Co-chomunn na Pàirc, in the South Lochs area of Lewis, have been named today (Thurs 8th July) as the Gaelic Business of the Year.

The competition “Gnìomh”, held for the first time this year, was administered by Comunn na Gàidhlig under their contract with Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).

The Co-chomunn won the first prize because of the amount of work they carry out through Gaelic, and because of the language’s high profile in their day to day activities. The first prize carries an award £3,000.

The announcement was made today by Gaelic Minister, Fiona Hyslop MSP while on a visit to the Western Isles.

The Minister said: “It is quite clear that there are opportunities for companies working in Gaelic these days, and Co-chomunn na Pàirc are an excellent example of this through their current activities and the way in which they are closely linked to the community in which they work.”

Co-chomunn na Pàirc are based in the Ravenspoint visitor centre in Kershader, where they operate a shop, a café, a hostel and other visitor attractions such as the local history society museum and the Angus MacLeod archive.

Over the last year the company has developed the services they offer to the community and to visitors, for example two successful week-long Gaelic courses which took learners into the local community to improve their oral skills.

John Randall, Co-chomunn Chairman said: “We are proud and delighted to have won this award. Gaelic is at the heart of everything we do, and I believe this recognition will be a real boost both to our own staff and to the local community.

“We aim to do more and more through Gaelic in the years ahead because it’s quite clear to us that the demand for such services is growing strongly.”

The competition applications were assessed by a panel of representatives from CnaG, HIE and Bòrd na Gàidhlig.

In second place was Lewis Crofters, a company who have been serving crofters and the local community for over fifty years. They were recognised for their willingness to deal with customers in Gaelic and for the prominence the language received in signage, livery and marketing materials. The second prize is £1,500.

In third place was telecommunications firm Luathnet who are developing the roll-out of a demand-led bilingual broadband service into the Highlands and Islands. They were recognised for the way in which Gaelic was embedded into their business plan and for its prominence in the company’s advertising and marketing. Third prize carries an award of £500.

According to CnaG chief executive Donald MacNeill, this has been a successful first year for the competition which it is hoped to run for at least the next two years: “We are pleased to have received such strong entries for the competition. All applicants should be recognised for what they are doing in Gaelic, but unfortunately they can’t all be winners. We hope this award will attract the interest of others and that we’ll see more companies giving Gaelic a higher profile in the years ahead.

Director of Strengthening Communities at HIE, John Watt said they were happy to have supported the competition: “HIE believes strongly that Gaelic contributes a great deal to the local economy, particularly in the rural communities in the islands and west highlands. We’ve been delighted to see the evidence of that in this competition, with companies being sufficiently optimistic and committed to Gaelic to have participated.” 

Gaelic Community of the Year competition, ‘Gleus’ has also been run and the results of this will be announced later in the summer.