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Wilson McLeod

@wilsonmcleod.bsky.social
1.5K followers 956 following 274 posts

Emeritus Professor of Gaelic, University of Edinburgh Dùn Èideann

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Reposted by Wilson McLeod
The National @scotnational.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
How did Glasgow become a Gaelic-speaking success story? 🤔 A new film traces the people, stories and fight behind 40 years of Gaelic education in the city 👇
thenational.scot
Inside the 40-year fight that transformed Gaelic education in Glasgow
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Wilson McLeod @wilsonmcleod.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
celticstudents.blogspot.com/2026/10/aisl...
celticstudents.blogspot.com
Aislinge Meic Mathain: The Vision of Mathieson, or, a Tale of Manufactured Crisis, Industrial Action, and Celtic Studies
In the Middle Irish Aislinge Meic Con Glinne (The Vision of Mac Con Glinne), the titular protagonist, a scholar and poet, abandons his book...
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Wilson McLeod @wilsonmcleod.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
A satirical poem by Tyler Baxter on Sir Peter Mathieson (soon to be but not soon enough former) Principal of the University of Edinburgh
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Wilson McLeod @wilsonmcleod.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
"One of the great Scottish universities is sticking a knife through . . . Celtic, Scottish Ethnology, and Scottish literature & Scottish history.These are studies which allow Scotland to understand itself.A nation which doesn’t understand itself isn’t a nation" www.heraldscotland.com/news/educati...
heraldscotland.com
The Scottish Endarkenment has dawned in this dumbed-down nation
The mass closure of university courses is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the unravelling of Scottish culture today, says Neil Mackay
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Reposted by Wilson McLeod
Judah Grunstein @judah-grunstein.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Simply put, across the US and UK, university administrators, their management consultants and their funders no longer consider the arts and humanities worthy of being studied, taught and transmitted. Their vision of human society is anti-humanist. No wonder the kids are at the barricades.
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Wilson McLeod @wilsonmcleod.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Very unfortunate that this shameless wrecking ball will remain in post for another 16 months
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Reposted by Wilson McLeod
Caoimhín Ó Donnaíle @caoimhinsmo.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Na goireasan Gàidhlig (agus Gaeilge agus Sengoídelc) a bha roimhe aig www3.smo.uhi.ac.uk, tha iad uile a-nis aig teanga.info. Faic: www.teanga.info www.teanga.info/toisich #Gàidhlig #Gaeilge #Sengoídelc
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Reposted by Wilson McLeod
Josh Pizzuto-Pomaco @joshpizpom.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Hundreds of staff and students gathered outside Holyrood on Thursday afternoon to protest cuts and closures at universities across Scotland 🎓 Edinburgh University principal Peter Mathieson was a chief target of UCU general secretary Dr Jo Grady 🎤 @heraldscotland.bsky.social
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Reposted by Wilson McLeod
UCU Edinburgh @ucuedinburgh.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Day 2 of the UCU workers' strike at the University of Edinburgh. The 1,800 jobs UCU estimates will be cut is unprecedented in Scottish higher education. It is happening in the wealthiest Scottish university, and the third richest in the UK, currently sitting with over £3billion reserves.
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Reposted by Wilson McLeod
UCU Edinburgh @ucuedinburgh.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Day 1 of our strike at the University of Edinburgh while senior management shrugs and says 'crisis, what crisis?' at the complaints about the inevitable falling educational standards and job losses.
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Reposted by Wilson McLeod
Pavel Iosad @anghyflawn.net · 27/09/2026
This post sent from an institution that has recently made some decisions based purely on student numbers that will have tiny first-order practical effects but have triggered reputational shockwaves literally all around the world. That’s why we’re on strike.
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Reposted by Wilson McLeod
Josh Pizzuto-Pomaco @joshpizpom.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
USPUN: My column for @heraldpols.bsky.social today... The Education and Gaelic Committee must call Peter Mathieson to testify amid programme closures at Edinburgh Uni. @heraldscotland.bsky.social heraldscotland.com/news/26582159.msps-must-call-edinburgh-university-chiefs-testify-programme-cuts/
heraldscotland.com
Why MSPs must call Edinburgh University chiefs to testify about programme cuts
Academics, students and alumni across the UK have reacted with horror to the news that 90 programmes will no longer be taught in the Athens of the…
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Reposted by Wilson McLeod
Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · 25/09/2026
CFP: Religious Texts in the Celtic Languages, 1500–1900 24–25 May 2027 @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social Abstracts invited on any linguistic, philological, literary, historical or theological topic relating to religious prose & verse in the Celtic languages, from 1500 to 1900 llc.ed.ac.uk/celtic-scott...
llc.ed.ac.uk
Religious Texts in the Celtic Languages, 1500–1900 | Celtic & Scottish Studies | Literatures Languages and Culture
A two-day conference exploring religious prose and verse from between 1500 and 1900, written in Celtic languages including Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Manx, Welsh, Breton and Cornish. Call for papers curr...
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Reposted by Wilson McLeod
UCU Edinburgh @ucuedinburgh.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Amazing turn out from students and staff at the University of Edinburgh, in protest at senior management's greed and manufactured cuts. This is what solidarity looks like - as our campaign of industrial action begins this coming week in protest at the cuts. www.ucuedinburgh.org.uk/blog/student...
ucuedinburgh.org.uk
900+ at inaugural Student & Staff Assembly! — UCU Edinburgh
More than 900 students and staff gathered for the inaugural Student-Staff Assembly on Thursday 24 September.
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Reposted by Wilson McLeod
The Past and other Places @pastandotherplaces.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Craft Scotland director's petition against @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social plans to close Jewellery and Silversmithing, Textiles and Performance Costume UG ECA degrees to new admissions in 2027 (to be taught out over the next four years). #Edinburgh #craft #art #students #design 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 c.org/JJQNyV8R6m
c.org
Sign the Petition
Save the Craft and Design Courses at Edinburgh College of Art
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Wilson McLeod @wilsonmcleod.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The Scottish Parliament's Education and Gaelic Committee makes no mention of Gaelic in its new Strategic Plan. This when the education provisions of the Scottish Languages Act 2025 are coming into effect & Gaelic provision at Edinburgh University is under a cloud www.parliament.scot/-/media/file...
parliament.scot
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Old Edinburgh Club @oldedinburghclub.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Details of a new book Gaelic in Edinburgh Through the Centuries, challenging the common misconception that Gaelic was ‘never spoken here’, is now available to order. With contributions by Donna MacIver, a teacher at James Gillespie's High School, an OEC Jean Guild Grant awardee. buff.ly/FNTfU0b
buff.ly
New book – Gaelic in Edinburgh Through the Centuries
[Tionndadh Gàidhlig] Our new bilingual book A’ Ghàidhlig ann an Dùn Èideann Tro na Linntean / Gaelic in Edinburgh Through the Centuries is now available. Challenging the common misconception that G…
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Reposted by Wilson McLeod
Mike Small @bellacaledonia.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
An Act of Monumental Cultural and Educational Vandalism bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/09/21/a...
bellacaledonia.org.uk
An Act of Monumental Cultural and Educational Vandalism
“There is a loss of any vestiges that the University of Edinburgh conceives of itself as primarily a Scottish institution.” – Alec Finlay. You could argue that this process began …
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Reposted by Wilson McLeod
The National @scotnational.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
EXCLUSIVE: The University of Edinburgh has been slammed after plans revealed cuts to seven programmes of study in the Celtic and Scottish Studies department, in a move which could lead to 'cultural and linguistic erasure'
thenational.scot
University of Edinburgh axe to Scots course 'only upholds English language dominance'
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David Veevers @davidveevers.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Can we make a comparison to deindustrailisation now? The slashing of wages, the redundancies, the subordination of learning to profit? The intellectual impoverishment of communities and generations, not to mention the literal impoverishment through unemployment and shrinking of local economies?
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Digital Archive of Scottish Gaelic DASG @dasg-glaschu.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
' 'Uachdaran na h-Èireann' air tadhal air Sabhal Mòr Ostaig': www.bbc.co.uk/naidheachdan...
bbc.co.uk
Uachtarán na hÉireann air tadhal air Sabhal Mòr Ostaig
Thuirt Uachtarán na hÉireann gu bheil i air a brosnachadh leis mar a tha ùidh à' fàs san dà chuid Gàidhlig agus Gaeilge is i a' toirt seachad òraid aig Sabhal Mòr Ostaig Disathairne.
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Wilson McLeod @wilsonmcleod.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Tha an suidheachadh toinnte ach gun a bhith buileach èiginneach (fhathast). Cùm sùil gheur amharasach orra
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Wilson McLeod @wilsonmcleod.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
"Adventurous" indeed, though other adjectives are available
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Reposted by Wilson McLeod
Kate Louise Mathis is on strike @drmaudbailey.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Exhibit B: 'our most adventurous reimagination of our curriculum for a generation' llc.ed.ac.uk/understandin...
llc.ed.ac.uk
Understanding our programme changes | Literatures, Languages & Cultures | Literatures Languages and Culture
In 2027, we are embarking on our most adventurous reimagination of our curriculum for a generation.
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Reposted by Wilson McLeod
Josh Pizzuto-Pomaco @joshpizpom.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Why @ucu.org.uk is taking an unprecedented five weeks of strike action in the wake of 90 programme closures at Edinburgh University. @heraldscotland.bsky.social www.heraldscotland.com/news/2656382...
heraldscotland.com
'Our last option': Why UCU is escalating jobs fight amid cuts at leading university
There is a war of attrition between the University and College Union (UCU) and senior managers at the ancient institution.
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Reposted by Wilson McLeod
21 Group @21group.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Edinburgh University adds another entry to the imaginative lexicon universities use to say, “We’re cutting” "We are refreshing our programme to consolidate our offering for future students and make their degree pathways easier to navigate" www.heraldscotland.com/news/2656140...
heraldscotland.com
University defends closure of 48 language and literature courses, including Celtic
Forty-eight programmes in the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC) are among the casualties.
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Reposted by Wilson McLeod
Aileen McHarg @aileenmcharg.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The sort of thing that ought to be of concern to the Scottish Government.
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Wilson McLeod @wilsonmcleod.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Have they attempted to quantify the supposed savings? It will be very little (indeed near zero for many of the affected programmes) but it will do a nice job diminishing student choice and student satisfaction
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Reposted by Wilson McLeod
Pavel Iosad @anghyflawn.net · 18/09/2026
A further observation: the response to the news is widespread horror and solidarity (which we’re grateful for), but it’s also really interesting to observe the gap between how this looks like from ‘the inside’ vs the outside.
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Reposted by Wilson McLeod
Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · 17/09/2026
“every living language evolves… Gaelic deserves the same freedom. If we want young people to choose Gaelic rather than simply inherit it, they must be allowed to leave their fingerprints upon it” —Ceitidh Campbell discusses what makes a language truly alive www.scotsman.com/arts-and-cul...
scotsman.com
Ceitidh Campbell on the future of Gaelic poetry: 'languages are not rescued by nostalgia'
Ahead of this year’s Wigtown Book Festival, which features a variety of events devoted to Gaelic poetry, prose and culture, bilingual poet Ceitidh Campbell discusses what makes a language truly alive
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Wilson McLeod @wilsonmcleod.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The so-called managers do not have a clue. This is not them suddenly paying attention to something that needed attended to, mostly just haphazard and pointless hatchet swinging
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Wilson McLeod @wilsonmcleod.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Brutal news from Edinburgh University
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Reposted by Wilson McLeod
Christian Ilbury @christianilbury.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Super excited to share our new article which is *finally* out in Journal of Applied Linguistics, 'Tackling linguistic discrimination in higher education' which is co-authored with former students Grace Mai Clark (93% Club) and Shanley Breese (Scottish Society). academic.oup.com/applij/advan...
academic.oup.com
Tackling linguistic discrimination in higher education: a student-staff collaborative approach
Abstract. The field has long been committed to critically exploring the role of language in systemic inequality and social injustice. More recently, a grow
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Reposted by Wilson McLeod
Ionad Gàidhlig Dhùn Èideann @ionaddhuneideann.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Gaelic-medium education in Edinburgh began in the 1980s but Gaelic learners education was introduced way back in 1957, at the former Norton Park Junior Secondary (near Easter Road stadium). The school closed in 1973 and Gaelic provision lapsed. Fascinating account by @threadinburgh.scot
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Reposted by Wilson McLeod
RTÉ @rte.ie · 13/09/2026
Saorántacht na hÉireann agus an Scrúdú Gaeilge www.rte.ie/gaeilge/2026/0913/159087…
rte.ie
Saorántacht na hÉireann agus an Scrúdú Gaeilge
Scríobhann An Dr Shubhangi Karmakar BL faoin scrúdú Gaeilge a luadh an tseachtain seo maidir le saorántacht na hÉireann.
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
British democracy is being bought by crypto billionaires We need to do something to stop it - urgently www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...
telegraph.co.uk
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The Herald comment & analysis @scottishcomment.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Review: This is a beautiful interpretation of Gaelic heritage and creativity www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2... @juliabraunraven.bsky.social
heraldscotland.com
Gaelic poetry comes vividly to life in Glasgow in a journey across 1,000 years
Oidhche nam Bàrd brings 1,000 years of Gaelic poetry to life at Glasgow’s Tramway ahead of the Royal National Mòd’s return to the city.
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Wilson McLeod @wilsonmcleod.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Fìor dheagh naidheachd!
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Mike Small @bellacaledonia.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
A’ Ghàidhlig ann an Dùn Èideann Tro na Linntean / Gaelic in Edinburgh Through the Centuries bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/09/01/a...
bellacaledonia.org.uk
A’ Ghàidhlig ann an Dùn Èideann Tro na Linntean / Gaelic in Edinburgh Through the Centuries
“The first step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory. Destroy its books, its culture, its history. Then have someone write new books, manufacture a new culture, invent a new history. Befo…
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Ionad Gàidhlig Dhùn Èideann @ionaddhuneideann.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Leudachadh air foghlam tron Ghàidhlig ann an Dùn Èideann? www.bbc.co.uk/naidheachdan...
bbc.co.uk
Leudachadh air FtMG an Dùn Èideann san amharc às ùr
Tha dùil gun tèid aithisg ùr a dhèanamh air mar a ghabhadh leudachadh a thoirt air Foghlam tro Mheadhan na Gàidhlig aig ìre na bun-sgoille ann an Dùn Èideann.
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Ionad Gàidhlig Dhùn Èideann @ionaddhuneideann.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Aithris air BBC Naidheachdan air an leabhar ùr againn mun Ghàidhlig ann an Dùn Èideann www.bbc.co.uk/naidheachdan...
bbc.co.uk
Leabhar ùr mun Ghàidhlig an Dùn Èideann
Thèid leabhar ùr fhoillseachadh mu eachdraidh na Gàidhlig ann am prìomh bhaile na h-Alba, bho na Meadhan Aoisean chun an là an-diugh.
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Ionad Gàidhlig Dhùn Èideann @ionaddhuneideann.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Leabhar ùr – A’ Ghàidhlig ann an Dùn Èideann Tro na Linntean Sealladh air àite na Gàidhlig ann an Dùn Èideann bho na Meadhan Aoisean chun an latha an-diugh, a’ coimhead air eachdraidh, ainmean-àite, litreachas agus foghlam. Ri fhaighinn aig ionaddhuneideann.org no bho @leughleabhar.bsky.social
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Ionad Gàidhlig Dhùn Èideann @ionaddhuneideann.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
New book - Gaelic in Edinburgh Through the Centuries ‘Never spoken here’? Our new book looks at the role of Gaelic in Edinburgh from the Middle Ages to the present day, including history, demography, place-names,literature & education Available from ionaddhuneideann.org or @leughleabhar.bsky.social
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Jimmy Reid Foundation @reidfoundation.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Why can't Scotland attract enough high school teachers? Dramatic cuts to bursaries offered by ScotGov to those wishing to switch careers and teach specific, mostly STEM, subjects and poor job security haven’t helped. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2647816...
heraldscotland.com
Why can't Scotland attract enough high school teachers?
Official figures show that the country has been missing recruitment targets for years, and now things are worse than ever.
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Wilson McLeod @wilsonmcleod.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Cheap tabloid attacks are one thing but it's more important that the Scottish Parliament passed the Scottish Languages Act 2025 unanimously, with important strengthening amendments from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats
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NationCymru @nation.cymru · 22/08/2026
If we want to see the Welsh language growing and thriving, it needs to be something for everyone, and it needs to be something which feels natural to everyone ✍️Kirran Lochhead Strang
wp.me
Why are ethnically diverse families under-represented in Welsh-medium education?
Kirran Lochhead Strang, Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg Every child in Wales has a right to access education through the medium of Welsh. This provides an opportunity, therefore, for every child in Wales ...
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Wilson McLeod @wilsonmcleod.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Meal do naidheachd!
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Wilson McLeod @wilsonmcleod.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
No, because Ireland doesn't actually have any language requirement for naturalisation
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Wilson McLeod @wilsonmcleod.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
The 1981 Act covers the entire UK, including N Ireland, and there was discussion in the civil service files about whether Irish might be included, not intentionally but because it might not be linguistically distinguishable from Scottish Gaelic. (This was of course the time of the hunger strikes)
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