In Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall last week, ‘Crucán na bPáiste‘, written by Brendan Graham and performed by the Oban Gaelic Choir, in a choral re-imagining of the song by choir director Sileas Sinclair, won the prestigious Lovat and Tullibardine Shield Choral Competition at this year’s Royal National Mòd. The competition, which dates back 127 years, started in Oban in 1892 and is the premier festival of Scottish Gaelic literature, song, arts and culture and one of the more notable peripatetic cultural festivals in Scotland. It is often referred to simply as the Mòd.
‘Crucán na bPáiste‘ was the only song from outside of Scotland performed in the competition, which featured nine of Scotland’s elite Gallic Choirs, as all the other songs performed were of the Scots Gallic tradition. Scottish singer Kim Carnie, who has previously recorded Crucán na bPáiste, as has Capercaillie’s Karen Matheson, put a beautiful Gallic snas on the songs Irish lyrics.
Here in Ireland, Eimear Quinn and Cathy Jordan have also recorded the historically significant song.
