Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Honour hits the right note with the Ceilidh King

Fergie MacDonald is performing at Hogmanay at the age of 85.
Fergie MacDonald is performing at Hogmanay at the age of 85.

Ceilidh King Fergie MacDonald said he is “honoured and humbled” after being made an MBE in the New Year’s Honour List.

The accordionist, 83, who stays in Mingarry in the west Highlands, has been playing music for nearly 70 years and has inspired generations of traditional musicians.

He said his first thought was for his father John Ton MacDonald, who fought in the Great War and was recruited to the renowned sniper unit the Lovat Scouts Sharpshooters. Mr MacDonald wrote the book ‘The Moidart Sniper’ about his father’s exploits.

“It’s an amazing honour. The first thing I thought of was my father and people like him who knew death could be just around the corner. It’s guys like these who should get honours.

“We were very close and I know how happy he would have been to see his son get this.

“I’m over the moon with this honour which is good for traditional Highland music and I take on board all the people who have helped me along the way.”

Mr MacDonald got his first accordion aged 14, but a career in entertainment didn’t follow immediately. On demob from the Army, where he was a physical training instructor, he graduated as a physiotherapist.

Fergie MacDonald

He was also an international clay pigeon shooter and he lists other occupations or pastimes as band leader, hotelier, poacher, gamekeeper, red deer manager, singer, writer, composer, local historian and Highland Games chieftain.

He formed his first band in 1953 and cut his first record in 1962. Four years later the song Loch Maree Islands, written by Kenneth MacKenzie, topped the Scottish pop charts and became his signature tune.

His many accolades include being inducted into the Scottish traditional music Hall of Fame. His song The Shinty Referee was an international hit and reached the top of the iTunes World Music Charts, while another well-known tune, The Jig Runrig has been played by more than 500 musicians worldwide.

In January 2020 he issued his 50th album and, during lockdown, made a CD with other musicians. Despite cutting back on public shows in recent years, he was booked to play gigs, including the 25th anniversary Hebridean Celtic Festival and the Gig in the Goil, before they were cancelled during the pandemic.

Far north community stalwart David Flear has also been made an MBE.

Mr Flear, 73, moved to the area in the mid 1980s to become the Wick-based area social work manager.

He was elected to serve Caithness landward on Highland Council and during his three stints served as the area convener.

Until two years ago he was chairman of the Dounreay Stakeholder Group and has also been an office-bearer with Caithness Horizons and North Highland Regeneration Fund.