Although the Scottish Gaelic language had been facing gradual decline in the number of speakers since the late 19th century, due to the increasing use of Scottish Gaelic-medium education the number of young and fluent Gaelic speakers is quickly rising.
The movement has its origins in the Scottish Renaissance and especially in the work of Sorley MacLean, George Campbell Hay, Derick Thomson and Iain Crichton Smith.
A major role has also been played by the literary scholarship of John Lorne Campbell, Ronald Black, Donald E. Meek, and many others like them.
Although many of the products of the Renaissance were in poetry, fiction, or in Scottish traditional music, many such as MacLean and Iain Crichton Smith, and more recently Aonghas MacNeacail, Angus Peter Campbell, and Christopher Whyte have blended Gaelic folklore, mythology, and literary traditions with more international literary styles such as magic realism.
Mike Russell became the first person to address a European Union meeting in Scottish Gaelic in May 2010.