Monday at the Royal National Mòd 2017

Issued by An Comunn Gàidhealach

The Royal National Mòd (Am Mòd Nàiseanta Rìoghail) in Lochaber continues today (Monday 16 October) as the Children’s competitions heat up. Day four at Scotland’s biggest Gaelic Cultural Festival sees thirty competitions takes places across poetry, drama, song and music, for young Gaels aged 5-19.

In the Fringe, workshops to help parents teach their children to read in Gaelic will take place in Lochaber High School. In the evening, Hunting Songs in the Hebrides will see Mòd Gold medallist and Canna House archivist for the National Trust for Scotland, Fiona J Mackenzie, give her audience a unique opportunity to see a fascinating glimpse of the lives of our ancestors as they were at the beginning of the 20th century. Monday and Tuesday evenings will culminate with a children’s ceilidh at Caol Community Centre.

The children’s competitions are set to continue on Tuesday, with the coveted Traditional and Prescribed Singing Silver Medals to be awarded at the Nevis Centre. The adult competitions begin on Wednesday with this year’s Silver Pendant and Gold Medal Finals taking place.

The Traditional Final competition runs on Thursday, with the Lorne Shield and Sheriff MacMaster Campbell competitions being broadcast live on BBC Alba for the first time. Also set to be shown on BBC Alba are the highly anticipated Lovat and Tullibardine shield and Margrat Duncan competitions, on Friday 20th October. The Royal National Mòd will conclude on Saturday October 21st with a procession of choirs and pipers making their way through Fort William towards the Nevis Centre, where a massed choir finale will close 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.

Lochaber has been most welcoming to us, and we thank the community for helping us get the Mòd off to such a great start. We’re looking forward to the rest, with some real treats still to come.”

For full event programme and details, visit www.ancomunn.co.uk