Choir Members - Glasgow Islay Gaelic Choir

The Glasgow Islay Gaelic Choir was formed in 1944 by members of the Glasgow Islay Association, although today’s members have backgrounds in both Gaelic and non-Gaelic speaking areas of Scotland and even beyond.

The choir’s ladies are proud to wear the Glasgow Islay Association Tartan in recognition of its historic link with the Association. Kirsteen Grant, who has conducted the choir since 1991, is a Mod Gold Medallist and is well known and respected in the musical world as a singer, teacher and conductor. Her beautiful choral arrangements are included in the repertoire of many choirs and are often prescribed pieces at competitions. Over the years the choir has performed at a variety of national and international events, enjoying considerable competitive success at a variety of local Mods, the Royal National Mod, the Vancouver Mod and the Pan Celtic Festival in Ireland.

The choir counts among its ranks gold medallists Iain Maclean of Skye (2010) and Catrìona MacNeil of Barra (2015), as well as dual medallist Claire Macaulay of Lewis who was awarded a gold medal in 2019 and traditional gold in 2016. Choir members have also had great success in silver pendant, duet, and quartet competitions.

Photo by Andrew King

The Choir has always had a strong relationship with the Gaelic group Runrig and has appeared with them on several occasions. It performed with the band for the last time at the ‘Last Dance’ concerts in August 2018. The choir has recorded two CDs to mark its relationship with Runrig, the first “Tribute to Runrig” in 1996 and the second “Tribute 2 Runrig” in 2018 to mark the group’s final year. The latter was recorded at a special tribute concert and features choral arrangements of Runrig songs together with performances from special guests Gary Innes, Fiona Hunter, Mike Vass and Robert Robertson. The choir even took ‘Tribute to Runrig’ on the road in March 2019, giving concerts in Fort William and Skye.

Celebrating 80 years in 2024, the choir has recently performed with Swiss male voice choir Männerstimmen and returned to its roots to give a one-off performance in Bowmore with members of the Islay choir.