Pàdraig MacAoidh [Peter Mackay]
For all Makar-related enquiries please email, makar@spl.org.uk
Academic, writer and broadcaster Pàdraig MacAoidh [Peter Mackay] was appointed as Scotland’s Makar – our national poet. First Minister John Swinney MSP formally welcomed Peter to the role on 2 December 2024. The post is intended to cover three-years to November 2027.
The Makar takes a leadership role in promoting poetry in Scotland and internationally, as well as producing work relating to significant national events. You can view Peter’s Mackay’s engagements in his first year as Makar here.
In his second year, the Makar’s work has included:
A reading at the opening ceremony of the seventh session of the Scottish Parliament in June 2026.
A new poem, Ris an do-dhèanta /At the Impossible, for Scotland’s Men’s Football Team
A curated poem, Gie it laldy, of lines from public submissions to celebrate Scotland’s participation in the World Cup
A podcast with the Commonwealth Poet Laureate, Selina Tusitala Marsh
A visit to Charleston, South Carolina in support of Scottish Connections to engage with Scotland’s African-American diaspora.
Professor Mackay was appointed by the First Minister for a three-year term on the recommendation of a panel representing Scotland’s literary sector. He is the fifth person to hold the role since it was established by the Scottish Parliament in 2004, following in the footsteps of Kathleen Jamie, Jackie Kay, Liz Lochhead, and Edwin Morgan.
Peter is a native Gaelic speaker from the Isle of Lewis. He is an academic, writer and broadcaster whose work is influenced by the diverse linguistic heritage of his birthplace. With an MA from Glasgow University and a PhD from Trinity College Dublin, Mackay has worked at the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry, Queen’s University Belfast, and at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, where he was writer in residence. He has also worked as a journalist and television news producer for the BBC. He lectures on literature at the University of St Andrews.
First Minister John Swinney said: “I am very pleased that Scotland’s new Makar is Gaelic-speaking poet, Peter Mackay.
Peter published his first collection,Gu Leor/Galore, in 2015. Since then, he has attracted a wide audience, and many accolades, through his originality, playfulness and willingness to take risks with language. With his keen understanding of how different languages interact with one another, Peter is well equipped to help forge strong connections between different linguistic communities across both Scotland and the rest of the world.
I have no doubt that his passion and dynamism will allow him to excel at helping to promote both poetry and our wider cultural heritage.”
Peter Mackay said: “It is an honour and a pleasure to be appointed as Scotland’s new Makar.
“I’m very grateful to the panel for their faith in me, and to the First Minister for his support, and especially his enthusiasm about a Gaelic poet taking on the role. I have grown up reading the work of and learning from the previous holders of this post and it is a privilege to follow in their footsteps.”
He continued: “I love that Scotland has a ‘Makar’, not a poet laureate: the act of ‘making’ is central to the role, and that the title is in Scots adds a particular distinctive grounding. Part of my task, as I see it, is to encourage people to make things in all the different languages of Scotland, the dozens of languages spoken in this country: to see what kinds of conversations, games, debates can be sparked between them. I can’t wait.”
(photo by Phylis Stephen, Edinburgh Reporter)
Peter has recorded two podcasts for the Scottish Poetry Library’s Scottish Gaelic series, Hai-àidh!
Hai-àidh! Episode 1: In this episode Peter Mackay chose ‘Anns an Dealachadh’ by Deborah Moffat, and Martin MacIntyre chose ‘Chuala sinn losgadh’ by Daibhidh Eyre Leughaidh. Peter and Martin read the poems and have a chat about them.
Hai-àidh! Episode 3: Meg Bateman and Peter Mackay chat about ‘At the Fank’ by Anne Frater and ‘Duan an Dannsair’ by Flora MacPhail. The conversation dances between topics like dùthchas, tribes, echoes, sadness and creativity.
