Provost welcomes students from Nova Scotia to the City

Pupils from Inverness and Nova Scotia pictured during the visit to Inverness Town House with (front row, L to R) Clifford Parr, Grandfather of Mairi; Flora Parr from Muir of Ord,( Mairi’s mother); Provost Alex Graham; Mairi Parr and her uncle, Cllr Fraser Parr.

Earlier today (Tuesday 17 March) the Provost of Inverness Alex Graham was joined by pupils from Inverness Royal Academy to welcome a group of young Gaelic students from across the Atlantic to the Town House.

The group of 17 and 18 year old students from Dr John Hugh Gillis Regional High School in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, are visiting Inverness as part of a tour of the Highlands which includes visits to Fort William and the Isle of Skye. They are accompanied by their teacher Mairi Parr, a former pupil from Dingwall Academy now teaching Gaelic in Nova Scotia, who is the niece of Inverness Councillor Fraser Parr.  

Mairi and her former teacher at Dingwall Academy, Catriona Currie, now Principal Teacher of Gaelic at Inverness Royal Academy, have been eager to establish links between the pupils from Inverness and Nova Scotia so the visit today was a great chance to get this ball rolling.  

Inverness Royal Academy pupils Jess Warren, Leila Jack, Janet MacVicar, Euan Ferguson, Amy Geddes, Lauren Grant, Joseph Pedrana and Piper Angus MacPhee, came along to welcome the overseas students.

After welcoming the visitors to the Town House, Provost Alex Graham said: “It’s great to see young people with such enthusiasm and interest in the Gaelic language, culture and history of Scotland have this opportunity to pay a visit to the Highlands. I’m delighted that the pupils from Inverness Royal Academy have been able to come along to help meet and greet and I am sure some good pen-pal friendships and links will develop from today’s gathering. I wish the travellers a very enjoyable visit, they are very welcome here in the Highlands and I hope they return home with lots of good experiences they’ll remember for many years to come.”

Mairi Parr was delighted that her uncle was able to join the Provost to welcome the group.  She said: “We are very thankful to The Highland Council, the Provost and Councillor Parr for such a welcome to the Highland capital. The students are delighted to meet with these great Gaelic ambassadors from Inverness High School and relish the chance to share their commonalities and love of the Gaelic language.

“Antigonish, which is on the Nova Scotia mainland, had over 100,000 Gaelic-speakers at the turn of the century, so the local people are firmly rooted in the Gaelic culture.”