Tag Archives: with Celtic band Skipinnish
Protest song wins traditional music award
A song written in protest at a Scottish Government fishing policy has won original work of the year at the Scots Trad Music Awards. Skipinnish wrote The Clearances Again following the launch of plans by the Scottish Government to limit human activity in at least 10% of Scottish waters with the creation of highly protected marine areas (HPMAs). Following a consultation on the issue, which garnered widespread opposition, including among SNP MSPs, the plan was eventually dropped. Written from the perspective of Outer Hebrides-based fisherman Donald Francis MacNeil – a friend of Skipinnish co-founder Angus MacPhail, the song compared the proposed policy to the Highland clearances, which saw the forced eviction of Scots across the Highlands and Islands. more, >>click to read<< 15:21
Fisherman prepares to take to the stage with HPMA protest song
Vatersay fisherman Donald Francis MacNeil talks to Jacqueline Wake Young about The Clearances Again, the protest song he co-wrote with Celtic band Skipinnish, as they prepare to perform it live at Aberdeen Music Hall concert on May 12. DF, as he is known to family and friends, followed in his father’s footsteps and became a fisherman as soon as he left school. “Many young men did the same. You could leave school on Friday and start on a fishing boat on Monday. It was very much a natural option and I enjoyed it.” Now the 64-year-old is about to face another challenge – singing on stage with Skipinnish after their protest song reached number five in the iTunes downloads chart. >click to read< 11:50
