to make home game announcements in Gaelic
The move celebrates both the National Mod coming to Inverness this year and the wider movement of promoting the Gaelic language.
Alasdair Barnett, convenor of the National Mod 2020 and also a Caley Thistle fan, approached the club – which is managed by John Robertson – last year about it being involved in promoting the National Mod on its return to the town.
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Hide AdMr Barnett said: “I know several people at the club and spoke with them about ICTFC possibly hosting some fund raising events at the stadium. The club invited myself and some others from the Gaelic community in to a meeting and several projects around the Gaelic language have emerged from that. The first initiative to take place is the Gaelic announcements at home games."
The translations announcements will be done by pupils studying Gaelic at local schools. The first person to feature will be Natalie Christie, 13, from Culloden Academy.
"We were becoming ever more aware of the resurgence of the language in the area and therefore it was only right we look at it seriously." - Scot Gardiner, chief executive Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club
Scot Gardiner, the club’s chief executive, said: “With the National Mod coming to Inverness this year and the fact three or four of our younger players speak Gaelic, we started to have a natural discussion on how we could and should be looking at a greater Gaelic presence at the club.
“First Team player Roddy MacGregor went along to speak on our behalf at a Gaelic careers day at Culloden Academy and it went extremely well. “I met some of the parents and students who are taking part in this season’s Gaelic Tannoy announcers project and everyone seemed very excited.
“We hope this and some of the other initiatives we have discussed become a permanent feature at Caledonian Stadium. I believe it is a project everyone can be rightfully proud of.”