Am Mòd Nàiseanta Rìoghail (The Royal National Mod), the touchstone for Scotland’s Gaelic cultural heartland and one of Scotland’s major cultural festivals is back in Oban for 2009, in a welcome nod to this year of Homecoming.
This competitive celebration of Gaelic arts, music, culture and language runs from Friday 9th October to Saturday 17th October, attracting both Scottish and international competitors over the week and will see thousands of spectators filling the town.
Am Mòd Nàiseanta Rìoghail was first held in Oban in 1892 and has since grown to be the second biggest festival in Scotland. As well as the many members of the Gaelic community who attend regularly, the Mòd also attracts visitors and competitors from throughout the UK, Ireland, Australia, Germany, Canada and the USA.
In 2008, the Mòd generated nearly £2 million in economic impact for Scotland and welcomed thousands of visitors from around the world. The 2009 Homecoming Mod on Oban is expected to attract record numbers to Argyll and Bute.
- Monday 12th and Tuesday 13th October will see over 1,500 children from across Scotland competing in disciplines including a range of events from solo singing to choral competition.
- Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th October will see the start of the hotly contested Mòd Gold Medal and Traditional Gold Medal competitions.
- Thursday 15th and Friday 16th feature a range of choral events ending with the choirs competing for, among others, the coveted Lovat & Tullibardine Trophy and Margrat Duncan Memorial Trophy.
- Saturday 17th October is the grand finale with over 300 choir members on the waterfront in Oban for a full blooded performance to mark the end of the year the Mod came home.
At the launch of the programme today, it was announced that John Macleod, President of An Comunn Gaidhealach, Mòd director Janet MacDonald, Councillor Dick Walsh, Leader of Argyll and Bute Council and Philip Preston, Managing Director of Caledonian Macbrayne, will all attend the official opening ceremony in the Corran Halls.
Councillor Walsh said: ‘Argyll and Bute Council has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Year of Homecoming, and the Royal National Mod is certainly one of the crowning jewels of the year long programme of events’.
John Morrison, chief executive of An Comunn Gàidhealach said: ‘The Mòd is hugely important to Gaelic culture both in Scotland and internationally, and we are delighted to bring the Mòd back to Oban, the place where it all started. The success of the Mòd largely relies on the support we receive from the host communities and businesses and we are hugely thankful to them for making us so welcome’.
CalMac has been the main commercial supporter of the Royal National Mod since 2002, but this year’s event in Oban will be a special one for everyone in the company. Philip Preston, CalMac’s Managing Director said: ‘Oban sits at the very heart of the CalMac network and is the arrival and departure port for many of the ferries that bring competitors and visitors to the Mod. I and many of the senior management team at CalMac will be in Oban for the Mòd and we all hope to meet as many Mòd -goers as possible’.
The Royal National Mòd is supported by EventScotland, the national events agency, through its International Funding Programme; and by Argyll and Bute Council.
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