Fèis Phàislig: Gaelic experiences for Renfrewshire’s young people
Poppy Bell gets the lowdown on Fèis Phàislig, a local organisation keeping our nation’s original native tongue alive
Fèis Phàislig, which is Scottish Gaelic for Paisley festival, is an organisation which offers traditional music and Gaelic culture experiences for young people across Renfrewshire.
Grant McFarlane, the director of Fèis Phàislig, founded the organisation in 2015. Grant himself has a rich history in the music world as he is a professional musician, with his instrument of choice being the accordion.
After teaching at several different fèis across Scotland, he realised there wasn’t anything like this in Renfrewshire and sought to put this right.
“We are mainly focused on music,” Grant revealed, “most of our events give young people the opportunity to engage with instrumental classes and workshops, with weekly classes for accordion, fiddle and guitar.”
Grant McFarlane, director of Fèis Phàislig
In addition to these classes, they also have a Gaelic choir which is free to all up to the age of 18 and runs every Tuesday where the young people learn and sing traditional songs in full Gaelic.
Along with their year-round programme, Fèis Phàislig also offers a summer fèis week every July which includes three different courses for different ages and ability levels from primary one to three. This offers an introduction to traditional Gaelic music through activities such as arts and crafts and music.
Within their main fèis, they have fourteen different options including learning the harp, drums, film making, music production and even circus skills.
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As this year is their ten-year anniversary, Fèis Phàislig are offering a special programme of events which will be announced soon including an autumn fèis which will have workshops and opportunities for people of all ages to get involved.
“Our work up until now has been targeted mainly at young people,” Grant contended, “but the autumn fèis will welcome adults as well and those who may just be interested in trying something new to come along and take part.”
They will also be hosting a celebration concert in Paisley Town Hall next February 7th as their tenth year comes to an end. The concert will have over 100 musicians involved including past and present students. However, Grant revealed it wouldn’t have been possible on their own.
“We received some funding from Creative Scotland towards that programme so a big thank you to them for their support and making that possible.”
For more information on Fèis Phàislig, please visit the website.
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