Kathy and Julius Park produced this wonderful video about the 2011 U.S. National Mòd in Ligonier, Pa. Starting with the poetry and song competitions Friday, Kathy and Julius take us through the song competitions and cèilidh Saturday night.
In the video, we meet the competitors, the adjudicator and our Scottish Guests, and we’re treated to a bit of the first performance of the U.S. Gaelic Choir. Altogether, it’s a great glimpse of what to expect at the ACGA Mòd.
We’re already planning a very special 25th annual U.S. Mòd for September 2012. We’ll be posting information shortly about our adjudicator, special events and guests and Mòd-related events that we’re planning for early in the New Year.
Guests and Participants at the 2011 U.S. National Mòd.
Contestants and fans once again flocked to Ligonier, Pennsylvania for the 24th annual U.S. National Mòd, held at the Antiochian Village and the Ligonier Highland Games. This year, we welcomed back our friend Beathag Mhoireasdan as our adjudicator, as well as the Gold Medal winners from the 2010 Royal National Mòd in Scotland, Iain MacLean and Joy Dunlop. We were also pleased to host Iain’s wife Kirsteen, herself a Gold Medal winner, and we continued the fine Mòd tradition of “fun is more important than sleep” over the course of the weekend.
This was a Mòd of important note, for at least two reasons. First, we saw with this Mòd an increase in attendance in the competitions by children, which is truly a reason to be hopeful. Our poetry recitation competition featured Erin Park and Luke Morrison, who impressed our adjudicator with their command of the language. We had Brenna Morrison competing in storytelling, and Saturday saw children in the duet competition and own choice, and Erin Park came out of a very close competition to get the Gold Medal for the women. We hope to see the number of children and young adults competing in the Mòd rise as the we go forward!
Luke Morrison signing in the children's competition.
Another first that the Mòd witnessed was the inaugural performance of Còisir Ghàidhlig nan Stàitean – the U.S. Gaelic Choir. The choir was begun as an idea after the Mòd in Scotland, and after seeing that the same distance participation approaches that the Scottish choirs use could be applied in the States. Then, on visiting the Ottawa Mòd after Scotland, it seemed that there was every reason to try, and no reason not to have a U.S. choir as well! Many people who have come to our Mòd have commented that it would wonderful to have a choir in the States, and many of them are now either helping or are in the choir. We hope that this is the start of something big. Today – Ligonier. Tomorrow – Scotland!
Women's Gold Medal Winner Erin Park, Adjudicator Beathag Mhoireasdan, Men's Gold Medal Winner Scott Morrison.
At the end of our Mòd, we congratulate all of the contestants for their hard work, dedication, and their resolve to go up on stage and show what they have accomplished. As Beathag told the audience many times during the weekend, it’s a tough job to pick the places for first, second, and third, but it must be done. The results:
Song Competitions
Am Bonn Òir / The Gold Medal
Women: Erin Park, Pennsylvania Men: Scott Morrison, Maryland
Overall Winners: Women — 1. Erin Park. 2. Anne Alexander, Ohio. 3. Mary Wake, Ohio. Men — 1. Scott Morrison.
Prescribed Song: Women — 1. Anne Alexander. 2. Erin Park. 3. Mary Wake. Men — 1. Liam Ó Caiside, Virginia. 2. Scott Morrison.
Puirt-à-Beul: 1. Erin Park. 2. Scott Morrison.
Margaret Gerardin and Michael MacKay in the unison singing competition.
Unison Singing: 1. Margaret Gerardin and Michael MacKay, Virginia. 2. Scott and Luke Morrison, Maryland.
Children’s Singing: 1. Sadie Park. 2. Luke Morrison.
Sadie Park sings in the children's competition.
Solo Work Song: 1. Anne Alexander. 2. Mary Wake.
Gaelic Choir: 1. Còisir Ghàdhlig nan Stàitean.
Final Song: Women — 1 Erin Park. 2. Anne Alexander. 3. Mary Wake. Men — 1. Scott Morrison.
The results of the prose and poetry competitions and the distance learning competitions will be released in a separate post.
In my last blog post, I wrote about arriving at the Mòd and the events we hold on Friday night. Saturday, however, is the big day, with all of our song competitions taking place at the Ligonier Highland Games from about 9:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.
For those of us staying at the Antiochian Village, the day begins with a hearty breakfast in the cafeteria. Some feel they need a full stomach to sing, others would rather starve their nerves, but there’s plenty of variety there for all – most important, from my perspective, lots of coffee.
We drive down to Idlewild Park and the Ligonier Highland Games in groups, parking near our own Mòd pavillion, not far from the Main Stage. The pavillion provides comfortable outdoor seating, a large stage and a roof over our heads, in case of inclement weather.
We begin the day with our prescribed song competition – these are the songs that every competitor has to learn. There’s one song for men and one for women, both chosen because they are prescribed songs in the main competitions at the Royal National Mòd in Scotland.
After that competition, we move on to work songs, puirt-à-beul or mouth music, and group competitions, both unison singing and waulking.
We break at noon for lunch. For several years, U.S. Mòd veteran and Ohio Mòd organizer Frances Acar has provided a healthy and delicious lunch for the group for a very reasonable fee. You may also walk through the games and purchase food and drink from various vendors.
The last competition of the day is the song final. Only competitors who have sung their prescribed song and at least one other song may compete in the finals. At the end, the man and woman with highest overall marks in music and Gaelic win our gold medals.
With the competitions behind us by 3 or 4 p.m., there’s time to tour the games, or head into town or back to the Antiochian Village.
Our dinner at the Ligonier Tavern usually begins with a cocktail hour and music session around 6 p.m. and runs until 10 or 11 p.m.
The end of the dinner officially ends our day, but not our night. Search out the after-hours cèilidh back at the village!
Get it while it’s hot! The Mòd registration form is to be found here
Just fill it out and send it in with your payment for the Mòd weekend! Due date is the end of this month. All of the instructions are included – just start reading the bulletin. Let us know if you have any questions!
If you’re new to learning Gaelic or to Gaelic song, you may wonder what the U.S. National Mòd is about, or what it’s like to attend. I’ve been attending the ACGA Mòd since the days when it was a small, one-day event in Northern Virginia. Now it’s a three-day event with multiple competitions, a dinner and cèilidh and a workshop. But it’s still small enough that you’re never lost in a crowd and have plenty of time to meet and talk with everyone, including the adjudicator and our Scottish guests.
The Mòd takes place at the Ligonier Highland Games Sept. 9-11 this year, where we have our own stage, an ACGA bookstore and lunch area on Saturday. But the events start Friday afternoon at the Antiochian Village Conference and Retreat Center a few miles north of the village of Ligonier. For the weekend, the Antiochian Village becomes our own Clachan Gàidhealach, or Highland Village. For 15 years we’ve stayed at the Village, which offers rooms for one to four people, dinner on Friday night, breakfast Saturday and Sunday and lunch Sunday as well. The Village also provides conference rooms that we use for competitions and workshops.
The Village provides a clean, friendly and convenient base for all of our activities. We open registration there at 3 pm on Friday — with plenty of time to settle in before dinner in the Village’s dining hall. In the evening, we launch the Mòd with an orientation, a few songs from our Scottish guests, and the poetry and storytelling competitions. A new competition was added last year: sight-reading in Gaelic.
The storytelling or sgeulachd competition has become very popular over the past few years, with upwards of five storytellers of all ages contributing and competing for the Duais Dhaibhidh MhicRisnidh, the David MacRitchie Award for the best-told traditional tale. I’ll write more about this in an upcoming post.
We wind up events around 10 pm on Friday — Saturday is a busy day!
The U.S. Mòd committee is pleased to announce that the materials are ready to be downloaded for the 24th annual ACGA Mòd. This year, we welcome Beathag Mhoireasdan from Uig in Lewis as our adjudicator, with special guests Joy Dunlop and Iain G MacLean.
The singing part of the Mòd will be held at the Ligonier Highland Games in Idlewild Park, on Spetember 10, 2011, but on Friday, September 9, there will be competitions in storytelling, poetry, and sight reading. So, there are many ways you can join in and get adjudication and advice on your Gaelic skills!
We also have a mail-in competition, in which you can work on prose and poetry in the comfort of your own home, read passages and do translations, and submit the results for advice and corrections.
It all starts here! We are using a new format this year – to register for the Mòd, go to http://www.ramsisle.com/acga/acga_paypal.html and submit payment for the materials. Once we get your payment, we’ll send you a link to the materials on the Mòd website, and provide instructions on how to get the materials. We’ll also add your name to a registration list and send out bulletins and further information about the Mòd, such as lodging, meals, and the Mòd banquet on Saturday night.
If you will not be competing in the Mòd, but wish to attend or otherwise wish to keep up on the Mòd activities, please send an email to mackay@progeny.net, or send a regular letter to:
ACGA Mòd
3860 Dumfries Road
Catlett, VA 20119
If you can’t, or don’t wish to use Paypal, you can send us a letter at the above address with a payment for US$15.
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.
Crunchy numbers
A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 3,100 times in 2010. That’s about 7 full 747s.
In 2010, there were 12 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 30 posts. There were 58 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 143mb. That’s about 1 pictures per week.
The busiest day of the year was August 20th with 94 views. The most popular post that day was Mòd 2010 Materials.
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were acgamerica.org, facebook.com, Private networks, mail.yahoo.com, and mail.live.com.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for emily mcewan-fujita, paul mccallum, usmod.wordpress.com, ashby mccown, and emily mcewan fujita.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
For the first time this year, the U.S. National Mòd featured a prescribed song competition, in which a song was assigned by the adjudicator. Competitors had to sing the prescribed song to qualify for the song finals.
For the men, Paul McCallum chose “Sìne Chalum Bhàin,” a 19th Century love song by Niall Mac Leòid of Skye. This is Micheal Mac Aoidh’s performance from the Mòd, Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010.
Micheal won this competition, and went on to win the Gold Medal. Meal a naidheachd!
Mòd song workshop with Paul McCallum, Sunday morning, Sept. 12.
The U.S. National Mòd has its own page on Facebook now – giving you another way of keeping in touch with us throughout the year. Check Facebook for photos and videos from the 2010 Mòd, some of which will be posted here as well.
Competitors and guests at the 2010 U.S. National Mòd in Ligonier, Pa.
Cool September breezes and a warm Gaelic welcome greeted competitors and special guests at the 23rd annual U.S. National Mòd sponsored by An Comunn Gaidhealach Ameireaganach, held in Ligonier, Pa., Sept. 10-12.
For the first time, a large contingent from Canada came to Pennsylvania to support our Mòd — the Ar n-Òran Gaelic choir of Ottawa. We also welcomed newcomers from Ohio and Virginia as well as special guests from Scotland and adjudicator Paul McCallum.
Our gold medalists this year were Fiona MacDonald of Ottawa and Micheal Mac Aoidh (Mackay) of Catlett, Va. Meal an naidheachd!
The Mòd took place over three days, starting with poetry and storytelling competitions on Friday, followed by song competitions on Saturday and a song workshop on Sunday.
McCallum and Scotland’s Mòd Gold Medalists, Sìneag Macintyre and Steven MacIver, also performed at a special concert at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., Monday. Macintyre and MacIver also performed at the Ligonier Highland Games.
More pictures and videos from the Mòd will be posted here and in our gallery section, so thig air ais – come back again often. We’ll also have more information about Scotland’s Royal National Mòd, coming in October, and Mòd Canada, to be held in November.
Mòran taing agus meal ur naidheachd dhan a h-uile duine a thàinig dha’n Mhòd. Bha sinn toilichte gun d’thàinig sibh agus tha sinn an dòchas gun do chòrd a h-uile sian gu mòr ribh.
