Registration is now open for Mòd Ligonier 2018, which will be held at the Ligonier Highland Games in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, Sept. 22, and Sunday, Sept. 23.

Mòd Ligonier will feature competitions in Scottish Gaelic song, poetry, storytelling familiar to those who’ve attended ACGA’s U.S. National Mòd in years past. (The national Mòd, which celebrated its 30th anniverary last year, is on hiatus this year as we plan a larger gathering in 2019.)

We’re delighted to welcome as Alasdair Currie and our own Michael Mackay as adjudicators. Currie was born and raised on the Isle of Islay, Scotland, and lived on a farm called Ballachlaven at the north end of the island. He began singing and competing in mòds at a very young age. As a child he won the ‘Dunoon Observer Gold Medal’ for boy’s solo singing 10-12, the James C. Macphee badge for boy’s solo singing 13-15, and the open competition for boys aged 16-18.

In his first year competing as an adult at the Royal National Mòd, Currie won the Silver Pendant in Oban. He finished third in the Gold Medal competition the next year in Lewis and won the Gold Medal in Fort William in 2017. He is one of more than 20 gold medal winners from the Royal National Mòd since 1998 who have attended the U.S. National Mòd and now Mòd Ligonier.

Alasdair studied bagpipes and small pipes at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the Gaelic college on the Isle of Skye, for three years, achieving a degree with distinction in Gaelic and Traditional Music and received tutoring from Christine Primrose, Arthur Cormack and Blair Douglas.

Michael Mackay has been learning Scottish Gaelic since the late 1990s, and is now a fluent contributor to BBC radio and television programs such as Aithris na Maidne (The Morning Report) and Prògram Choinnich (Kenny MacIver’s morning show). He also, along with Liam Cassidy and Ed Bradshaw, created an Internet Gaelic news topic show, Gaelcast, and produced An Saoghal Againne, a Gaelic news program for Rèidio Guth nan Gàidheal, now archived and available on Mixcloud.

Mackay is president of ACGA. He has adjudicated at the North Carolina Provincial Mòd, connected with ACGA’s Grandfather Mountain Song and Language Week and the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. Mackay has won the gold medal at the U.S. National Mòd several times, as well as getting several first place wins at the Royal Mòd in Scotland in prose competitions, and a second place in the Traditional Gold Medal competition.

Lodging

This year, we won’t be staying at the Antiochian Village. Mòd attendees are free to choose lodging that suits their budgets in the Ligonier area. There are many hotels in the area, but it’s best to book early, as the Ligonier Highland Games draws thousands of people to the region.

We’ll be gathering on Friday night before the Saturday event, and the location and schedule should be available soon. Keep an eye on this page for more information!