Now Gaelic is making a comeback.
The Dr. John Hugh Gillis Regional High School students are part of a growing trend in the Strait Regional School Board as more and more students jump for the chance to study Gaelic in the classroom.
‘I wanted to surprise [my great-grandmother]. I got a surprise too: the only Gaelic she knew were curse words’– Allie Stewart
Seven years ago Parr saw a posting online and leapt at the chance to teach her mother’s first language in Antigonish, which has a population just over 5,000.
What started as 15 students in a class has grown to include more than 300 students at seven schools in the district, including:
- St. Andrews Consolidated School, a primary to Grade 6 school in St. Andrews
- Bayview Education Centre, a primary to Grade 8 school in Port Hood
- St. Andrew Junior School, a grade 5 to 8 school in Antigonish
- Dr. John Hugh Gillis Regional High School, a grade 9 to 12 school in Antigonish
- Antigonish Education Centre, a primary to Grade 4 school inAntigonish
- Whycocomagh Education Centre, a primary to Grade 8 school inWhycocomagh
- Dalbrae Academy, a grade 9 to 12 school in Mabou.