Kenna Campbell ( gd, Ceana Chaimbeul) (born 21 July 1937) is a Scottish singer, teacher, tradition bearer and advocate for

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

language, culture and song.

Biography

Campbell was born on 21 July 1937 at Greepe, near Roag on the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

, into a

Crofting Crofting is a form of land tenure and small-scale food production particular to the Scottish Highlands, the islands of Scotland, and formerly on the Isle of Man. Within the 19th century townships, individual crofts were established on the bette ...

family known for their singing and

pipe Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to: Objects * Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules ** Piping, the use of pipes in industry * Smoking pipe ** Tobacco pipe * Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circula ...

playing. As a child she regularly sang at ceilidhs, and once sang for Dame Flora MacLeod, Chieftain of the MacLeod clan, at

Dunvegan Castle , native_name_lang =Gaelic , alternate_name = , image = Dunvegan Castle.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = The south-west face of the castle , map = , map_type = Scotland Isle of Skye ...

. She left Skye for

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, to study for a diploma in primary school teaching at

Jordanhill College Jordanhill Campus is an historic estate within the boundaries of Jordanhill, Glasgow, Scotland, which developed as a country estate. It is best known and most recently used as the home to the Faculty of Education of the University of Strathcl ...

, and later in her career became Head Teacher at the special needs Newhills School in

Easterhouse Easterhouse is a suburb of Glasgow, Scotland, east of the city centre on land gained from the county of Lanarkshire as part of an expansion of Glasgow before the Second World War. The area is on high ground north of the River Clyde and south ...

. While pursuing her career and bringing up her family she continued to sing. Her favoured styles are

puirt à beul Puirt à beul (, literally "tunes from a mouth") is a traditional form of song native to Scotland (known as ''portaireacht'' in Ireland) that sets Gaelic lyrics to instrumental tune melodies. Historically, they were used to accompany dancing in the ...

(mouth music) and òran mór (the Great song). She sang with her sister Mary, and appeared on

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...

and on the

Scottish Television Scottish Television (now, legally, known as STV Central Limited) is the ITV network franchisee for Central Scotland. The channel — the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland — has been in operation since 31 August 1957 and is the ...

show Jigtime. Together with her sister Ann, brother Seumas and guitarist Ian Young she formed a group called Na h-Eilthirich (The Exiles). Na h-Eilthirich toured Scotland and Europe, broadcast regularly, and recorded an album. In 1981 she, with several others, established the

Barra Barra (; gd, Barraigh or ; sco, Barra) is an island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, and the second southernmost inhabited island there, after the adjacent island of Vatersay to which it is connected by a short causeway. The island is na ...

Fèis a festival of Gaelic music and song. This was in response to parents' and others concern that Gaelic music and tradition was neither being taught to young people in a formal context, nor being particularly celebrated. So successful were the Barra Fèisean that many other communities have since established similar local events. In the 1990s Campbell formed Bannal, a Glasgow-based group of eight women, including her daughter Wilma Kennedy, who sang traditional Gaelic

waulking song Waulking songs ( gd, Òrain Luaidh) are Scottish folk songs, traditionally sung in the Gaelic language by women while fulling (waulking) cloth. This practice involved a group of women, who traditionally prepared cloth, rhythmically beating new ...

s. In 1996 the group released a CD on

Greentrax Recordings Greentrax Recordings are a Scottish record label that specialises in Scottish traditional music. History The label was founded in 1986 by former police inspector Ian Green, who played the bagpipes and was responsible for arranging folk music ...

titled ''Waulking Songs''. In 2006 they made another release titled ''Bho Dòrn gu Dòr''n. One side of the disc, in CD format, features recordings of more waulking songs, and on the other side, in DVD format, there is a 30-minute documentary on the tradition of waulking songs. On 20 May 1994 Kenna sang the 23rd psalm in Gaelic at the funeral service of Labour Party leader John Smith. She would later reprise the performance for the 2003 TV film ''The Deal''. Campbell was the principal tutor in Gaelic and Scottish song at the

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland ( gd, Conservatoire Rìoghail na h-Alba), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama ( gd, Acadamaidh Rìoghail Ciùil is Dràma na h-Alba) is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and ...

, and in 2009 received an honorary degree. Campbell was married to Alasdair Kennedy (d. 2004), a design engineer, and together they had two daughters, Mary Ann Kennedy and Wilma Kennedy, both of whom are involved in music. Campbell was an early trustee of

Sabhal Mòr Ostaig Sabhal Mòr Ostaig () (Great Barn of Ostaig) is a public higher education college situated in the Sleat peninsula in the south of the Isle of Skye, with an associate campus at Bowmore on the island of Islay, Ionad Chaluim Chille Ìle (the ...

, and in 2009 received an Honorary Fellowship from the College in recognition of the important role she played in promoting the Gaelic language, and in the development of Gaelic education in Scotland. In June 2017 Campbell received an

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the

Queen's Birthday Honours List The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

for services to the promotion of the Gaelic language, music and

Gaelic medium education Gaelic-medium education (G.M.E. or GME; gd, Foghlam tro Mheadhan na Gàidhlig) is a form of education in Scotland that allows pupils to be taught primarily through the medium of Scottish Gaelic, with English being taught as the secondary langua ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Kenna People from the Isle of Skye Scottish Gaelic singers 20th-century Scottish women singers 1937 births Officers of the Order of the British Empire Living people