She Cooish vie v’ayn mleeaney – A great Cooish this year

The Cooish, I can say with some certainty, was a great success this year and I would like to thank everyone for their support throughout the week. We got off to a fantastic start with an information and fun day at the Villa Marina Arcade. King Chiaullee as ever were fantastic but it did us all good to hear the children from the Bunscoill performing in the afternoon. Performances like this remind us of why we are doing all this: a big gura mie eu to children, staff and parents for all  their support.

The following day witnessed the Ned Maddrell Lecture by Chris Moseley of UNESCO. Chris had a great time on the Island and I think was genuinely amazed by the progress that the language has made here.

We had a series of events during the week and an excellent turnout at Greens for some food and Manx on the Thursday. As ever the Cooish concert was a fantastic advert for all the work we do in promoting our Gaelic identity, traditions, language and music. The Reeling Stones did the Island proud whilst Samling introduced us to a whole new style of music.

The final Saturday was of particular interest to me as it involved a training day for teachers and potential teachers of Manx. Thanks to Elwyn Hughes from Bangor we all went away with much to think about concerning the ways in which we teach Manx Gaelic.

Given loads of press coverage and the start to two new radio programmes in Manx on Manx Radio the Cooish continues to play an important part in the lives of Manx speakers and learners: long may it continue to do so.

Finally, a big gura mie eu must go out to our various supporters this year. The festival wouldn’t be possible without the Financial support of the Manx Heritage Foundation but this year, Long & Humphrey, Cains and Manx Radio have also ensured the festival’s success.

Published: Thu, 01 Jan 1970