It was appropriate that the concert was held on Burns Night, as it celebrated all that was good and bad in Sutherland History and Culture. Sutherland's own Bard, Robb Donn Calder / Mackay born in 1715, 44 years before Robert Burns, described his first sight of the world as:
I was born in the winter
Among the lowering mountains,
And my first sight of the world
Snow and wind about my ears.

Held in the comfortable and intimate 230 seat Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Ùrachadh took us on a multimedia historical tour of Sutherland's history, people, poetry and music. It was a well crafted evening conducted in Gaelic and translated into English for those of us with little or no Gaelic. It was a fascinating evening that was an evocative expression of the Highland way of life that has long gone. However, more importantly the talented musicians and singers that make up Ùrachadh, showed their potential with old songs and tunes and contemporary music and newly composed Gaelic songs which give us hope that the history, traditions, music and poetry will be remembered while new compositions will find new audiences eager to embrace their culture.

Ùrachadh, made up of James Graham, Rhona Sutherland, James Ross, Catriona MacLeod and Carol-Anne Mackay delivered a very polished and professional performance on bagpipes, fiddle, guitar, accordion, piano and whistles. James Graham's voice has a warmth and range that belies his age, and as befits a Mod Gold Medallist, he treated his material with sensitivity as he sang the Gaelic songs, while the harmonies of Catriona and Carol- Anne added greatly to some of the songs.

Catriona, Rhona and Carol Anne showed their considerable musical and vocal skills, as well as an easy happy relationship with each other, while James Ross gave a virtuoso performance on the Piano. All this was complimented by the photos and sound clips from many North Sutherland story tellers {seanchaidh}, such as Alec George Mackay from Melness, as well as some iconic black and white photos, and flora and fauna native to sutherland.

Some of the eras covered were the Jacobite rebellion, the music and poetry of Robb Donn, the Clearances and the Napier Commission, the two world wars and finally new music and song by the members of Ùrachadh.

For those of us who belong to Mackay Country, it was a chance to learn more about our rich heritage, to rediscover how our homeland was decimated in the name of improvement, and to begin to understand that development in the crofting lands has made little progress, however, there is hope in that Assynt and Melness Estates have the potential to show the way forward for the future of the highlands.

Congratulations are due to all concerned with this project and it is hoped that funding will be found to transfer this vast resource and treasure onto DVD so that future generations can learn from it and be inspired by it!

Thank you for a wonderful evening; Iain and Janice Morrison.