About the Greenock Highlanders Project

Greenock Highlanders is a collaborative project between Inverclyde Gaelic Learners Group, Whinhill Primary School and Access Technology Scotland CIC. In common with many things in the last 2 years, it has had to adapt and change considerably and manage its purpose and objectives to cope with the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

We began in November 2019 – the aims at that stage were to work, in classrooms, with pupils from Whinhill Primary, mutually learning more about the history of the Gaels in Inverclyde and producing series of digital media pieces for exhibition in June 2020 – whilst providing an educational and enjoyable learning experience for all the young people involved! Within our first few months, it began to be clear that 2020 was not going to be a normal year. The exhibition taking place on 24-26th March 2022 is now a combination of the work produced pre-covid, and the reconvening of the project in the second half of 2021. 

The outcomes for the project are now a new website for Inverclyde Gaelic, that includes the work and story of the Greenock Highlanders Project, and several short film pieces produced in collaboration with the young people and teachers from Whinhill Primary - and featuring other local voices - looking at the history of Gaelic in Inverclyde and the importance of Gaelic Medium Education. During this time several groups of young people have contributed to the project, had new experiences and learned skills in photography, audio and video recording, researching and presentation.