Machair (TV series)

History

The Gaelic television series Machair was the brainchild of Peter May and Janice Hally, who together created and developed the show. Hally also took on the roles of storyliner and principal scriptwriter. Since no large-scale television drama had ever been produced in Gaelic, the duo devoted two years to preparation. Their initial pitch to Robert Love, Scottish Television’s Head of Drama, covered not only characters and storylines but also a detailed plan for locating, recruiting, and training actors and writers. They subsequently ran actors’ workshops, screen tests, and writing courses to bring the discovered talent up to professional broadcast standards.

The show was originally written in English, then translated into Gaelic, and aired with English subtitles during peak viewing hours. The press initially mocked the concept, but once it aired, reviewers were unanimous in their praise. Kenneth Roy, television critic for Scotland on Sunday, called it “a credit to the company and a smack in the face to those of us who were doubtful,” and after a few episodes declared it “quite simply the best thing to have happened to television in Scotland for a long time.” Audiences agreed: Machair captured a 30% audience share and ranked among Scotland’s top ten most-watched programmes, even though fewer than 2% of Scots spoke Gaelic. It earned award nominations from the Celtic Film Festival and the Writers Guild of Great Britain.

Besides Hally, scriptwriter Ann Marie Di Mambro contributed to the series. Gaelic writers on the team included Anne Frater, Donald Smith, Iain Finlay Macleod, and Aonghas ‘Dubh’ MacNeacail. Regular cast members featured Simon MacKenzie, Anna Murray, Kenny MacRae, Duncan MacNeil, and Tony Kearney. Filming took place entirely on location on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides from 1992 to 1996; after that, interior scenes were shot at Studio Alba, a facility originally built for the series in Stornoway. The Gaelic Television Committee funded the production, and government reports credited it with creating jobs and boosting the local island economy. May and Hally produced and wrote the first ninety-nine half-hour episodes. After their departure, additional episodes were made, but audience numbers declined and the show was cancelled.