Permission for statue of fiddler Gow is music to ears of devoted campaigner

Bronze sculpture for Birnam to celebrate revered musician

A statue celebrating one of Perthshire’s most famous musicians has received the backing of Perth and Kinross Council following a 17-year campaign by fans.

Niel Gow, an 18th Century fiddler from Inver, near Dunkeld, will be immortalised by a new bronze statue in Birnam where his music is remembered every year at a festival in the arts centre.

The local authority signed off on plans to erect the statue in green space on Birnam’s Perth Road after an application was submitted to the council last month following a fundraising campaign.

The permission was welcome news for the organisers of the Niel Gow

Festival after they were forced to cancel this year’s event, which should have taken place last weekend.

Pete Clark, one of the fundraisers for the statue, said the organisers had hoped to put it in place this summer but would now wait and see how things progressed over the coronavirus outbreak before committing to a date.

Pete said: “The festival has been going for 17 years, so another few months or a year more doesn’t make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things.

“We’ve got the approval. Once this virus subsides we’ll celebrate.

“In Birnam, there is a big grassy area and the statue will be standing there facing his home in Inver.

“It’s right beside the Royal School of Dunkeld, so children will walk to school and learn about him.”

The sculpture is being “fine-tuned” by Cupar-based artist David Annand after being bronzed by Edinburgh company Powderhall.

The statue could also become a starting point for the guided tours that Pete carries out at the beginning of the Niel Gow Festival.

Kerry Hammond, who is in charge of casting at Powderhall Bronze in Edinburgh, and, right, the statue in clay.