Actor and writer Catherine Harvey returns to her family roots in the Isle of Man to explore the voices of Manx dialect and language speakers, whose words are influenced by the Celts and Norsemen.

Catherine concentrating her search in two areas - the north of the island where her family are from and the west, an area associated with the speaking of Manx Gaelic. She looks at the work of T E Brown, who is still thought of as the island’s national poet, and the writers who were part of the Manx Cultural Revival.

In St Johns, she meets Dr Breesha Maddrell, Director of Culture Vannin, to discuss the influence of Manx Gaelic on the dialect of the island, before travelling north to talk to cultural activist, Bob Carswell, and members of The Michael Players – the only organisation in the world regularly performing plays in Manx dialect.

Meanwhile, Catherine asks the current Manx Bard, Annie Kissack, if the dialect and language spoken on the island today has changed – and whether one of them has ultimately triumphed

Other episodes in this series look at dialect poetry in Cumbria and Yorkshire.

A Made in Manchester production for BBC Radio 4 Show less