[Fiona] Uill, tha mi gu math eòlach air an ath-aoigh a th’ againn is agus sinn càirdeach.
[Fiona] A-nis, bidh feadhainn agaibhse eòlach oirre bhon chòmhlan Na h-Òganaich – i fhèin, a bràthair Donnie agus Noel Eadie a’ tighinn gu aire an t-sluaigh nuair a bha ceòl tarraingeach, tàlant agus glamour a’ tighinn ri chèile.
[Fiona] Fàilte a Mhairead, tapadh leibh airson a bhith còmhla rinn.
[Fiona] Nise, bha am Mòd gu math cudromach dha Na h-Òganaich, nach robh?
[Mairead] Uill bha dha Na h-Òganaich agus dhòmhsa bliadhnaichean mus do thòisich Na h-Òganaich cuideachd – ’s dòcha deich bliadhna mus do thòisich Na h-Òganaich.
[Mairead] Ach, às dèidh dhomh am bonn òr fhaighinn ann an naoi ceud deug is seachdad, cha robh mi ag ràdh … bha mi ag ràdh rium fhèin rium fhìn “dè tha mi a’ dol a dhèanamh?”
[Mairead] Agus co-dhiù, thàinig Donnie airson a’ chiad uair gun a’ Mhòd a bha sin agus chòrd e ris.
[Mairead] Agus ’s ann a thachair mi ri Noel cuideachd agus bha Noel anns a’ chòisir còmhla rium.
[Mairead] Agus an uair sin, a’ seinn còmhla agus rinn mi an-àird nam inntinn fhèin “carson nach tèid sinn a-steach airson bhuidheann aig a’ mhòd?” agus rinn sinn sin.
[Fiona] Agus, rinn thu rud a bh’ ann a bha thu a dèanamh bho bha thu gu math òg. An robh thu a’ seinn... an robh seinn anns an taigh agaibh?
[Mairead] Bha m’ athair math air seinn nuair a bha e a’ nighe nan soithichean agus rudan mar sin.
[Mairead] Ach cha robh duine anns an teaghlach a’ seasamh air an àrd-ùrlar a’ seinn.
[Mairead] ‘S ann a... ’s ann a bha... chaidh sinn a dh’fhuireach a Ceann Phàdraig, agus thagh tè a bha os cionn seinn ann a shin, thagh i mi airson seinn òran aig consart agus rinn mi sin.
[Mairead] Agus bha mi aon bhliadhn’ deug aig an àm agus ’s ann a mhothaich mo mhàthair nach robh mi nearbhach idir, agus ’s ann a thuirt i “’s dòcha gun tèid Mairead a-steach airson a’ Mhòid”.
[Mairead] Agus dh’ionnsaich mi òran nuair a chaidh mi suas dhachaigh a Leòdhas airson saor-làithean.
[Mairead] Agus chaidh mi a-steach airson a’ chiad Mhòd. Bha sin ann an leth-cheud sa naoi. Smaoinich! Trì fichead bliadhna air ais!
[Mairead] Ach bha cuimhne a’m gun robh mi a’ seasamh còmhla ri mo mhàthair ’s bha mi ag ràdh “Murt! Chan eil mis’ a’ dol a sheinn an aghaidh na clann-nighean mòr’ a tha sin.
[Mairead] Bha iad ann a shin le Nylon is bha mise le na stocainnean beaga bìodach geala orm ‘s feagal mo bheatha orm.
[Mairead] Co-dhiù, thuirt i rium “dìreach thalla air an àrd-ùrlar agus seinn mar a bha thu nuair a bha thu na do nighean bheag air Cnoc Shallur. Is rinn min sin agus bhuannaich mi.
[Fiona] Agus am biodh tu nearbhach às dèidh sin, anns na bliadhnaichean às dèidh sin anns na h-Òganaich?
[Mairead] Cha robh.
[Fiona] Cha robh idir?
[Mairead] Cha robh idir.
[Fiona] Agus cia mheud bliadhna a bha sibh a’ gabhail ri àrd-ùrlaran? Air feadh an t-saoghail, nach robh?
[Mairead] Uil, bha Na h-Òganaich, bha sinn cruinn còmhla airson seachd bliadhna.
[Mairead] Agus, às dèidh sin, sguir sinn airson dhà neo trì bliadhna fhèin.
[Mairead] Ach, tha sinn a-nis air ais.
[Fiona] Chan eil stad oirbh.
[Mairead] Chan eil stad oirnn.
[Fiona] Uill ’s math sin, tha sibh fhathast a’ dol agus tha mise a’ dol a-nis ... Bidh fios agad gu bheil tuilleadh cheistean ri thighinn, agus bheir mi dhut dà roghainn an seo agus ma thaghas tu fear dhiubh faighnichidh mi a’ cheist air a’ chairt.
[Fiona] So a chiad fheadhainn: obair-latha neo oidhche mhath?
[Mairead] Obair latha.
[Fiona] Glè mhath, uill, ’s e a’ cheist: dè tha ga do bhrosnachadh?
[Mairead] Gàidhlig.
[Fiona] Nise, ma tha mise ceart, cha robh Gàidhlig neo tòrr Gàidhlig agad nuair a bha thu òg an robh?
[Mairead] Uill bha. Nuair a bha... bha sinn a’ bruidhinn Gàidhlig anns an dachaigh ged a rugadh is thogadh sinn, mise ann an Dùn Èideann.
[Mairead] ’S chaidh sinn suas a Cheann Pàdraig nuair a bha mi deich.
[Mairead] Ach ’s ann nuair a bha mi ann an Ceann Pàdraig, bha tòrr dhe na h-iasgairean à Leòdhas a’ tighinn – do sheanair aon dhiubh.
[Mairead] Agus, bhiodh iad a’ tighinn a-steach dhan taigh againn a h-uile deireadh-sheachdain.
[Mairead] So bhiodh mise ag èisteachd ri na bodaich agus na sgeulachdan ann an Gàidhlig, agus thòisich mi cuideachd le na h-òrain.
[Mairead] Agus sin a bhrosnaich mise agus thug misneachd dhomh a leantainn.
[Fiona] Agus tha thu a-nis a’ teagaisg chlasaichean Gàidhlig cuideachd, ciamar a thàinig sin gu bith?
[Mairead] Uill, bha mi ag iarraidh airson miann a dhol a-steach airson teagaisg nuair a bha mi nas òige co-dhiù, agus mar a thachair e, bha tòrr de dhaoine ann an Glaschu ag iarraidh Gàidhlig ionnsachadh.
[Mairead] Agus le sin, thòisich mi sin agus tha mi air a dhèanamh a-nis airson sia, seachd bliadhna air ais.
[Fiona] Is dè cho cudromach ‘s a tha thu a’ smaoineachadh a tha ceòl agus òrain ’s bàrdachd dhan a’ chànan.
[Mairead] Tha e uabhasach cudromach oir tha e nas fhasa ag ionnsachadh, tha mi a’ smaoineachadh, le òrain agus ma tha thu a’ cur rudan gu rudeigin agus bidh mi ag ràdh riutha, bidh mi a’ seinn rudan mar “agam, agad, aige, aice, againn, aca” agus rudan gòrach mar siud!
[Mairead] Agus tha e nas fhasa a bhith ag ionnsachadh mar sin tha mi a’ smaoineachadh.
[Fiona] Agus a’ cuimhneachadh.
[Fiona] Tha mi a’ dol a ghluasad a-nise, agus tha mi a’ creidsinn gu bheil na ceistean a tha seo buntainn ri cuideigin gu math cudromach anns an teaghlach.
[Fiona] Dòtaman no DIY?
[Mairead] DIY.
[Fiona] Uill, cò ris a tha thu fhèin coltach le òrd? A bheil thu math air DIY?
[Mairead] Uill, cuiridh mi mo làmh ri càil sam bith. Tha mi math air fuaigheal agus air fighe, agus nuair a cheannaich sinn an taigh far a bheil sinn a’ fuireach an-dràsta bha e tuiteam na bhroinn.
[Mairead] Ach, ’s a h-uile duine a’ smaoineachadh gun robh sinn às ar rian a’ ceannach an àite siud. Ach tha e a’ còrdadh rinn an-diugh agus bha sinn dìreach ag ath-nuadhachadh a h-uile rùm agus a h-uile seòmar.
[Mairead] Agus is toil leum a bhith a ‘boltaigeadh’.
[Fiona] Boltaigeadh?!
[Mairead] Agus a’ sgrìobadh agus a h-uile càil eile. Tha sin a’ còrdadh rium.
[Fiona] Agus am bidh feum agad uair sam bith air ‘call’ a chuir a-steach gu do bhràthair airson beagan cuideachaidh?
[Mairead] Uill, rinn e aon rud math aig cùl a’ ghàrraidh, rinn e ‘piaggio’ dà bhliadhna air ais.
[Mairead] Cha do rinn e càil a-staigh am broinn an taighe còmhla rinn.
[Fiona] Uill chan fheum thu a chuideachadh a-rèiste. A-nis, saorsa neo prìosan?
[Mairead] Saorsa.
[Fiona] Nam biodh saorsa agad a dhol a dh’àite sam bith air an t-saoghal – tha fios agam gu bheil thu air tòrr siubhail a dhèanamh ach – càite an deigheadh tu agus carson?
[Mairead] An àite a tha a’ còrdadh rium gu lèir ‘s e dìreach Alba fhèin agus a’ Ghàidhealtachd.
[Mairead] Ach nan deighinn a dh’àite sam bith ‘s e Antarctica.
[Fiona] Ò seadh, carson?
[Mairead] Uill, tha mi uabhasach dèidheil air daoine a tha a’ siubhal gu àitichean neònach.
[Mairead] Agus fhuair mi cothrom a dhol sìos gu na Falklands, agus chòrd sin rium.
[Mairead] Agus ‘s caomh leam sgeulachdan mu dheidhinn Shackleton ’s daoine mar sin.
[Mairead] Neo ‘s dòcha suas gu ‘Mongolia’. ‘Outer Mongolia’ ‘s na h-àitichean sin.
[Fiona] Àitichean fuar a-rithist.
[Mairead] Àitichean fuar
[Fiona] Uill tha mi an dòchas gum faigh thu ann uaireigin.
[Mairead] Bhiodh e math.
[Fiona] Agus tha sinn uabhasach toilichte gun robh thu a-staigh a’ cèilidh oirnn an seo a-nochd.
[Mairead] Tapadh leat a ghràidh.
[Fiona] Mìle taing.
[Fiona] Well, I know our next guest very well since we’re related.
[Fiona] Now, some of you will know her from the band Na h-Òganaich – herself, her brother Donnie and Noel Eadie who came to prominence as appealing music, talent and glamour came together.
[Fiona] Welcome Margaret, thank you for being with us today.
[Fiona] Now, the Mòd was very important to Na h-Òganaich, wasn’t it?
[Margaret] Well yes for Na h-Òganaich, and for me before Na h-Òganaich began – maybe ten years before Na h-Òganaich began.
[Margaret] But after I won the gold medal in 1970, I didn’t say, I was saying to myself “what am I going to do?”
[Margaret] And anyway, Donnie came to that Mod for the first time and he enjoyed it.
[Margaret] I also met Noel, and Noel was singing in the choir with me.
[Margaret] And then we were singing together and I made up my own mind “why don’t we enter the Mòd as a group?”, and we did that.
[Fiona] And is it something you were doing from when you were quite young? Were you singing... was there singing in the house?
[Margaret] My father was good as singing when he was washing the dishes and things like that.
[Margaret] But no one in the family sang on stage.
[Margaret] It was… it was when... we went to live in Peterhead, and the woman who was in charge of singing there, she picked me to sing at a concert, and I did that.
[Margaret] And I was 11 years old at the time and my mother noticed that I wasn’t at all nervous and she said “maybe Margaret will enter the Mod”.
[Margaret] And I learned a song when I went back home to Lewis for a holiday.
[Margaret] And I entered the first Mòd in 1959. Imagine! 60 years ago!
[Margaret] But I remember I was standing with my mother and I said “Heck! No way am I going to sing against those older girls!
[Margaret] They were wearing nylon and I had my wee white socks on, terrified.
[Margaret] Anyway, she said to me “just get on stage and sing like you did when you were a wee girl on Cnoc Shallur. And I did that, and I won.
[Fiona] And did you get nervous after that, in the years following in Na h-Òganaich?
[Mairead] No.
[Fiona] Not at all?
[Margaret] Not at all.
[Fiona] And for how many years were you taking to the stage? Around the world, no?
[Margaret] Well, Na h-Òganaich, we were together for seven years.
[Margaret] And after that we stopped for two or three years.
[Margaret] But we’re back now.
[Fiona] There’s no stopping you.
[Margaret] There’s no stopping us.
[Fiona] Well that’s good, you’re still going and now I’m going to,... You know that there are more questions to come. And I’ll give you two choices here, and if you choose one of them, I’ll ask the question that’s on that card.
[Fiona] Here’s the first one: a day’s work or a good night?
[Margaret] A day’s work.
[Fiona] Very good, well, the question is: what inspires you?
[Margaret] Gaelic.
[Fiona] Now, if I’m not mistaken, you didn’t speak Gaelic, or much Gaelic, when you were young did you?
[Margaret] Well I did. When I… We’d speak Gaelic at home even though we were… I was born and raised in Edinburgh.
[Margaret] And we moved up to Peterhead when I was ten.
[Margaret] But when I was in Peterhead lots of fishermen from Lewis came – your Grandfather one of them.
[Margaret] And they’d come into our house every weekend.
[Margaret] So I’d listen to the old men and their stories in Gaelic, and I also started on the songs.
[Margaret] And that’s what inspired me and gave me the confidence to pursue it.
[Fiona] And you’re now teaching Gaelic as well, how did that come about?
[Margaret] Well, I wanted to become a teacher when I was younger anyway, and as it happened, lots of people in Glasgow wanted to learn Gaelic.
[Margaret] And with that I started that, and I’ve now done it for six, seven years back.
[Fiona] And how important do you think that music and songs and poems are to the language.
[Margaret] Terribly important because it’s easier to learn, I think, with songs and if you put things together, and I say to them, I’ll sing things like “agam, agad, aige, aice, againn, aca” and silly things like that!
[Margaret] And it’s easier to learn like that, I think.
[Fiona] And remembering.
[Fiona] I’m going to move on now, and I believe that these questions relate to someone very important in the family.
[Fiona] Dòtaman or DIY?
[Margaret] DIY.
[Fiona] Well, what are you like yourself with a hammer? Are you good at DIY?
[Margaret] Well, I’ll put my hand to anything. I’m good at sewing and knitting, and when we bought the house that we live in now, it was falling in on itself.
[Margaret] But, everybody thought we were mad buying that place. But we like it now and we just renovated every room.
[Margaret] And I like wallpapering.
[Fiona] Wallpapering?!
[Margaret] And scraping and everything else. I enjoy that.
[Fiona] And do you ever need to call your brother for a little help?
[Margaret] Well he made one good thing at the back of the garden, he made a Piaggio two years ago.
[Margaret] But he hasn’t done anything inside the house with us.
[Fiona] Well you don’t need his help on account of that. Now: freedom or prison?
[Margaret] Freedom.
[Fiona] If you had the freedom to go anywhere in the world – I know you’ve already done a lot of travelling but – where would you go and why?
[Margaret] The place I like altogether is Scotland itself and the Highlands.
[Margaret] But if I could go anywhere it’d be Antarctica.
[Fiona] Wow, why?
[Mairead] Well, I’m very fond of people who travel to unusual places.
[Margaret] And I had the opportunity to go down to the Falklands, and I enjoyed that.
[Margaret] And I like stories about Shackleton and people like that.
[Margaret] Or maybe up to Mongolia. Outer Mongolia or one of the places around there.
[Fiona] Cold places again.
[Mairead) Cold places.
[Fiona] Well I hope that you get there sometime.
[Margaret] It would be good.
[Fiona] And we’re so happy that you came in to visit us here tonight.
[Margaret] Thank you, dear.
[Fiona] Uill, tha mi gu math eòlach air an ath-aoigh a th’ againn is agus sinn càirdeach.
[Fiona] A-nis, bidh feadhainn agaibhse eòlach oirre bhon chòmhlan Na h-Òganaich – i fhèin, a bràthair Donnie agus Noel Eadie a’ tighinn gu aire an t-sluaigh nuair a bha ceòl tarraingeach, tàlant agus glamour a’ tighinn ri chèile.
[Fiona] Fàilte a Mhairead, tapadh leibh airson a bhith còmhla rinn.
[Fiona] Nise, bha am Mòd gu math cudromach dha Na h-Òganaich, nach robh?
[Mairead] Uill bha dha Na h-Òganaich agus dhòmhsa bliadhnaichean mus do thòisich Na h-Òganaich cuideachd – ’s dòcha deich bliadhna mus do thòisich Na h-Òganaich.
[Mairead] Ach, às dèidh dhomh am bonn òr fhaighinn ann an naoi ceud deug is seachdad, cha robh mi ag ràdh … bha mi ag ràdh rium fhèin rium fhìn “dè tha mi a’ dol a dhèanamh?”
[Mairead] Agus co-dhiù, thàinig Donnie airson a’ chiad uair gun a’ Mhòd a bha sin agus chòrd e ris.
[Mairead] Agus ’s ann a thachair mi ri Noel cuideachd agus bha Noel anns a’ chòisir còmhla rium.
[Mairead] Agus an uair sin, a’ seinn còmhla agus rinn mi an-àird nam inntinn fhèin “carson nach tèid sinn a-steach airson bhuidheann aig a’ mhòd?” agus rinn sinn sin.
[Fiona] Agus, rinn thu rud a bh’ ann a bha thu a dèanamh bho bha thu gu math òg. An robh thu a’ seinn... an robh seinn anns an taigh agaibh?
[Mairead] Bha m’ athair math air seinn nuair a bha e a’ nighe nan soithichean agus rudan mar sin.
[Mairead] Ach cha robh duine anns an teaghlach a’ seasamh air an àrd-ùrlar a’ seinn.
[Mairead] ‘S ann a... ’s ann a bha... chaidh sinn a dh’fhuireach a Ceann Phàdraig, agus thagh tè a bha os cionn seinn ann a shin, thagh i mi airson seinn òran aig consart agus rinn mi sin.
[Mairead] Agus bha mi aon bhliadhn’ deug aig an àm agus ’s ann a mhothaich mo mhàthair nach robh mi nearbhach idir, agus ’s ann a thuirt i “’s dòcha gun tèid Mairead a-steach airson a’ Mhòid”.
[Mairead] Agus dh’ionnsaich mi òran nuair a chaidh mi suas dhachaigh a Leòdhas airson saor-làithean.
[Mairead] Agus chaidh mi a-steach airson a’ chiad Mhòd. Bha sin ann an leth-cheud sa naoi. Smaoinich! Trì fichead bliadhna air ais!
[Mairead] Ach bha cuimhne a’m gun robh mi a’ seasamh còmhla ri mo mhàthair ’s bha mi ag ràdh “Murt! Chan eil mis’ a’ dol a sheinn an aghaidh na clann-nighean mòr’ a tha sin.
[Mairead] Bha iad ann a shin le Nylon is bha mise le na stocainnean beaga bìodach geala orm ‘s feagal mo bheatha orm.
[Mairead] Co-dhiù, thuirt i rium “dìreach thalla air an àrd-ùrlar agus seinn mar a bha thu nuair a bha thu na do nighean bheag air Cnoc Shallur. Is rinn min sin agus bhuannaich mi.
[Fiona] Agus am biodh tu nearbhach às dèidh sin, anns na bliadhnaichean às dèidh sin anns na h-Òganaich?
[Mairead] Cha robh.
[Fiona] Cha robh idir?
[Mairead] Cha robh idir.
[Fiona] Agus cia mheud bliadhna a bha sibh a’ gabhail ri àrd-ùrlaran? Air feadh an t-saoghail, nach robh?
[Mairead] Uil, bha Na h-Òganaich, bha sinn cruinn còmhla airson seachd bliadhna.
[Mairead] Agus, às dèidh sin, sguir sinn airson dhà neo trì bliadhna fhèin.
[Mairead] Ach, tha sinn a-nis air ais.
[Fiona] Chan eil stad oirbh.
[Mairead] Chan eil stad oirnn.
[Fiona] Uill ’s math sin, tha sibh fhathast a’ dol agus tha mise a’ dol a-nis ... Bidh fios agad gu bheil tuilleadh cheistean ri thighinn, agus bheir mi dhut dà roghainn an seo agus ma thaghas tu fear dhiubh faighnichidh mi a’ cheist air a’ chairt.
[Fiona] So a chiad fheadhainn: obair-latha neo oidhche mhath?
[Mairead] Obair latha.
[Fiona] Glè mhath, uill, ’s e a’ cheist: dè tha ga do bhrosnachadh?
[Mairead] Gàidhlig.
[Fiona] Nise, ma tha mise ceart, cha robh Gàidhlig neo tòrr Gàidhlig agad nuair a bha thu òg an robh?
[Mairead] Uill bha. Nuair a bha... bha sinn a’ bruidhinn Gàidhlig anns an dachaigh ged a rugadh is thogadh sinn, mise ann an Dùn Èideann.
[Mairead] ’S chaidh sinn suas a Cheann Pàdraig nuair a bha mi deich.
[Mairead] Ach ’s ann nuair a bha mi ann an Ceann Pàdraig, bha tòrr dhe na h-iasgairean à Leòdhas a’ tighinn – do sheanair aon dhiubh.
[Mairead] Agus, bhiodh iad a’ tighinn a-steach dhan taigh againn a h-uile deireadh-sheachdain.
[Mairead] So bhiodh mise ag èisteachd ri na bodaich agus na sgeulachdan ann an Gàidhlig, agus thòisich mi cuideachd le na h-òrain.
[Mairead] Agus sin a bhrosnaich mise agus thug misneachd dhomh a leantainn.
[Fiona] Agus tha thu a-nis a’ teagaisg chlasaichean Gàidhlig cuideachd, ciamar a thàinig sin gu bith?
[Mairead] Uill, bha mi ag iarraidh airson miann a dhol a-steach airson teagaisg nuair a bha mi nas òige co-dhiù, agus mar a thachair e, bha tòrr de dhaoine ann an Glaschu ag iarraidh Gàidhlig ionnsachadh.
[Mairead] Agus le sin, thòisich mi sin agus tha mi air a dhèanamh a-nis airson sia, seachd bliadhna air ais.
[Fiona] Is dè cho cudromach ‘s a tha thu a’ smaoineachadh a tha ceòl agus òrain ’s bàrdachd dhan a’ chànan.
[Mairead] Tha e uabhasach cudromach oir tha e nas fhasa ag ionnsachadh, tha mi a’ smaoineachadh, le òrain agus ma tha thu a’ cur rudan gu rudeigin agus bidh mi ag ràdh riutha, bidh mi a’ seinn rudan mar “agam, agad, aige, aice, againn, aca” agus rudan gòrach mar siud!
[Mairead] Agus tha e nas fhasa a bhith ag ionnsachadh mar sin tha mi a’ smaoineachadh.
[Fiona] Agus a’ cuimhneachadh.
[Fiona] Tha mi a’ dol a ghluasad a-nise, agus tha mi a’ creidsinn gu bheil na ceistean a tha seo buntainn ri cuideigin gu math cudromach anns an teaghlach.
[Fiona] Dòtaman no DIY?
[Mairead] DIY.
[Fiona] Uill, cò ris a tha thu fhèin coltach le òrd? A bheil thu math air DIY?
[Mairead] Uill, cuiridh mi mo làmh ri càil sam bith. Tha mi math air fuaigheal agus air fighe, agus nuair a cheannaich sinn an taigh far a bheil sinn a’ fuireach an-dràsta bha e tuiteam na bhroinn.
[Mairead] Ach, ’s a h-uile duine a’ smaoineachadh gun robh sinn às ar rian a’ ceannach an àite siud. Ach tha e a’ còrdadh rinn an-diugh agus bha sinn dìreach ag ath-nuadhachadh a h-uile rùm agus a h-uile seòmar.
[Mairead] Agus is toil leum a bhith a ‘boltaigeadh’.
[Fiona] Boltaigeadh?!
[Mairead] Agus a’ sgrìobadh agus a h-uile càil eile. Tha sin a’ còrdadh rium.
[Fiona] Agus am bidh feum agad uair sam bith air ‘call’ a chuir a-steach gu do bhràthair airson beagan cuideachaidh?
[Mairead] Uill, rinn e aon rud math aig cùl a’ ghàrraidh, rinn e ‘piaggio’ dà bhliadhna air ais.
[Mairead] Cha do rinn e càil a-staigh am broinn an taighe còmhla rinn.
[Fiona] Uill chan fheum thu a chuideachadh a-rèiste. A-nis, saorsa neo prìosan?
[Mairead] Saorsa.
[Fiona] Nam biodh saorsa agad a dhol a dh’àite sam bith air an t-saoghal – tha fios agam gu bheil thu air tòrr siubhail a dhèanamh ach – càite an deigheadh tu agus carson?
[Mairead] An àite a tha a’ còrdadh rium gu lèir ‘s e dìreach Alba fhèin agus a’ Ghàidhealtachd.
[Mairead] Ach nan deighinn a dh’àite sam bith ‘s e Antarctica.
[Fiona] Ò seadh, carson?
[Mairead] Uill, tha mi uabhasach dèidheil air daoine a tha a’ siubhal gu àitichean neònach.
[Mairead] Agus fhuair mi cothrom a dhol sìos gu na Falklands, agus chòrd sin rium.
[Mairead] Agus ‘s caomh leam sgeulachdan mu dheidhinn Shackleton ’s daoine mar sin.
[Mairead] Neo ‘s dòcha suas gu ‘Mongolia’. ‘Outer Mongolia’ ‘s na h-àitichean sin.
[Fiona] Àitichean fuar a-rithist.
[Mairead] Àitichean fuar
[Fiona] Uill tha mi an dòchas gum faigh thu ann uaireigin.
[Mairead] Bhiodh e math.
[Fiona] Agus tha sinn uabhasach toilichte gun robh thu a-staigh a’ cèilidh oirnn an seo a-nochd.
[Mairead] Tapadh leat a ghràidh.
[Fiona] Mìle taing.
[Fiona] Well, I know our next guest very well since we’re related.
[Fiona] Now, some of you will know her from the band Na h-Òganaich – herself, her brother Donnie and Noel Eadie who came to prominence as appealing music, talent and glamour came together.
[Fiona] Welcome Margaret, thank you for being with us today.
[Fiona] Now, the Mòd was very important to Na h-Òganaich, wasn’t it?
[Margaret] Well yes for Na h-Òganaich, and for me before Na h-Òganaich began – maybe ten years before Na h-Òganaich began.
[Margaret] But after I won the gold medal in 1970, I didn’t say, I was saying to myself “what am I going to do?”
[Margaret] And anyway, Donnie came to that Mod for the first time and he enjoyed it.
[Margaret] I also met Noel, and Noel was singing in the choir with me.
[Margaret] And then we were singing together and I made up my own mind “why don’t we enter the Mòd as a group?”, and we did that.
[Fiona] And is it something you were doing from when you were quite young? Were you singing... was there singing in the house?
[Margaret] My father was good as singing when he was washing the dishes and things like that.
[Margaret] But no one in the family sang on stage.
[Margaret] It was… it was when... we went to live in Peterhead, and the woman who was in charge of singing there, she picked me to sing at a concert, and I did that.
[Margaret] And I was 11 years old at the time and my mother noticed that I wasn’t at all nervous and she said “maybe Margaret will enter the Mod”.
[Margaret] And I learned a song when I went back home to Lewis for a holiday.
[Margaret] And I entered the first Mòd in 1959. Imagine! 60 years ago!
[Margaret] But I remember I was standing with my mother and I said “Heck! No way am I going to sing against those older girls!
[Margaret] They were wearing nylon and I had my wee white socks on, terrified.
[Margaret] Anyway, she said to me “just get on stage and sing like you did when you were a wee girl on Cnoc Shallur. And I did that, and I won.
[Fiona] And did you get nervous after that, in the years following in Na h-Òganaich?
[Mairead] No.
[Fiona] Not at all?
[Margaret] Not at all.
[Fiona] And for how many years were you taking to the stage? Around the world, no?
[Margaret] Well, Na h-Òganaich, we were together for seven years.
[Margaret] And after that we stopped for two or three years.
[Margaret] But we’re back now.
[Fiona] There’s no stopping you.
[Margaret] There’s no stopping us.
[Fiona] Well that’s good, you’re still going and now I’m going to,... You know that there are more questions to come. And I’ll give you two choices here, and if you choose one of them, I’ll ask the question that’s on that card.
[Fiona] Here’s the first one: a day’s work or a good night?
[Margaret] A day’s work.
[Fiona] Very good, well, the question is: what inspires you?
[Margaret] Gaelic.
[Fiona] Now, if I’m not mistaken, you didn’t speak Gaelic, or much Gaelic, when you were young did you?
[Margaret] Well I did. When I… We’d speak Gaelic at home even though we were… I was born and raised in Edinburgh.
[Margaret] And we moved up to Peterhead when I was ten.
[Margaret] But when I was in Peterhead lots of fishermen from Lewis came – your Grandfather one of them.
[Margaret] And they’d come into our house every weekend.
[Margaret] So I’d listen to the old men and their stories in Gaelic, and I also started on the songs.
[Margaret] And that’s what inspired me and gave me the confidence to pursue it.
[Fiona] And you’re now teaching Gaelic as well, how did that come about?
[Margaret] Well, I wanted to become a teacher when I was younger anyway, and as it happened, lots of people in Glasgow wanted to learn Gaelic.
[Margaret] And with that I started that, and I’ve now done it for six, seven years back.
[Fiona] And how important do you think that music and songs and poems are to the language.
[Margaret] Terribly important because it’s easier to learn, I think, with songs and if you put things together, and I say to them, I’ll sing things like “agam, agad, aige, aice, againn, aca” and silly things like that!
[Margaret] And it’s easier to learn like that, I think.
[Fiona] And remembering.
[Fiona] I’m going to move on now, and I believe that these questions relate to someone very important in the family.
[Fiona] Dòtaman or DIY?
[Margaret] DIY.
[Fiona] Well, what are you like yourself with a hammer? Are you good at DIY?
[Margaret] Well, I’ll put my hand to anything. I’m good at sewing and knitting, and when we bought the house that we live in now, it was falling in on itself.
[Margaret] But, everybody thought we were mad buying that place. But we like it now and we just renovated every room.
[Margaret] And I like wallpapering.
[Fiona] Wallpapering?!
[Margaret] And scraping and everything else. I enjoy that.
[Fiona] And do you ever need to call your brother for a little help?
[Margaret] Well he made one good thing at the back of the garden, he made a Piaggio two years ago.
[Margaret] But he hasn’t done anything inside the house with us.
[Fiona] Well you don’t need his help on account of that. Now: freedom or prison?
[Margaret] Freedom.
[Fiona] If you had the freedom to go anywhere in the world – I know you’ve already done a lot of travelling but – where would you go and why?
[Margaret] The place I like altogether is Scotland itself and the Highlands.
[Margaret] But if I could go anywhere it’d be Antarctica.
[Fiona] Wow, why?
[Mairead] Well, I’m very fond of people who travel to unusual places.
[Margaret] And I had the opportunity to go down to the Falklands, and I enjoyed that.
[Margaret] And I like stories about Shackleton and people like that.
[Margaret] Or maybe up to Mongolia. Outer Mongolia or one of the places around there.
[Fiona] Cold places again.
[Mairead) Cold places.
[Fiona] Well I hope that you get there sometime.
[Margaret] It would be good.
[Fiona] And we’re so happy that you came in to visit us here tonight.
[Margaret] Thank you, dear.