Bio
Born on Colonsay in 1953, Donald MacNeill has lived and worked on Colonsay for most of his life. Influenced by the Gaelic culture he grew up in, and the external influences from beyond the Island shores he has been chronicling island life in song for over 40 years.
In 2011 he recorded the critically aclaimed album "Fathers and Sons" in collaboration with Italian rock band Lowlands and in 2016 “Timeline” with Sardinian guitarist and producer Roberto Diana.
Early Days
First experiences of singing was at the local hall and then the provincial and national Mod. Both Donald's parents were accomplished gaelic singers; his father Donald Archibald was a published Gaelic poet.
In the sixties he was part of a duo with Niall Brown singing at local ceilidhs before starting to write and perform as a solo artist.
After University and a spell teaching in Thurso, playing in the wonderful but sadly disbanded Thurso Folk Club, Donald returned to Colonsay and played weekly summer concerts, introducing visitors to songs and tales of life on the Island.
Fast forward to the 2000s and Donald introduced his daughter Jen (fiddle and voice) into the shows and recorded the album Fathers and Sons with Italian band Lowlands. A tour in Italy followed, backed by Lowlands.
“Timeline” was released in 2016 and toured in Italy, Sardinia and the west of Scotland. It continues to get regular, if infrequent airplay on BBC and local radio.
"MacNeill has a wonderful knack of making the ordinary and mundane immensely interesting through his songs"
Donald played the Kintyre song writer’s festival in 2017, and 2018 and was honoured to be invited back for a third appearance in 2019. Unfortunately family commitments precluded the hat-trick.
Other Stuff.
As well as making a living as a crofter, Donald, along with Keith Johnston founded Ceòl Cholasa, Colonsay’s highly successful folk festival and ran it for ten years until 2017. He was delighted to play in 2018 and 2019 without the distraction of being festival director.
Donald is currently working on a book about life growing up and living on Colonsay and continues to write and perform.