Galwegian Gaelic
George Buchanan, himself a Gaelic speaker, writing in 1575, reported that Gaelic was still spoken in Galloway. In the middle of the century, 1563–1566, an anonymous English military investigator reported that the people of Carrick "for the most part specke erishe".
Seas west of Scotland
The coastline is part of the Celtic fringe. Gaelic is spoken as a minority language in many parts of the area with strongholds in the Outer Hebrides and Tyrconnel in Donegal. Scottish Gaelic is declining in Scotland although the compulsory teaching of the Irish language in Irish schools means that most Irish citizens understand it to some extent. The variant of Gaelic spoken in Donegal is distinctive, and shares traits with Scottish Gaelic. Its Gaeltacht (Irish speaking area) uses the West Ulster dialect. Inishowen, which lost its Gaeltacht areas in the early 20th century, used the East Ulster dialect.