Paisley has been named as the official host town for the Royal National Mod 2013.
The decision to hold the 2013 Mod, one of Scotland’s biggest music festivals, in Paisley was announced by An Comunn Gàidhealach.
The move follows an ambitious bid submitted by Meur Phàislig in partnership with Renfrewshire Council, and reflects Paisley’s growing reputation for events.
It is also a fantastic boost for the Paisley Is campaign which is getting the whole community to back Paisley’s “proud past, promising future.”
“We have always been confident that Paisley would make a fantastic place to host the national Mod, given our excellent track record for successful events such as Paisley Choral festival and Paisley’s massive Christmas lights switch-on.
“An Comunn Gàidhealach obviously agree and I am extremely proud of this huge achievement.
Over the past few months we have been grabbing headlines with the positive and forward looking Paisley Is campaign. The campaign slogan is “proud past, promising future” and as hosts of the national Mod, we have even more to be proud of.”
This is the first time Paisley has hosted the national Mod. The town will follow on from Caithness in 2010, Stornoway in 2011, and Dunoon in 2012.
The eight-day festival is famous for celebrating Gaelic linguistic and cultural heritage and provides opportunities for people of all ages to perform across a range of competitive disciplines including Gaelic music and song, highland dancing, instrumental, drama, sport and literature.
Councillor Lorraine Cameron, Renfrewshire Council’s Education Convener, said: “There are a range of people who have supported this bid and I’d like to congratulate everyone for helping us get this far. This is a huge festival which will see the whole community getting involved. It will be particularly exciting for local schoolchildren to learn more about the Mod and the Gaelic cultural heritage in the lead up to and during the festival.”
Ealasaid MacDonald, chair of Meur Phàislig, said: “We are delighted that our ambitious bid to bring the Mod to Paisley has been successful. The willingness of An Comunn Gaidhealach to bring the Mod to a previously untested town demonstrates the very high quality of the bid put forward by Renfrewshire Council in association with Meur Phaislig.
This will provide a wonderful focus on the language and should assist us as we develop awareness and participation locally. Local Gaelic classes are already popular and we have witnessed the success of local groups, such as Sonas and Clann Gaidhlig, which are going from strength to strength.
“We are delighted at the positive response we have received from the Gaelic community at large, with many offers of support as we make our preparations over the coming years. We are in no doubt of the challenge which lays ahead as we bring the whole community together to ensure that the first ever Paisley Mod is a success.”
Over the past 12 months, Paisley has played host to a string of high profile Scottish musicians including Karen Matheson, Dougie MacLean and Eddi Reader.
Paisley Choral Festival has been running in the town for six years, bringing a string of high profile classical musicians to Paisley, helping the town earn the unofficial title of Scotland’s Festival Town.
