The Gaelic Connect project, headed by Prof. Bernie O’Rourke, is going full steam ahead! The project, funded by a University of Glasgow Joint Impact Acceleration Award, will create a web-based app to enable speakers and learners of Scottish Gaelic in Glasgow to find events and spaces to use Gaelic, and to develop community networks.

As an update, the project has reached the stage where the Gaelic Connect app goes into testing! The researchers have recruited a team of student volunteers from the University of Glasgow, all of whom are Gaelic speakers, to go about their usual Gaelic-medium activities while using the app.

This phase of the project is essential in gathering feedback from a key group of speakers, and will add to feedback given by academics on the project’s Advisory Committee earlier in the year. The students will tell us what they found easy or difficult when using the app, what features they used and didn’t use, and any changes they would like to see. In the coming weeks, we will be rolling out testing to an even wider range of Gaelic speakers, of all ages, professions, and levels of experience with Gaelic. This feedback will then be used in the next stage of the app’s development.

In addition, a key event in the Gaelic Connect calendar is the Gaelic Forum on 18th December 2024. This event, held in Glasgow City Chambers, brings together Gaelic language professionals from various organisations and from the Gaelic development sector.

At the event, members of the research and software development teams will be discussing the background of the Gaelic Connect project, and providing a demonstration to show the app’s features and update key stakeholders on the project’s progress. Come along to see the Gaelic Connect project in action!

Read more about the full project here. 

First published: 29 January 2025

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