Morag Henriksen describes herself as a Highlander born and bred. Growing up in Lochcarron, where her father was the headmaster of the local school, she developed a life long love of Gaidhlig culture, folk music, singing, story telling and poetry and this informed her later work as a writer.

Early life

Morag MacIver Ross was born in

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

in the Highlands of Scotland in July 1941. Her father was a strict Free Presbyterian and attended The Free Presbyterian Church in

Lochcarron Lochcarron ( gd, Loch Carrann) is a village, community and civil parish in the Wester Ross area of Highland, Scotland. It has a population of 923. Locality The name Lochcarron is also applied to the collection of small settlements strung out al ...

. She studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and went on to qualify as a teacher at

Moray House The Moray House School of Education and Sport ('Moray House') is a school within the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science at the University of Edinburgh. It is based in historic buildings on the Holyrood Campus, located between the C ...

in 1964. Her first teaching position was held at

Drumbrae Drumbrae or Drum Brae (Scottish Gaelic: ''Druim Bràigh'') is the name of a suburb of west Edinburgh, Scotland generally considered to be part of the neighbouring larger areas of Corstorphine and Clermiston. This is a commuter settlement as man ...

Primary School. She married Harry Henriksen in 1966.

Career

After their time in Edinburgh, they moved to

Portree Portree (; gd, Port Rìgh, ) is the largest town on, and capital of, the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Murray, W.H. (1966) ''The Hebrides''. London. Heinemann. Pages 154-155. It is the location for the only secondary school o ...

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 b ...

in 1967. Morag Henriksen started teaching at

Portree High School Portree High School ( Gaelic: ') is a state co-educational comprehensive school in Portree, Isle of Skye in Scotland. , the school enrols 490 pupils and employs 80 teachers and support staff. The school's catchment area draws from 15 primary sch ...

in 1976 before becoming the head teacher at Uig Primary School, where she taught for ten years. During her time at Uig Primary School, she was integral in developing

shinty Shinty ( gd, camanachd, iomain) is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread in Scotland, an ...

in Skye primary schools. As a primary school teacher in the Isle of Skye in 1985, she was selected to put together a collection of 48 songs from every region of Scotland to form the educational musical resource ''Sing Around Scotland'', produced by Ward Lock Educational. The piano arrangements were by Barrie Carson Turner and illustrations by Harry Henriksen. In 1989, she developed ME and retired from teaching in 1994.

Creative practice

Morag Henriksen performed in the first production by the Uiseag Theatre Group in 1999 at Aros, Portree, Isle of Skye. The play, ''Cuimhneachadh Mairi Mhor'' (Remembering Mairi Mhor) told the story of the famous Skye bard Mairi Mhor nan Oran. Morag Henriksen was the script writer and co-producer along with Sylvia Ladlow. The play was performed again on 20 September 2007 at Aros, Portree, Isle of Skye. The event was part-funded by the National Lottery which provided an award of £3,600. Henriksen's book ''Scenery of Dreams'' was launched at the Skye Book Festival in 2014. The book includes a collection of stories from her early childhood. Her third book, ''Tapestry of Scenes'', was in the Skye Book Festival in 2016. Henriksen was part of the research for

ATLAS Arts ATLAS Arts is a visual arts organisation dedicated to commissioning contemporary arts, culture, heritage, and education based in the Isle of Skye. It was formed in 2010 and since then has delivered a varied programme of contemporary art includin ...

' project Ragadawn and participated in the artist

Caroline Bergvall Caroline Bergvall (born 1962) is a French-Norwegian poet who has lived in England since 1989. Her work includes the adaption of Old English and Old Norse texts into audio text and sound art performances. Life and education Born in Hamburg, Germ ...

's language station at

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 ...

in 2017, which became part of the final work performed in August 2018.
-

Publications

Books

* ''Sing Around Scotland'' (1985) Ward Lock Educational * ''Tapestry of Scenes'' (2016) Adelaide Independent Reporter * ''Scenery of Dreams'' (2014) Adelaide Independent Reporter

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henriksen, Morag Living people 1941 births Scottish women poets People from the Isle of Skye