Museum Special Exhibition 2026

Museum Special Exhibition 2026

Lismore  and the War - curated by Douglas Breingnan and Dave Clarke. This  special exhibition is in 3 parts. The first  part in 2 large cabinets ,highlights  the  8th Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders  which was so ubiquitous in the Oban area it was...

Taproot 2026 11: The Marl Lochs of Lismore

Taproot 2026 11: The Marl Lochs of Lismore

  Elizabeth Robson writes: On 21st April, 2026,  researchers from the University of Stirling told an interested Taproot audience about the social and scientific research  taking place at Loch Balnagown / Baile a’ Ghobhainn. A lot more  is happening  there than...

Taproot 2026 10 The Lismore Dance Band

Taproot 2026 10 The Lismore Dance Band

Rosemary Barry writes:  The Lismore Dance Band rounded off the  Taproot season with their  eclectic mixture of tunes. A different member of the group introduced each short set with interesting background information. Mairi Campbell explained how Scottish folk fiddling...

Taproot 2026 9 – The Martyn Bennett story

Taproot 2026 9 – The Martyn Bennett story

Rosemary Barry writes: Renowned bagpiper, academic and broadcaster, Gary West and photographer Barryjohn Stewart,  introduced a large and keen audience to Martyn Bennett, who was born in Newfoundland in 1971 to a folklorist mother and geologist father who moved  to...

Taproot 2026 8 Lismore Place Names

Taproot 2026 8 Lismore Place Names

Rosemary Barry writes: Peggy Nicholson (nee MacDonald) and her brother Lachlan entertained a packed house when she gave her talk on Lismore place names. With maps illustrating her examples she began at Point and journeyed south to the lighthouse combining explanations...

Taproot 2026 7 Katy Crossan and Mairi Campbell

Taproot 2026 7 Katy Crossan and Mairi Campbell

Rosemary Barry writes: To a packed house Katy Crossan and Mairi Campbell  provided a well organised and entertaining session alternating between fiddle music and Gaelic singing. Mairi described travelling to Cape Breton Island in Canada and the  Scottish culture and...

Taproot 2026 5 Tony Currie

Taproot 2026 5 Tony Currie

Rosemary Barry writes;        Those who braved the cold were treated to an extraordinary session as Tony Currie  took us on his journey from buying a record label to engaging his own orchestra and being his own record producer.  That buying the Pye ‘label’ wasn’t...

Taproot 2026 4 Professor Cam Donaldson

Taproot 2026 4 Professor Cam Donaldson

Rosemary Barry writes: It was unfortunate that the weather had been so bad and that the 11th January was particularly unpleasant with disrupted ferry crossings. And the academic sounding title of the talk itself was not one to encourage the leaving of a cosy home on...

Taproot 2025 3 Shona Wright

Taproot 2025 3 Shona Wright

Rosemary Barry writes Islanders turned out in force to support  local singer songwriter Shona Wright and there was almost standing room only. Shona began with an old favourite - The Wrong Side of the Moon  -describing how it feels when the day starts with burnt toast...

Taproot 2025 2 Angus Nicholoson

Taproot 2025 2 Angus Nicholoson

Rosemary Barry writes: Master piper Angus Nicolson fascinated those who had braved the dark and stormy afternoon to hear his take on ‘Piping – What’s it all about?  With great enthusiasm he interspersed the technicalities of tuning and the extraordinary elegance and...

Taproot 2025 1 – The Daily Grind

Taproot 2025 1 – The Daily Grind

As a prelude to Douglas Breignan’s Taproot talk - The Daily Grind - on 19 October 2025  he led a group  of walkers  to  some significant milling sites the previous morning at 10.30. He spoke about the Mill at Balnagown before his guided walk to Baligrundle and Fiart...

Ceilidh with Meanbh-chuileag 25 March 2001

Ceilidh with Meanbh-chuileag 25 March 2001

This unique ceilidh on the 25 March 2001 was a performance by the school children after having worked with actors and musicians - Meanbh-chuileag (Gaelic for midge)   It is a theatre -in- education  company and the initiative was established in 2000 as a Fèisean nan...