Biography

"She is a happy woman. That is the first thing I can say about her. She is a happy woman, always happy. And you'll hear her before you'll see her. You'll hear her laughter when you go wherever she is. You'll hear her laugh, and you know she is there."

That is how a friend described Chrissie MacEachen when she was awarded the Freedom of Lochaber in 2007 in recognition of her extraordinary voluntary contributions.

Chrissie was born at Clachan Mòr, Iochdar, in South Uist, in 1935. Her father, Ronald Ruadh, was born in Glasgow where his own father was a dockworker on the Clyde. When he drowned while trying to save someone from the river, his widowed wife returned to South Uist with young Ronald. When Ronald was older, he returned to Glasgow, and at a dance school he met his wife, Anna MacMillan from Daliburgh. Ronald was a Dance Master and before the war had a dance school in Stoneybridge. South Uist. Apparently, there was a large picture of Ronald hanging in the Lochboisdale Hotel when it was owned by Finlay MacKenzie. There was a story of how Ronald Ruadh danced the flings during the Games at Askernish on a small brown case, the kind that one would take for a weekend away.

After leaving school, Chrissie moved to Glasgow for employment, but she returned home for a short period and worked in Lochboisdale, before going to Fort William to work as a childminder for a family there. When she returned to Glasgow, she met Ronald MacEachen from Aird, Benbecula. Ronald worked in the prison service until 1970, when he found employment at Fort William High School. They then moved north.

Chrissie and Ronald were soon involved in the Gaelic scene in Fort William, especially the local branch of An Comunn Gàidhealach, and through Chrissie's excellent work in teaching youth choirs in the schools in the area. As Charles MacColl said about her on BBC Radio nan Gàidheal: "If it weren't for Chrissie we wouldn't have a youth choir, and the young people wouldn't sing as they do, as seen at the Mod."

Chrissie explained how it happened:

"There were small children around here, and I started encouraging them to compete at the Mod. And they went and were winning too, some of them. I was then invited into the school in Kyle and I was there for two years. And I had a choir and would take them to the local Mod, and the Royal National Mod too. And we would win the competitions. One night, there was a meeting at the local branch. They thought, 'It's a bit strange to go into one school, while the other primary schools have no Gaelic at all. Would you consider going to other schools too?' 'Well, if they are willing to take me,' I said, 'I'll go.' And I went with a friend around the schools to ask if they would be willing to let me teach Gaelic after school for an hour or so, for any child who wanted to learn. And that is how the schools started. And from there I built the choir, with a number of pupils from each school. And I meet them at the Community Centre in Kyle."

As another friend said:

"She has special skills to work with children and to bring out the best in children. She has been teaching them Gaelic and music for years. And when you hear those children singing in Gaelic, you would swear they were fluent. They are as skilled as can be, and she has done a tremendous job working with the youth here."

Anyone who ever attended the Mod is familiar the Lochaber Youth Choir, which won awards year after year for many years under Chrissie's leadership. Not only did they attend Mods, but they also sang at many events in the area, at weddings and other functions. They also sang Christmas carols every year at Inverlochy Castle. For many years, Ronald supported Chrissie and the choir in many ways, especially fundraising to allow them to travel to Mods and elsewhere. Chrissie also tutored adults for the Silver and Gold Medals and taught many choir members to sing solo.

Chrissie herself learned many songs from Kate Nicolson [2277] from Iochdar, South Uist. She told a story that gave insight into the interest she had in songs:

"I remember one time when I went to her [Kate Nicolson] asking for a song, and oh, she was so fed up with me asking for songs, and I was only very small then, a schoolgirl, but I liked her songs anyway and I would ask her for them. 'Oh, get out of my sight, you and those songs,' she told me. 'I'm fed up giving you songs.' 'Oh, Kate,' I said, 'never mind being like that. I'll be singing those songs when you're dead.' Well, she burst out laughing when I said that to her, and me being so small. But I got the songs from Kate anyway, whether she was fed up with me or not. There was no song created by God that Kate did not know. She knew loads. It didn't matter what song you said, or heard, if you asked Kate whether she knew it, she did."

Chrissie passed away in April 2025, surrounded by her family, and was buried in Benbecula. At the Royal National Mòd in Lochaber 2025 she was posthumously awarded the Caraid a' Mhòid honour for her lifelong contribution to Gaelic music and culture.