Who remembers Island Voices’ first ever films from the Craigard Centre in Lochmaddy, North Uist? Still among our favourites, short clips from these earliest recordings set the opening scenes for this compilation video tracing the project’s evolution from 2005 right up to 2026, as our 21st birthday approaches in September.
With over 500 videos now on the YouTube channel, it’s been no small task to pull together something short but representative. From Craigard the compilation moves quickly on through the Uist and Barra Children’s parliament and Roddy Red Tie’s croft to Am Pàipear’s feature story on the renowned Norman Maclean. It’s a small step from Norman’s diverse skills and talents to the project’s multilingual and international connections through webinars, documentary adaptations, and geographical and literary extensions across Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales and still further afield in other island and mainland, rural and urban contexts. Coming full circle, samples of longer local recordings highlight the connected community base in which the project is rooted, and the film concludes with Norman recalling his own permanent return to the Hebrides in his trademark inimitable style – though Craigard’s Donald Mackinnon has the very last word!
We’ve had to leave a lot out, which wasn’t easy, but we’ve sampled material from ten of our collections in the hope that viewers may be inspired to dig deeper into any of these links, or indeed into other pages on this site!
These are the sources from which we’ve drawn for this compilation:
Series 1
Series 2: Outdoors
Series 2: Generations
Series 2: Enterprise
Norman Maclean
Talking Points
Other Tongues
Extensions
Stòras Beò
Shortcuts
Over coming months leading up to September we’ll be looking to “tour” the full project at various locations – both Hebridean and across the mainland – and in various ways, in order to mark the twenty-one year milestone. September will also see the completion of a permanent open access Island Voices Multilingual Archive in the University of the Highlands and Islands, thanks to support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund!
This film is a taster, and testament to the willing “no bother!” co-operation of hundreds of participants over the years in this community project, from North Uist to North-East India and beyond. We hope it will stir memories and interest!