An Aisling

“Highly commended” in the Donald Meek Awards, An Aisling (The Dream) is an unruly saga of friendship, jealousy, Gaelic identity, Scottish politics, a 25-year romance and a whole lot of guilt and questions.

Anns an toiseach cha robh ann ach fealla-dhà am measg oileanach, am bruadar a bh’ aca mu choimhearsnachd Ghàidhlig ùr, fad air falbh bho na dùbhlain a bha romhpa sa bhaile mhòr. Shaoil Mórag nach gabhadh an aisling a thoirt beò, ach bha barrachd misneachd, agus barrachd airgid, aig Eilidh.

A-nis, às dèidh fichead bliadhna, tha an aisling air a truailleadh le adhaltranas, bròn is càirdeas briste. Tha dìleab na deuchainn aca fhathast a’ bualadh air Mórag, agus fios aice gur ann oirrese a tha an t-uallach a bhith a’ mìneachadh do a cuid chloinne dè thachair ann am Baile Luachrach.

It started as a student joke, the dream of a new Gaelic-speaking community where they could all escape from the bleak economy of the 1990s. It could never become reality, or so Morag and her friends thought, but Eilidh had other ideas, and a new boyfriend with more money than sense. Now, twenty years later, the dream has been shattered by infidelity, broken friendships and tragic loss. The legacy of their experiment weighs heavy on Morag, and she knows that one day her children will need to be told what really happened in Baile Luachrach.

• Saved in: Gàidhlig