Luing great granddad Hugh MacQueen was one of more than 70 Gaelic singers, spanning eight decades, who have made history at a concert in Glasgow.
Hugh, who is 83, took part in the first-of-its-kind concert that brought together some of the nation’s finest Gaelic voices – all Gold Medal winners at the Royal National Mòd - onto the one stage.
He was one of 16 medallists that made up the Argyll contingency at the event, which was orchestrated by Royal Conservatoire of Scotland student Ruairidh Gray, himself a double gold winner and in his final year of a BA Traditional Music degree, who invited the stellar Mòd winners to perform alongside him and RCS musicians at St Aloysius Church on Thursday March 21. The event was filmed by BBC Alba.
It was the first time anyone has ever attempted to bring so many Mòd winners, aged 20 to 91, together like that.
Ruairidh, who won both his gold medals at the Mòd in Perth, becoming only the second person ever to have won the two medals in the same year, is a big fan of Hugh.
"I’m a great fan of Hugh’s. He was definitely on top form at our concert. The Argyll group was outstanding, singing An T-Eilean Muileach. It was a great sound.
Hugh won his Gold Medal at the 1985 Royal National Mòd in Lochaber, previously winning gold aged just 19 at the Oban Provincial Mòd.
Bringing the National Mòd gold medal, actually a kilt pin, home to Luing was a big occasion, marked with a party in Cullipool Hall and the presentation of a watch from "the people of Luing".
The former quarry worker, who has also worked as a fisherman and shepherd, was the fourth National Mòd gold medallist from the island, the first being Nan MacInnes in 1926.
"I never thought I’d be back on stage again, not after all these years. It was an incredible experience. I was a bit nervous before I went up, but there were so many of us singing that I didn’t need to worry about forgetting the words!" said Hugh, whose family were in the audience and who has this year’s National Mòd’s dates for Oban firmly fixed in his calendar - although he will be strictly spectating this time.
Ruairidh, who has also been voted MG ALBA Gaelic Singer of the Year, said: "We had about 800 people packed into the church on the night, people were having to stand up. It was a night I will never forget, a beautiful thing. No one wanted to leave the stage."
As part of passing his course, he needed to put on a concert and his idea was inspired by a performance he saw at the Glasgow Mòd in 2019 when they had about 20 gold medallists coming together.
"It was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. I thought, I want to do this," added Ruairidh, who plans to stay on at the RCS after graduating to study for his Masters in Gaelic Song.
Within an hour of sending out emails to past Gold medallists, replies started coming in. Alasdair Gillies MBE who won the honour at the 1957 Mòd was one of the first to say yes. Islay’s Iseabail T. MacDonald, the first woman to win the Traditional Gold medal at the Mòd when that medal was established in 1971, was also on stage.
Medallists travelled from all over Scotland, including the Uists, Skye, Lewis, Harris, Barra, Benbencula, Tiree, Islay, Glasgow, Wick, Edinburgh and Aberdeen to take part.
"When you win the Gold Medal, you become a premier Gaelic singer. In the Gaelic language, no higher honour can be bestowed upon a person," added Ruairidh, who is looking forward to this year’s Royal National Mòd coming to Oban.
"Oban is the best place for it. The people, the venues, the whole feel of the town and, of course, because it was where it all started in 1892 in the Argyllshire Gathering Halls. It lasted about four hours and six was the largest number of competition entries. Numbers have shot up a lot since then!"
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