[1][2][3] A Chair of Celtic had already been established at the University of Glasgow in 1956,[4] and the Chair of Gaelic was founded in April 2010 as part of the university's aim to establish itself as "a centre of excellence for the study of Celtic and Gaelic.

[2][3] The Scottish Government has been putting efforts into the support and revival of Gaelic in Scotland in recent years, in line with their duties under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

The first holder of the post is Professor Roibeard Ó Maolalaigh, who had previously held a personal professorship in Gaelic in the University of Glasgow.

[1] As head of the department at Glasgow, he appointed the first ever Gaelic language officer at a Scottish university.

He is director of the Digital Archive of Scottish Gaelic, a project funded by the British Academy, and is also involved in Soillse, a project led by the University of the Highlands and Islands developing a research capacity for the maintenance and revitalisation of Gaelic in Scotland.