The prestigious Royal National Mòd returned to Perth for the first time since 2004. It ran in the Fair City from the 14th to the 22nd of October. The historic event brings fans of Gaelic music and culture together to celebrate the language, history and future of the Gaels over a nine day period.
As part of this landmark Mòd, organisers An Comunn Gàidhealach have announced the Gaelic Ambassador of the Year. This is an annual Scottish Government honour. This year, the it was awarded to John Urquhart, presenter, writer, lecturer and prominent figure in the Gaelic community.
John Urquhart has presented BBC radio and TV programmes and has translated many articles, books and English Hymns into Gaelic. He is also an acclaimed poet, winner of the coveted Donald Meek Award for his first poetry collection Turas.
John said: ‘’It’s such a privilege to receive Gaelic Ambassador of the Year and I am absolutely delighted to represent the Gaelic community. Gaelic is my first language and I have been working in education and entertainment for Gaels for more than 30 years, so it makes this honour all the more special.’’
James Graham, Chief Executive Officer of An Comunn Gàidhealach said,
‘’The Mòd 2022 has gone by in a flash of colour, song, music and excitement. As always. We have seen Gaelic communities come together from the length and breadth of the country and have welcomed the return of events that people love, including the choir competitions. A big well done, too, to our Traditional Gold Medal winners, whose success is richly deserved.’’
Live coverage and highlights of the last day of the Royal National Mòd in Perth are available to watch on BBC ALBA on BBC iPlayer. The Royal National Mod 2023 will be held in Paisley between the 13th and the 21st of October 2023.