The Royal National Mod

The Royal National Mod – Scotland’s premier Gaelic festival

Dunoon 13 th - 21st October 2006

The Royal National Mod or Am Mòd Nàiseanta Rìoghai, is an annual festival of Scottish Gaelic culture, held each autumn in Scotland.

The Scottish Mod is similar in form to the Welsh Eisteddfod or the Irish Feis in being a celebration of indigenous language and culture, through choral events, poetry recitals, bible readings and story telling all in the Scots Gaelic language along with traditional music from the bagpipe and fiddle. The mod is essentially a competitive event, where local parishes compete among different age groups.

Scots Gaelic is a Celtic language with links to Irish, Welsh and Breton. In Scotland , there are around 80,000 native Gaelic speakers; these are based mainly in the wild and remote regions of Scotland’s Highlands and Western Isles. The mod was established in celebration of their distinct language and culture.

The first Mod was held in 1892 in the port of Oban in the western Highlands of Scotland. From 1912 the mod was granted royal status and each year the Royal National Mod is attended by a member of the Royal Family. Today, as Scotland’s premier Gaelic cultural festival the Royal National Mod has become one of the biggest events in Scotland, attracting Gaels and non-Gaels alike from all over Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales and as far a-field as the U.S. Canada and Australia.

Each year the Mod moves to a different location throughout Scotland’s Gaelic speaking areas of the highlands and Islands. In 2005 it was held on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides , in 2006 the event will be held in Dunoon, in 2007 in Lochaber and 2008 the mod will be held in Falkirk.

To those taking part in the Mod, it is an opportunity to meet old friends and make new acquaintances, while the events help to galvanize the Scots Gaelic community and raise awareness and education of the Scots Gaelic language. To visitors the Royal National Mod is a chance to immerse yourselves in a uniquely Scottish experience and take home some cherished memories of your vacation to Scotland and Britain.

For further details and information on customized vacations to Britain contact one of our guides.

Words and Phrases in Scots Gaelic