Council Appoints New Gaelic Development Manager

1st June 2010

The Highland Council's new Gaelic Development Manager is Kenneth Murray, a native Gaelic speaker from Lewis, who is a former Chief Executive of B�rd na G�idhlig.

He previously worked for the Forestry Commission, both in Edinburgh and Inverness for 25 years, latterly as Parliamentary and Cultural Programmes Manager. In this position, he led the Touchwood Programme, which was the Commission's contribution towards Highland 2007.

Mr Murray, who took up his new post earlier this week, said: "I'm very excited at the prospect of engaging with a wide range of partners in Highland communities in what is a key post in delivering the Council's Gaelic Plan."

Councillor Hamish Fraser, Chairman of The Highland Council's Gaelic Committee, welcomed the appointment. He said: "I am delighted that the Council has appointed such an experienced and able new manager to lead our Gaelic team and deliver our Gaelic policies. Mr Murray's appointment will bring strength and fresh leadership to the small team of dedicated officers in our Gaelic department, who have and will continue to work hard to implement the many elements of our Gaelic Language Plan. I look forward to working with him in promoting our language and culture"