Album of the Week – Maggie MacInnes ‘Uiseagan Bharraigh (Barra Skylarks)’

Written by celtic music radio on August 7, 2026

Our next Album of the Week is this distinctive album celebrating the musical legacy of Maggie MacInness’ mother, Flora MacNeil MBE, and the tradition bearers of Barra whose voices shaped generations of Gaelic song.

The songs come directly from recordings made of Flora MacNeil between 1955 and 1961 by Australian-born folklorist, Dr James Kalokerinos. He collected her vast repertoire on reeltoreel tapes during her early married life and these were later transferred to cassette, and passed to Maggie by her mother.

Flora learned these songs from her mother, grandmother, aunt, uncle, and from her neighbours on Barra, a community where songs were passed down through memory, performance and family connection.

When her mother died in 2015, Maggie, with support from Creative Scotland, digitised the tapes and began exploring them, discovering songs she had never heard her mother sing. This led to the creation of the album and a website containing all of the recordings with background information that’s available here: https://floramacneil.com/

There is also a performance project, The Kalokerinos Tapes, a tribute to Flora and those who shaped her repertoire, which premiered at Celtic Connections in Glasgow in January.

Hugh Taylor was at its live performance at Girvan Traditional Folk Festival in May and he’ll be talking about it all with Maggie on the Album of the Week Show this Saturday at noon.

ALBUM OF THE WEEK SHOW – Maggie MacInnes in conversation with Hugh Taylor – midday – Saturday, August 8, 2026.