Bill Radcliffe

John William Radcliffe (16 August 1917 – 28 January 1984), more commonly known as Bill Radcliffe, or also Illiam y Radlagh, was a Manx language activist, author, and teacher who was involved with the revival of the Manx language on the Isle of Man in the 20th century. His work recording the last native speakers of the language with the Irish Folklore Commission helped to ensure that a spoken record of the Manx language survived.

Manx language

Bill Radcliffe was one of the several active Manx speakers who learned the language from the diminishing number of elderly native speakers on the Isle of Man in the first half of the 20th century. Along with several other Manx speakers such as Doug Fargher, Charles Craine, and Leslie Quirk, Radcliffe learned Manx by travelling around the Manx countryside, visiting the elderly native Manx speakers and learning directly from them.

These learners were part of a small tight-knit group of high level speakers who would go on to be vital members of Yn Çheshaght Ghailckagh, but also the language revival movement. The group would be a crucial link between the last generation of native speakers, and those who learned Manx after the death of Ned Maddrell in 1974.

Like many of his generation, Radcliffe spent many years teaching Manx to learners particularly in the north of the Island. He was still actively teaching students Manx just a few days before his death.

Irish Folklore Commission recordings

In the summer of 1947 Irish Taoiseach Éamon de Valera visited the Isle of Man. The Taoiseach was a fluent Irish speaker himself and was greatly interested in Gaelic and Celtic cultures.