Flora MacNeil learned most of her songs from her mother on the island of Barra and became the leading voice of the Gaelic song revival after moving to Edinburgh. Hamish Henderson and Alan Lomax recorded her in the 1950s, and she sang at the first Edinburgh People’s Festival Ceilidh in 1951. Gaelic singers from Karen Matheson to Julie Fowlis have named her as an influence.
© Paul Bonatti (Gaelic Arts)CC BY 2.0 Flora MacNeil
Gaelic traditional singer; Barra
- Born
- 6 October 1928, Barra, Outer Hebrides
- Died
- 15 May 2015
Further reading: Wikipedia · Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame