Children and young people take centre stage at the Mod
The Royal National Mòd (Am Mòd Nàiseanta Rìoghail) continued in Lochaber yesterday, with the focus firmly on children and young people.
Day four at Scotland’s biggest Gaelic cultural festival saw 30 competitions for those aged 5-19 take place across poetry, drama, song and music.
But there was plenty on offer to interest and engage adults, including workshops at Lochaber High School to help parents teach their children to read in Gaelic.
And, in the evening, the Hunting Songs In The Hebrides event saw Fiona J Mackenzie, Mòd gold medallist and Canna House archivist for the National Trust for Scotland, offer her audience a glimpse of Gaelic life as it was at the beginning of the 20th century.
The children’s competitions are set to continue today, with the coveted traditional and prescribed singing silver medals to be awarded at the Nevis Centre.
The adult competitions begin tomorrow, when this year’s silver pendant and gold medal finals will take place.
The traditional final competition will be held on Thursday, with the Lorne Shield and Sheriff Macmaster Campbell competitions scheduled to be broadcast live on BBC Alba for the first time.
Also scheduled to be shown on BBC Alba are the highly anticipated Lovat and Tullibardine shield and Margrat Duncan competitions. These will be broadcast on Friday.
The Royal National Mòd is due to conclude on Saturday with a procession of choirs and pipers making their way through Fort William towards the Nevis Centre, where a massed choir finale will close the festival in style.
John Morrison, chief executive of An Comunn Gàidhealach, said: “Witnessing the fantastic talent of the young Gaels is always a great start to the Mòd.
“So far, we’ve seen some wonderful musical performances, and I’m looking forward to seeing what else is in store.
“It’s real testament to the success of our Mòd Roadshow to see growth amongst the young choirs entering this year compared to previous years.”