Na h-Òganaich
Encyclopedia
Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
based Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic language
Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....
folk group Na h-Òganaich (Scottish Gaelic for 'the young ones' though often translated as 'young blood' ) formed early in 1971, following a concert in Dunoon
Dunoon
Dunoon is a resort town situated on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll, Scotland. It sits on the Firth of Clyde to the south of Holy Loch and to the west of Gourock.-Waterfront:...
where Mod Gold Medallist singer Margaret MacLeod first met guitarist Noel Eadie. Margaret casually mentioned that her brother Donnie was learning guitar, so a decision was made to form a trio to enter the Folk Group competition at the Royal National Mod
Royal National Mod
The Royal National Mod is the annual national mod, a festival of Scottish Gaelic song, arts and culture.The Mod is run by An Comunn Gàidhealach , and includes competitions and awards.-History:...
.
A friend from the Isle of Lewis, Donnie MacLean, was working with the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and introduced them to recordings of the little-known Melbost Bard, Murdo Macfarlane
Murdo Macfarlane
Murdo Macfarlane known as 'Bàrd Mhealboist' he was a published poet and campaigner for Scottish Gaelic, especially during the 1970s, when the ceartas movement was gaining strength.Born and brought up in Melbost, Isle of Lewis, he was taught Latin, English and French but received no education in...
. Recognising the originality and catchiness of Murdo's songs, the trio took two of them to the Royal National Mod in Stirling in October 1971, where they won the Folk group competition and created an immediate stir with their professional performance and novel songs.
The following year they performed another of Murdo's songs (Mi le m' Uillinn) and won the New Song competition at the Pan-Celtic Festival in Killarney
Killarney
Killarney is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is located north of the MacGillicuddy Reeks, on the northeastern shore of the Lough Lein/Leane which are part of Killarney National Park. The town and its surrounding region are home to St...
, Ireland, introducing themselves on to the international stage. This led to engagements throughout the Gaelic
Goidelic languages
The Goidelic languages or Gaelic languages are one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic languages, the other consisting of the Brythonic languages. Goidelic languages historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from the south of Ireland through the Isle of Man to the north of Scotland...
-speaking world: in England, Canada, Wales and Brittany.
The group recorded three albums for the Beltona Sword label, a branch of Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
- The Great Gaelic Sound of Na h-Òganaich (1972), Gael Force Three (1973) and Scot-Free (1975).
In 1976 Na h-Òganaich were invited to participate in an extended tour of the USA. At that time Noel was working as a college lecturer and unable to take part, so Margaret and Donnie proceeded to tour, and later perform back in the UK, as a duo with backing musicians.
The original group has reformed on several occasions since then on a one-off basis, notably at Fèis nan Còisir in Stornoway
Stornoway
Stornoway is a burgh on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.The town's population is around 9,000, making it the largest settlement in the Western Isles and the third largest town in the Scottish Highlands after Inverness and Fort William...
and at Celtic Connections
Celtic Connections
The Celtic Connections festival started in 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland, and has since been held every January. Featuring over 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, the festival focuses on the roots of traditional Scottish music and also features international...
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
(2007). Margaret has continued to sing professionally with accordionist Billy Anderson, while Donnie in the 1980's became a popular TV performer and presenter with the children's Gaelic TV programme Dotaman
Dotaman
Dòtaman was the first Scottish Gaelic children's TV programme for pre-schoolers. It began 17 October 1985 and was written by and starred Donnie Macleod, formerly of Na h-Oganaich.-Hats:...
on BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...
. Noel has been living and working in education on the Isle of Lewis since 1978.