Who are Còisir Lunnainn? We Interview one of London's biggest Gaelic Choir Groups

Còisir Lunnainn, the London Gaelic Choir, was first formed in 1891. With large numbers of Highlanders and Islanders living in London, it became, along with The Gaelic Society of London, a key social pillar for London’s Gaels. The choir has kept going for nearly 130 years - with breaks for the two world wars of course. Our longest serving member is Kathy Kennedy, who joined the choir in 1949, following in the footsteps of her parents who had been members of the choir for years previously.

Fergus joined the choir in 2013, after taking Gaelic classes for a few years at CityLit near Covent Garden. Singing is such a good way to strengthen your knowledge of a language, and music plays such a strong role in Gaelic culture, it seemed like an obvious choice. He became the conductor after the previous incumbent, Angus Nichol, passed away in 2016. Angus was a long-time supporter of Gaelic language and culture in London and back in Scotland. He left big shoes to fill

Angelique joined the choir as a soprano when she moved to London in November 2016.

As Fergus has been spending more time away from London for work, Angelique has taken on the role of lead conductor and done an amazing job. She conducted the choir at the Royal National Mòd (Gaelic singing competition) in Glasgow this year.

Fergus grew up in Scotland. As a child he played the bagpipes and accordion (though neither to a particularly high level!), and enjoyed ceilidh dancing. That, combined with a fairly musical family and an enthusiastically Gaelic speaking grandmother pointed him in the right direction

Angelique isn't really sure, because growing up in New Zealand she had to go looking for it! She was asked to sing at a couple of events for the wonderfully supportive Clan Donald of New Zealand and she found a stunning Gaelic song and wanted to learn more. The Gaelic language can be so expressive, it's a singer's gift; the words can encourage dance or make your heart break. Some of the old and new tunes are so exciting and beautiful, who wouldn't want to join in?

Yes indeed. We welcome everybody, regardless of their level of Gaelic, but it is no surprise that a lot of our members do have Gaelic in their families. One of our recent joiners is a native speaker who grew up in Tiree, and our longest serving member was born in London, but spent the wartime years with her mother’s Gaelic speaking family in Lochaber. Other members include learners of all levels, the children and grandchildren of Gaelic speakers, and those who have no connection with the language and just came for the music.

Our favourite performance so far has to be our recent appearance at Mòd Ghlaschu back in October. For ten years, Còisir Lunnainn hasn’t met the numbers requirements to compete in the senior choral competitions. This year, we managed to get there, and appeared on stage (and on live TV!) in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. It was an amazing experience for the whole choir. Some of our longer-serving members have been taking part in Mòds for decades, but for us and many of our newer members, it was our first time taking part at the Mòd. It was such a thrill to be on stage in such a large hall, and real testament to the hard work of the whole choir over the last few years.

Còisir Lunnainn has a couple of standard fixtures during the year. Last year we had our first Gaelic Christmas service at Lumen United Reformed Church near King’s Cross. We’re looking forward to this year’s Christmas service on Sun 15th December. We also have an arrangement with the Gaelic Society of London to sing at one of their events per year. This year we had our inaugural Spring Ceilidh, organised by the amazing and indefatigable Kirsty who is a stalwart of our Alto section. This included a performance by Còisir Lunnainn. We are excited for next year’s Spring Ceilidh too. Of course, the main focus of the year is the Mòd. Next year’s will be in Inverness in October 2020. We’re always on the look out for other events to sing at.

Many of our members are Scottish or come from families with Scottish backgrounds. We have Scots New Zealanders like Angelique, Scots born in Scotland like Fergus, and people from all over the world - including those with no Scottish family background but a great interest in Scottish culture. Some of our English members have much better Gaelic than either of us! Regardless of our backgrounds, we are brought together by a love of Gaelic singing and a commitment to preserving and promoting Gaelic culture in London.

Well, Gaelic choral singing of course!

Apart from that, Fergus loves Scotland’s linguistic diversity - Gaelic is an important part of that, but so are the various dialects of Scots, and the unique and beautiful ways English is used in Scotland. It all comes together in a rich tapestry of sounds and words that lends itself to all kinds of expression.

For Angelique, trad sessions in what have to be the best pubs in the world. Can't beat them!