Mairi MacInnes is a Scottish folk singer who sings primarily in Scottish Gaelic.
MacInnes was born in South Uist, an island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Gaelic was the exclusive language at home, and she learned English at school.
In 1982, MacInnes won the gold medal at the Royal National Mod.,[1] and went on to win the 1983 Pan Celtic Festival in Killarney, Ireland.[1] MacInnes opened the South Ford Causeway in South Uist in 1982. She sang vocals on Runrig's Heartland album in 1985 and appeared in the BBC adaptation of The Shutter Falls in 1986. Her debut album, Causeway, was released in 1989.
MacInnes has been a presenter on Scottish Gaelic television programs for BBC Scotland, STV, and Grampian Television, including Brag,[2] Dotaman, Siudan, Trang-Trang, Na Daoine Beaga, and Orain 's Rannan.[1]
Her second album, This Feeling Inside (1995) featured the Llangwm Male Welsh Voice Choir. After the album's release, she performed with the choir and the BBC Welsh Philharmonic Orchestra in St David's Hall, Cardiff.
MacInnes has performed at numerous festivals, including Celtic Colours and Celtic Connections. She sang William Jackson's "Land of Light," winning the Glasgow Herald's New Song for the Millennium competition, and performed it at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo in 2000.[3]
Her third album, Orosay, was released in 2001, followed by Tickettybo in 2002. In 2015, she released her album Gràs[4] and recorded the theme song for the film Whisky Galore! in the same year.[5] MacInnes performed with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra at Celtic Connections in 2019.
In 2018, she performed her composition Tha ar n-ainm ard air Meinhein as part of the show Far Far from Ypres, commemorating the centenary of WWI's end. MacInnes was inducted into the Traditional Music Hall of Fame in 2019.[1] In 2020, she featured in a BBC Alba documentary on Beethoven's links to Gaelic music.[6] She also appeared in BBC Alba's Royal National Mod coverage in 2023.[7]
MacInnes teaches Gaelic song at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and has taught in Scotland, USA, and Canada.[1]
MacInnes lives in Scotland.