Biography

Janet MacDonald was born in Tobermory on the 13th of March 1946. Her mother, Sybil Henderson, was from Ardnamurchan and her father, James Tandy, was from Widnes, Lancashire. James was based in Tobermory during the war, with the Navy, which is how he met Sybil. Janet says that is a Celt through and through because, on her father's side, her grandfather was Irish and her grandmother was Welsh.

Janet went to Tobermory Primary School and then to Oban High School for three years. After leaving school she went to Edinburgh University where she graduated in Mathematics and Gaelic. She then trained as a teacher and taught for a year in Oban.

She married Archie MacDonald from Oban, and they lived in Tobermory. They have four sons who are now spread between Glasgow, London, Paisley and Australia.

In 1971, Janet, together with Seonag MacKenzie, daughter of the famous fiddler Pibroch MacKenzie, and Davie Williamson formed a group named The Sound of Mull with the intention of taking part in the Mull Local Mòd. Three years later they won first place in the band competition at the Royal National Mòd in Dundee. They often performed on stage right up until the 1980s and were broadcast on radio and television. They recorded two albums, and a CD of selected songs from the albums still sells today.

Janet taught at Tobermory School, first in Mathematics and English and then Gaelic, until she retired in 2001.

Janet frequently participated in both local and the national Mòd, winning the Gold Medal at the Royal National Mòd in Inverness in 1984. She was also a member of the women's choir Atomic Piseag. Additionally, Janet sang with the Mull Choir, where she served as their Gaelic reader.