For General Enquiries:
Email: info@gaelicacademy.ca Phone: 902-453-1503
Officers:
President: John Alick Macpherson
Vice-President: Micheal Linkletter
Vice-President: Angus MacLeod
Treasurer: Bob Leonard
Executive Director: Bob Leonard
Advisors:
Donald John Morrison - Harris, Scotland (From Harris)
Catriona Parsons - Antigonish, Nova Scotia. (From Lewis)
John Alick Macpherson - Sydney, Nova Scotia (From Harris & North Uist)
Margie Beaton - Mabou, Nova Scotia (From Eriskay)
Regional Directors:
Cape Breton: Angus MacLeod
Mainland N.S. (Pictou/New Glasgow/Antigonish area): Michael Linkletter
Mainland N.S. (Halifax/Dartmouth area): Beth Anne MacEachen
New Brunswick: Dave Macfarlane
Prince Edward Island: Wanda MacGregor
British Columbia: Andrew McFayden
Northeast United States: Kyte MacKillop
Southeast United States: Kate Herr
North Central United States: Josh Laird-Wilson
United Kingdom and Europe: Davine Sutherland
Biographies (Alphabetical Listing)
Margie Beaton is a native Gaelic speaker from the Island of Eriskay, Scotland. She currently lives in Mabou, Cape Breton where she is a Gaelic Teacher and Vice Principal at Dalbrae Academy in Mabou. Margie graduated from Glasgow University in Scotland with a Master of Arts degree in Gaelic and Geography. She then attended Jordanhill College of Education where she trained as a teacher of Gaelic and geography. Margie has taught Gaelic for over thirty years, and has been involved in Gaelic and Gaelic Studies Curriculum development for the Province of Nova Scotia. She has also taught Gaelic at night classes and immersions throughout Nova Scotia, and has been involved with the Mabou Gaelic Society, the NS Gaelic Council, and Gaelic choirs. In addition, she has organized Gaelic exchange visits with schools in Scotland, and several annual conferences on Gaelic for Nova Scotia teachers.
Kate Herr lives in Midlothian, Virginia. She began studying Gaelic ten years ago and has attended Gaelic classes at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in Scotland, the Gaelic College in Cape Breton, and is currently enrolled in the Advanced level of the Atlantic Gaelic Academy program. She has also attended many Gaelic Immersions and has organized Gaelic classes in Richmond. Kate has helped organize several workshops including the Grandfather Mountain Gaelic Song and Language Workshop in North Carolina. For the past ten years, she has also organized a Gaelic Retreat Weekend in the Richmond area, bringing in song and language teachers from Scotland, Cape Breton and other parts of Canada. She has been the Asst. Treasurer of the Gaelic Society of America (ACGA), and has competed, successfully, in poetry, prose and song, at the ACGA National Mòd in Ligonier, PA.
Josh Laird-Wilson currently lives in Chicago, Illinois. He is a graduate of St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia where he earned an Honors BA in Celtic Studies and Literature. Josh also studied Gaelic for one year at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, earning his certificate in Gaelic language studies. He has also attended numerous Gaelic immersions and workshops in Toronto, Pennsylvania, and at the Gaelic College in Cape Breton. Josh is currently working on an advanced degree at the University of Illinois, and is also a student in the Fluent level of the Atlantic Gaelic Academy program. He is an active member of CLÌ, the Gaelic Council of N.S., and the ACGA.
Bob Leonard is a native of Cape Breton and lives in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Bob has a CMA accounting designation through McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ontario. He has completed the Atlantic Gaelic Academy program, and a number of Gaelic courses including both levels of the Gaelic course conducted by the Gaelic College in Cape Breton. He has also attended numerous Gaelic Immersions and Workshops including those at St. F.X. University in Antigonish, the Gaelic College in Cape Breton, and Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in Scotland. Bob has conducted Gaelic language classes in Fredericton, N.B. for a number of years.
Micheal Linkletter is originally from Prince Edward Island and now lives in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Michael has a BA in Celtic Studies and a BA in History from St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, and an MA and PhD in Celtic Languages and Literatures from Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. He also studied Gaelic at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in Scotland, and Gaelic and piping at the Gaelic College in Cape Breton. Michael is currently a professor and teaches Gaelic in the Celtic Studies Department at St. F.X. University. In addition, he teaches Gaelic for the Atlantic Gaelic Academy; and has taught Gaelic at Harvard University, and various workshops and immersions.
Beth Anne MacEachen lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She has a BA in History/English/Celtic Studies from Cape Breton University in Sydney; a BEd from Memorial University in St. John’s, N.L.; and a Certificate of Higher Gaelic from Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in Scotland. Her program at SMO included a one-year immersion program with work placement in a grade school in Scotland, and all her course work was conducted through the medium of Gaelic. Beth Anne currently teaches Gaelic at Citadel High School in Halifax, and the Atlantic Gaelic Academy. She has also taught Gaelic at various workshops and immersions at the Gaelic College in Cape Breton.
Dave Macfarlane lives in Lower Queensbury, New Brunswick. He is a graduate of Collège du Vieux Montréal with a Diploma in Civil Engineering Technology with subsequent studies at the University of Iowa. He has been responsible for the development and delivery of adult training programs for over twenty years. Dave has been pursuing Gaelic studies since 2001 by attending various Gaelic classes and workshops, and is enrolled in the Advanced level of the AGA program. He is active in the New Brunswick Scottish cultural community as a Vice-president of the Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew, and as past-President of the New Brunswick Highland Games and Scottish Festival.
Wanda MacGregor is from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. She has a BSc in Chemistry from the University of P.E.I. and a Diploma in Chemical Technology from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. Wanda has completed the two-year distance-learning program “An Cùrsa Inntrigidh” from Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in Scotland, and is currently enrolled in the Fluent level of the Atlantic Gaelic Academy program. In addition she has attended many Gaelic immersions and workshops including ones at the Gaelic College in Cape Breton and St. F.X. University in Antigonish. Wanda is one of the founders of the P.E.I Gaelic Society. She has conducted Gaelic language classes for both children and adults in Charlottetown.
Kyte MacKillop lives in Weymouth, Mass. He has a BA in English from Boston University in Boston; a Masters in Counselor Education from Northeastern University in Boston; and a Certificate in Russian Language from Syracuse University in Syracuse, NY. Kyte has a certificate in Celtic Studies from Ken Nilsen, and has attended numerous immersion courses at the Gaelic College in Cape Breton and St.F.X. University in Antigonish, N.S. Kyte has been involved in many Gaelic singing groups and has conducted many Gaelic language classes and workshops in the Boston area.
Angus MacLeod is from Goose Cove, Cape Breton. Born into a Gaelic speaking home, Angus learned his Gaelic in that environment and from local elders. This was complemented by Gaelic language studies at Cape Breton University in Sydney, C.B. and many immersions and workshops. Angus is a Gaelic teacher with the Atlantic Gaelic Academy and also teaches at other workshops and immersions. He is also an accomplished Gaelic singer and conducts Gaelic song workshops, and has been a Gaelic language and song instructor at the Gaelic College in C.B. for many years.
John Alick Macpherson is a native Gaelic speaker from Harris and North Uist, Scotland, and he currently lives near Sydney, Nova Scotia. John Alick graduated from Edinburgh University with a Master of Arts degree, and Jordanhill College of Education, where he trained as a teacher of Gaelic and history. He taught Gaelic for many years in the Scottish school system, and also at various immersions and adult Gaelic classes. John Alick also worked for the Gaelic Department of the BBC as a producer, and later was the Deputy Director of the Gaelic Broadcasting Committee. He has been involved in many Gaelic activities including being on the board of the Gaelic Books Council and Acair Publishing. He was also the Chairman of the Scottish Government task force whose findings led to the Gaelic Language Act, which is now being implemented in Scotland. Other Gaelic activities include writing columns for the Gaelic newspaper An Gaidheal Ùr and the Gaelic magazine An Gath, preparation of Gaelic language plans, and the translation into Gaelic of complex documents for several Scottish organizations.
Andrew McFayden lives in Prince George, British Columbia. He has a BEd from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, and an MA from Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington. His Master’s thesis was on the revival of endangered languages with Gaelic in Cape Breton as the subject. Andrew is a teacher in the Prince George school system and as part of the curriculum offers a Gaelic language course to secondary school students. He is also a Gaelic singer and songwriter and has taught Gaelic songs to various community choirs. Andrew currently teaches Gaelic with the Atlantic Gaelic Academy, and has also taught adult Gaelic language classes in the Prince George area.
Donald John Morrison is a native Gaelic speaker who was born, raised, and still lives in the Isle of Harris, Scotland. After graduating from Edinburgh University in Scotland, he trained to be a teacher, and then spent over thirty years teaching Gaelic and other subjects in the Harris school system. He then trained as an Auxiliary Minister in the Church of Scotland, and currently preaches regularly in Gaelic at his local church at Tarbert, Harris, and wherever his services are required. Over the years Donald John has been an advocate of and involved in many aspects of the Gaelic language and culture. He is currently involved in the translation into Gaelic of a children’s story, which will be published shortly.
Catriona Parsons is a native Gaelic speaker from the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, and she now lives in Bayfield, Antigonish County, Nova Scotia, and for most of the summer months in New Campbellton, Cape Breton. Catriona has an MA and a graduate Diploma in Linguistics from the University of Edinburgh. She was a professor in the Celtic Studies Department at St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, N.S. for many years. In addition, she regularly teaches the language during the summer months at the Gaelic College in Cape Breton, and at other immersions and workshops throughout North America. Catriona is an accomplished Gaelic singer, and has produced a Gaelic course for students learning the language. In addition, her Gaelic poetry and prose have been featured in the Scottish Gaelic publications GAIRM and GATH. She is also the Past President of the Gaelic Council of Nova Scotia
Davine Sutherland is from Easter Ross in the Highlands of Scotland. She heard Gaelic spoken by her grandparents’ generation as a child, has had a lifelong love of Gaelic song, and has studied Gaelic systematically as an adult, through Sabhal Mòr Ostaig and the Ionad na Gàidhlig agus a Cultar anns a’ Ghearmailt. She has an MA from Aberdeen University and is an English as a Second Language specialist – teacher, teacher-trainer, and examiner. She is active in promoting the regeneration of Gaelic, writing a monthly Gaelic column for her local community magazine, and regularly engaging in debate in and about Gaelic on and offline.