Consistent with other parts of Gaelic-speaking Scotland there has been a pattern of gradual language shift away from Gaelic towards English. Despite this it was still common to hear native Perthshire Gaelic in the community in and around Killin in the 1960s and 70s. Indeed, the 1961 census recorded 138 speakers in Killin along with the last recorded monolingual speaker. In the 1971 census there were 120 Gaelic speakers but none of these were monolingual. By the time of the 2001 census the electoral division of Killin recorded only 63 Gaelic speakers (4.7% of the local population) with 39 (5.9%) in Killin village. Despite this decline Killin still recorded the highest numbers of Gaelic speakers in all of West-Perthshire. Although the Perthshire dialect of Gaelic is considered to be effectively extinct, surviving elderly speakers have recently been identified. However, with a lack of community transmission any surviving speakers in the Killin area are likely to be the final generation of native Perthshire Gaelic speakers. The decline of Gaelic in the area is in keeping with the trend across Scotland and can be attributed to a combination of events including the Highland clearances (Gaelic: Fuadaichean nan Gàidheal) which resulted in great swathes of locals being forcibly removed from the land. The Education (Scotland) Act 1872 also made it illegal for Gaels to be educated or use their language in formal education settings. These changes along with others have led to a process of language shift across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. More recently, Killin has suffered particularly from a lack of Gaelic Medium Education provision from Stirling council. This is in contrast to the provision in neighbouring Perth and Kinross Council, such as the weekly Gaelic lessons at Glen Lyon primary school, close to Killin, and full GME at Breadalbane Academy in nearby Aberfledy. The closest GME provision offered by Stirling council is at Riverside Primary School in Stirling. Despite its many challenges Gaelic survives in the area amongst a small number of local speakers as well as in the language, history, folklore and many places names of the area. The Killin Music Festival, previously the Killin Folk Festival, is a successful 3-day music festival held in the village in June each year with a Gaelic/Celtic and Folk musical focus. Recordings of Native Gaelic speakers from the area from researcher Anne Ross' fieldwork from 1965 can be heard on the