Biography

Alasdair Grant was born in Glasgow on 2 December 1935 and was raised in Kilmuir on the Isle of Skye until the age of seven. His father, Kenneth Grant, came from Boreraig, and his mother, Peggy Ailig Uilleim, was from Herbusta, Kilmuir. Alasdair had one sister, Chrissie, and two brothers, Kenneth and Donald.

He attended school in Glasgow — first Napiershall Street Primary School and then Woodside School. Gaelic was offered there for the first time the year he enrolled, and he chose to study it. After leaving school, Alasdair worked briefly for the Automobile Association and then for a company that shipped goods worldwide.

He later decided to pursue university study and went to the University of Aberdeen, where he completed a degree in Celtic. During his degree, he also studied classical music for two years. After teacher training, he secured his first post at Daliburgh School in South Uist. He taught there for two years before moving to Bellahouston Academy in Glasgow, then to Lochgilphead, and finally to Lochaber High School, where he spent twenty years teaching before retiring.

In 1975, Alasdair married Catriona Love from Prestwick. They had two sons, Kenneth and Donald. Alasdair and Catriona have lived in Roybridge for most of their time in Lochaber.

Alasdair won the Gold Medal at the Royal National Mòd in Dundee in 1959. Both major awards went to Skye that year, with Kenna Campbell [1830] winning the Ladies' Gold Medal. Alasdair was very busy performing at ceilidhs around this time, although he has often said he was never particularly comfortable on stage.

He is also a poet, and one of his songs, 'S Truagh Nach Robh Mi Còmhla Riut, was recorded by Anne Martin [679]. Another, Tha Thu Daonnan nam Smuain, is sung by Karen Matheson [8886] on an album produced by her son Donald in 2009.

In addition to his own singing, Alasdair has served as a judge, helped choirs and groups prepare for the Mòd, and tutored many solo singers.