Mairi MacInnes is a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

folk singer who sings primarily in Scottish Gaelic.

Early life

MacInnes was born in

South Uist South Uist (, ; ) is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. The island, in common with the rest of the Hebrides, is one of the ...

, an island in the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...

, Scotland. Gaelic was the exclusive language at home, and she learned English at school.

Career

In 1982, MacInnes won the gold medal at the Royal National Mod., and went on to win the 1983

Pan Celtic Festival The Pan Celtic Festival (; ; ; ; ; ) is a Celtic-language festival held annually in the week following Easter, in Ireland, since its inauguration in 1971. The first Pan Celtic Festival took place in Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland. Its aim is ...

in Killarney, Ireland. She sang vocals on

Runrig Runrig were a Scottish Celtic rock band formed on the Isle of Skye in 1973. From its inception, the band's line-up included brothers and songwriters Rory MacDonald (musician), Rory MacDonald (bass, vocals) and Calum MacDonald (musician), Calum ...

's '' Heartland'' album in 1985 and appeared in the BBC adaptation of '' The Shutter Falls'' in 1986. In 1989 Gaelic dance group

Mouth Music Mouth Music is a Scottish-inspired musical project founded in 1988, whose combination of traditional Gaelic songs and music with contemporary instrumental and technological settings led them to international fame in the early 1990s. Mouth Musi ...

added MacInnes to their line up. They toured the USA and Canada and recorded an E
Blue Door Green Sea
Her debut album, ''Causeway'', was released in 1989. MacInnes has been a presenter on Scottish Gaelic television programs for

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...

, STV, and

Grampian Television Grampian Television was the original name of the Channel 3 service for the north of Scotland founded in 1961 and which, decades later, was merged with the Central Belt channel STV. The northern region's coverage area includes the Northern Isle ...

, including '' Brag'', '' Dotaman'', '' Siudan'', '' Trang-Trang'', '' Na Daoine Beaga'', and '' Orain 's Rannan''. MacInnes' second album, ''This Feeling Inside'' (1995) featured the Llangwm Male Welsh Voice Choir. After the album's release, she performed with the choir and the BBC Welsh Philharmonic Orchestra in St David's Hall, Cardiff. She sang William Jackson's "Land of Light," winning the

Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

's New Song for the Millennium competition, and performed it at the

Edinburgh Military Tattoo The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is an annual series of military tattoos performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and international military bands, and artistic performance teams on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle in the capital of ...

in 2000. Her third album, ''Orosay'', was released in 2001, followed by ''Tickettybo'' in 2002. MacInnes performed at the

Celtic Connections The Celtic Connections festival started in 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland, and has since been held every January. Featuring over 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, the festival focuses on the roots of trad ...

music festival in 2011. In 2015, she released her album ''Gràs'' and recorded the theme song for the film '' Whisky Galore!'' in the same year. MacInnes performed with the

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBC SSO) is a Scottish broadcasting symphony orchestra based in Glasgow. One of five full-time orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), it is the oldest full-time professional rad ...

at Celtic Connections in 2019. In 2018, she performed her composition ''Tha ar n-ainm ard air Meinhein'' as part of the show '' Far Far from Ypres'', commemorating the centenary of WWI's end. MacInnes was inducted into the Traditional Music Hall of Fame in 2019. In 2020, she featured in a BBC Alba documentary on Beethoven's links to Gaelic music. She also appeared in BBC Alba's Royal National Mod coverage in 2023.{{cite web , title=Royal National Mod 2023 , url=https://www.ancomunn.co.uk/nationalmod/moddetail/www.moddhunomhain.com MacInnes teaches Gaelic song at the

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama () is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and film in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools. Founde ...

and has taught in Scotland, USA, and Canada.

Personal life

MacInnes lives in Scotland.

Discography

* ''Causeway'' (1989) * ''This Feeling Inside'' (1995) * ''Orosay'' (2001) * ''Tickettyboo'' (2002) * ''Gràs'' (2015)

References

Scottish folk singers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)