Mòd nan Lochan Mòra

MÒD NAN LOCHAN MÒRA 2008

Mòd nan Lochan Mòra 2008, our sixth Ohio Mòd, will take place at the Ohio Scottish Games, June 27-29.

This year Gillebrìde MacMillan will be our adjudicator. Gillebrìde, from South Uist, is one of the few people to have won all major prizes at the Royal National Mod as an adult and as a child. He won the Traditional Gold Medal at the 2000 Mod in Dunoon and The Royal National Gold Medal in Perth in 2004. He comes from a family with a strong tradition of Gaelic singing. Gaelic is his first language and he was brought up in a Gaelic speaking family and community. His first solo CD, “Thogainn ort fonn” was released in December 2006. With his permission some of the advanced songs for our mòd are from his CD. Google his name for more information. Gillebrìde is on call to teach Gaelic language and song in many venues and will be teaching at the ACGA sponsored Grandfather Mountain Gaelic Song and Language Workshop in July, 2008.

Mòd nan Lochan Mòra 2008 will follow the same format as in 2007. There are competitions in poetry, storytelling and song, with a banquet and song workshop. The mòd will run from 6:00 p.m. Friday, June 27, till midday Sunday, June 29.

The poetry recitation competition will take place on the Friday evening at the motel. The poem, "Chi mi thu tro cheò na h-ùine," by Donald John MacDonald from South Uist, is the prescribed poem. It can be found in Chi mi, the Gaelic Poetry of Donald John MacDonald, p. 2. A recording and the text of the poem will be e-mailed upon request.

Storytelling follows the poetry competition. Competitors are required to tell a story in Gaelic and then give an English translation. Storytelling is self select.

The song competition takes place on the Saturday at the Games in Wellington.

Advanced: We have 3 prescribed songs for advanced men and 3 prescribed songs for advanced women, one of which is common to both. The one that is common to both has to be one that is appropriate for either men or women.  For the men the two prescribed songs are Dh'fhalbh mo bhean chomainn and Bean an droch nadair. The third prescribed song, common to both men and women, is Oran dhan Eideadh Gaidhealach. All of these are from the CD, Thogainn ort fonn.

Since there are no songs suitable for women on Gillebrìde’s CD, the songs for women are taken (with her permission) from Maggie MacInnes’s CD’s. They are A fhleasgaich oig is ceanalta and Gura mise tha fo eislean. Again, the women sing Oran dhan Eideadh Gaidhealach from Gillebrìde’s CD as their third prescribed song.

All advanced men and women will sing a fourth song which is self-select.

Beginners: Both beginning men and women will sing one prescribed song and one self select song. The prescribed song for beginners is Null thar an aiseig, recorded by Gillebrìde for the mòd.

So, advanced singers will sing four songs in all and beginners will sing two songs.

All the songs are available for $5.00 on one CD. Those who attended the workshop last year have already purchased the CD for this year. They also received copies of the texts of the songs in Gaelic and English.

There is still time for you to enter. Just contact me by e-mail and I’ll send you a copy of the CD with all the songs on it, and e-mail you the texts.

Registration, including entry fees, for Mòd nan Lochan Mòra will be available shortly. Contact Frances Acar at the email address below for registration materials.

We will be having a banquet and ceilidh on the Saturday evening. This is always a very enjoyable evening at the Oberlin Inn, close to the games location.

We will finish our mòd with a song workshop on the Sunday morning. After the workshop we have lunch and then disperse.

We will be staying at the Rodeway Inn, (same as the Traveler’s Choice) again this year. The location is:

2875 Medina Road
Medina, OH 44256
Phone: (330) 725-4571

You can Google the Inn for more information.

Our rates have remained very reasonable, $45.00 + 12½% tax (total $50.61) per room per night, single or double. The booking arrangements are the same as last year. I have reserved a number of rooms for the Friday and Saturday nights. You phone (330) 725-4571, ask for Janet and reserve your accommodation on your credit card. Do it soon, rooms are at a premium the weekend of the games. There are no motels in Wellington itself so there is a great demand for accommodation in the surrounding area. The motel can be seen from Interstate 77, on State Route 18, just twenty minutes away from Hopkins International Airport and half an hour away from Akron Canton Airport. The motel now has a restaurant so we have the choice of having dinner there on the Friday evening, or at Alexandri’s next door, as we have in the past.

The games are held in Wellington, half an hour away from the motel. For more information on the Ohio Scottish Games go to their website at http://www.ohioscottishgames.com.
Our banquet on the Saturday evening will take place at the Oberlin Inn, about half an hour north of Wellington. We will have the same menu as last year, with the same cost of $26.00 for adults.

For more information, or for materials, please contact Frances Acar, Mòd Chair, by e-mail at frances.acar@gmail.com

Or write to:

Frances Acar
234 Lowell Drive
Kent, OH 44240.