£750 award for students or school pupils commemorating a sàr-Ghàidheal
The Donald John MacKay Educational Trust – offers an award in memory of Donald John MacKay, to mark the outstanding contribution he made to Gaelic and industrial development throughout the Highlands and Islands.
Donald John had a long association with the work of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Lèirsinn Research Centre, An Comunn Gàidhealach, of which he was the first Director (1965-70), Comunn na Gàidhlig, British Alcan, the Harris Tweed Association, Highlands and Islands Development Board, and the Gaelic Society of Inverness, as well as a range of other organisations.
Proposals are invited from individual pupils in senior phase secondary education – S5 or S6 – and individual students in Scotland, in full-time or part-time study, at further or higher education level or working towards a doctorate.
The competition is administered by Fèisean nan Gàidheal on behalf of the Trust. Examples are given below of previous awards and you can download guidance and an application form on the right-hand side of the page.
Previous Awards
Johnnie Gallagher
Johnnie Gallagher was offered an award by the Donald John MacKay Educational Trust to create a presentation entitled Celtic Origins: Archaeologically Speaking based on research he had done on the origins of the Celtic language family from an archaeological perspective. Johnnie’s presentation can be viewed here.
Sharon Cooper
Sharon Cooper was offered an award by the Donald John MacKay Educational Trust to assist with an exhibition of prints, rubbings and cyanotypes from plants and grasses, along with Gaelic text including their names and background notes. The Gaelic Books Council offered Sharon additional funds which enabled her to publish an attractive book entitled Lusan
