Call for international Celtic festival to replace 'boring, outdated Mod'

Published on Thursday 23 August 2007 01:14

SCOTLAND's main Gaelic festival "bores the pants off everyone" and should be scrapped, according to a councillor in the Highlands.

Ken MacLeod, an Inverness-based solicitor, wants the Royal National Mod abolished and replaced by an international Celtic festival based in the city.

The Mod was first held in 1892 and is now regarded as the second-biggest festival in Scotland, behind Edinburgh, attracting entrants from around the world.

But Mr MacLeod said it was outdated and its format did little for the survival of the Gaelic language.

He said as the Year of Highland Culture 2007 was drawing to a close, Highland Council should look to the future and what it could do to encourage the survival of the Gaelic language and culture.

He said: "We should look at setting up an international Celtic festival, which would unite people from Wales, Ireland, Cornwall, the Isle of Man and Brittany.

"I don't mean something like the National Mod, where 30 or 40 people sing the same song and bore the pants off everyone. The real Mod happens in the evenings when the competitions are over. We need something that celebrates the language of the Highlands and Islands and we should have a go at setting up an autumn international Celtic festival."

Mr MacLeod added: "This would be a festival for Gaeldom and the language of the Gaels. That includes all the Celtic languages: Welsh, what is left of the language of the Isle of Man, Cornish, Irish Gaelic and Breton.

"That would give us a truly international festival of music, song and dance. It could follow on from the Edinburgh Festival. I'm sorry about the Mod, but it has remained in the same format since the 1890s and I'm afraid it's outlived its usefulness."

The idea of killing off the Mod was challenged by Murdo Morrison, the annual event's promotions manager. He said: "I hope Mr MacLeod is expressing a personal view only. I have been to a number of pan-Celtic festivals in Ireland and there isn't much place given to Gaelic apart from artistes sent there from the Royal National Mod. If there was to be an international Celtic festival in Inverness, I would hope Gaelic would have a major part in it."

He said he was surprised to hear Mr MacLeod's comments at the time the council had started consultation on its Gaelic plan.

"The Gaelic plan highlights the importance of the Mod to the language," he said, adding that the format of the Mod was under constant review.

ANNUAL GATHERING OF GAELIC COMMUNITY

AM MD Niseanta Roghail (the Royal National Mod) is seen as a yearly showcase of Gaelic music and culture. Last year's event was held in Dunoon, where 2,000 competitors took part in more than 200 competitions. This year's Mod will be held in Lochaber in October.

The competition-based festival was first held in Oban in 1892 and attracts visitors and competitors from throughout the UK, Ireland, Australia, Canada and the United States.

It is said to generate millions of pounds to the host town and is credited with helping to keep the Gaelic community together while the number of people speaking the language has fallen.

Since 1912, there has been a royal connection with the Mod, whose parent body, An Comunn Gidhealach (the Highland Association), has the Queen as its patron.