BRIAN Ó HEADHRA is the Gaelic Youth Development Officer for the Highland Region, but that is only one of his many roles, as KENNY MATHIESON discovered.

BRIAN Ó HEADHRA (pronounced Bree-an Ohara) was born in Dublin, but spent part of his childhood (from 5-7) living in Newfoundland (his mother is Canadian). He began learning the Irish version of Gaelic in school in Dublin, and completed a degree in Folklore and English before forming the highly regarded band Anam.

He arrived in Scotland in the mid-1990s when Anam (which means ‘soul’) decided that Edinburgh offered more opportunities to play and develop their music than their native patch. He married singer Fiona Mackenzie, one of the three sisters from Lewis who make up the band Mackenzie, and both moved to Skye to study Scottish Gaelic at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig.

Music remains his first love (guitar is his principal instrument), and he still plays whenever the opportunity arises. He works with Mackenzie, performs regularly at Hootananny’s in Inverness (of which more in a moment), and is about to issue a CD of Scottish and Irish songs with the great Christine Primrose on his own Anam Music label.

After finishing the one year Gaelic course in Skye, he gravitated into the sphere of arts administration when he was apppointed to manage Taigh Dhonnchaidh Arts & Music Centre in Ness, on the Isle of Lewis. He and Fiona spent three years there, and the experience has stood him in good stead since he took over the prorgamming of Hootananny’s from Bruce MacGregor.

“In my experience it’s quite unusual to have someone who is both a musician and an administrator,” he suggested. “I was involved with some really interesting projects at Taigh Dhonnchaidh, and that experience has been useful in a number of ways what I’m doing now.

“Contacts are important in the music business, both with agents and promoters, and with musicians. I have a pretty good idea of what will go down well, and I know a lot of the musicians very well too. Otherwise, it can all be a bit too much a matter of guesswork.”

If playing and programming the venue keep him busy in the evenings, his day job is also a demanding one. He and Fiona moved to Inverness in September when he took up the post of Gaelic Youth Development Officer with Comunn na Gàidhlig. His principle work is with Sradagan, the network of Gaelic youth clubs.

“I’m really delighted to be able to work on the promotion of Gaelic language and culture,” he said. “There are 40 groups throughout Scotland, and it takes in all kinds of activities, including sport and trips and so on, but also includes arts projects. I’ve done sessions on singing, playiing and dancing through the Arts Play scheme, and I have brought in other specialists to take things like drama. We try to keep Highland culture to the fore in everything we do, and it is all done in Gaelic.”

In addition to the youth clubs, Brian is also involved with the recently launched Inverness Gaelic Forum, and the Gaelic conversation group, Cothrom Còmhraidh, both of which meet in Hootananny’s. He has not severed his links with Lewis, either, since he is still involved with the running of Fèis nan Òran, the traditional Gaelic singing festival he launched in Ness (he was also involved with Fèis Taigh Dhonnchaidh, Ceòl Nis and Sgoil Shamhraidh, a Gaelic summer school which he reckons was the first of its type).

Not much point, then, in asking him how he fills his leisure time… #

© Kenny Mathieson, 2003

Related links

• Hootananny
• Comunn na Gàidhlig
• Sradagan