Saltire Volunteer Victoria Lothian catches up with Rosemary Ward in December 2020

Rosemary was brought up on the Hebridean island of South Uist where she began her lifelong involvement with the Gaelic language. She started to learn Gaelic when she attended Garrynamonie Primary and she completed her school education, gaining formal qualifications in Gaelic, in the Nicolson Institute in Stornoway.

She went on to train as a primary teacher and was the first Gaelic Medium immersion teacher appointed to the Sir John Maxwell Gaelic Unit in Glasgow. She went on have a long association with the development of Gaelic education in Argyll and Bute Council before becoming the Education Director for Bòrd na Gàidhlig, the National Gaelic development agency.

In 2010, she became the Director of the Gaelic Books Council and steered the organisation to the position it now enjoys as the lead organisation for Gaelic literature. She recently took up post as the Director of Programme at Scottish Book Trust and maintains her links with Gaelic through her voluntary work as Treasurer of Urras Brosnachaidh na Gàidhlig ( The Gaelic Language Promotion Trust). She has two children Sean and Eilidh and lives in Dumbarton with her husband Gerard.