Uploaded May 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Shetland resident Donald S Murray talks to Gordon Wells about his career as a teacher and then writer, and about his relationship with the Gaelic language. Alongside a recording of a selection of his poems and a short documentary introduction, this film contributes to a small "exile Gaelic" collection which forms one part of an extension series of the Island Voices project, in which its "capture and curation" model is used in new contexts and for more languages in addition to English and Gaelic.
In Part 2 Donald talks about life as a Gaelic speaker in Shetland, noting how he maintains his speaking skills through long-distance conversations and frequent radio interviews. He points out the relative infrequency of his writing in the language as a common feature amongst fluent Gaelic speakers who normally practise their literacy through English, so his writing about his home community is often a process of translation from Gaelic in his head to English on the page. He regrets the lack of theatre-based literary work in the Western Isles, and highlights the value of the short story format in an island community setting. One advantage of living away from Lewis is the greater freedom he now feels to express critical opinion freely.
The Donald S Murray Collection:
Gael in Shetland documentary in two languages –
Gaelic youtu.be/ilIyP19OFwc
English youtu.be/2-v-6xdGuag
Conversation –
Part 1 youtu.be/ILSilMuUBg4
Part 2 youtu.be/PrvE--gsyj0
Part 3 youtu.be/uQMcE5IY-nU
Omnibus youtu.be/T_CiE1jaexw
Poetry youtu.be/QzdB07Khw20
About Island Voices/Guthan nan Eilean:
guthan.wordpress.com/about
Shetland resident Donald S Murray talks to Gordon Wells about his career as a teacher and then writer, and about his relationship with the Gaelic language. Alongside a recording of a selection of his poems and a short documentary introduction, this film contributes to a small "exile Gaelic" collection which forms one part of an extension series of the Island Voices project, in which its "capture and curation" model is used in new contexts and for more languages in addition to English and Gaelic.
In Part 2 Donald talks about life as a Gaelic speaker in Shetland, noting how he maintains his speaking skills through long-distance conversations and frequent radio interviews. He points out the relative infrequency of his writing in the language as a common feature amongst fluent Gaelic speakers who normally practise their literacy through English, so his writing about his home community is often a process of translation from Gaelic in his head to English on the page. He regrets the lack of theatre-based literary work in the Western Isles, and highlights the value of the short story format in an island community setting. One advantage of living away from Lewis is the greater freedom he now feels to express critical opinion freely.
The Donald S Murray Collection:
Gael in Shetland documentary in two languages –
Gaelic youtu.be/ilIyP19OFwc
English youtu.be/2-v-6xdGuag
Conversation –
Part 1 youtu.be/ILSilMuUBg4
Part 2 youtu.be/PrvE--gsyj0
Part 3 youtu.be/uQMcE5IY-nU
Omnibus youtu.be/T_CiE1jaexw
Poetry youtu.be/QzdB07Khw20
About Island Voices/Guthan nan Eilean:
guthan.wordpress.com/about
