Biography

Flora MacNeil is internationally recognised as having been one of Scotland’s finest traditional singers and one of the most important source singers and tradition bearers in the Gaelic tradition.Born in 1928 in Barra, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, she was immersed in a rich oral tradition of songs and stories from birth and she “soaked up” hundreds of songs particularly from her mother Annie Gillies, her mother’s sister, Mary Gillies, her uncle Neil Gillies and her grandmother, Cairistiona Gillies nee MacNeil who was from the smaller now uninhabited island of Mingulay.

At the age of nineteen, Flora went to work in the telephone exchange in Edinburgh and it was there that she began to perform regularly at concerts and ceilidhs and to bring these great songs to a much wider audience.Her traditional songs and her natural voice came to the attention of the folklorists and collectors such as Calum MacLean of Raasay, Alan Lomax of USA and the School of Scottish Studies where she recorded many songs for when she was still in her early twenties. In 1950 she was chosen to sing at the Living Traditions exhibition held in Edinburgh and was described then as “The Girl with the Golden Voice”. It was after hearing her sing there that the late Fred MacAulay of the BBC first invited her to perform on the radio.

In 1951 she, along with the late Calum Johnstone also of Barra, were the only two Gaelic singers invited by Hamish Henderson of the School of Scottish Studies to perform at the first People’s Festival of Edinburgh which is widely regarded as one of the main events which launched the Folk Revival of the Fifties.

Over the years to follow, Flora performed on international stages all over the world acting as a great ambassador for Gaelic Scotland and inspiring many Gaelic singers on the Scottish music scene today. She recorded three solo albums and made many television and radio appearances at home and abroad.

In 1992 she was awarded an MBE by the Queen in recognition of her great contribution to Scottish culture.

In 2005 she was inducted into the BBC Scots Trad Music Awards Hall of Fame.

In 2010 she was given an honorary fellowship from Sabhal Mor Ostaig, The Sàr Ghàidheal Fellowships which is an annual award given by the Gaelic college to people who have made exceptional contribution to the Scottish Gaelic Language.

In 2014 she was made an Honorary Fellow of the Association of Scottish Literary Studies (ASLS).

Flora passed away in 2015 after a short illness.