| Donnie Munro | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 August 1953 Uig, Isle of Skye, Inverness-shire, Scotland |
| Origin | Isle of Skye, Inverness-shire, Scotland |
| Genres | Folk rock |
| Instruments | Acoustic guitar |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Labels | Greentrax |
| Associated acts | Runrig, Niall Munro |
| Website | www.donniemunro.co.uk |
Donnie Munro (Donaidh Rothach) (born 2 August 1953, Uig, Isle of Skye, Inverness-shire, Scotland) is a Scottish musician, and former lead singer of the band Runrig.[1]
A native speaker of Scottish Gaelic, much of his work is in that language.
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He attended Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen and earned a postgraduate degree in teaching at Moray House in Edinburgh.
He first saw Runrig play in 1973 and was approached one year later to become a member of the band. As lead singer of Runrig, Munro became established as the leading Gaelic popular music performer of the 1980s and 1990s.
Munro left Runrig in 1997 to pursue a career in politics. His final performance was a farewell concert at Stirling Castle on the 29th August.
Munro now enjoys a successful solo career. His most recent album, Heart of America, done in collaboration with fellow Skye songwriters Blair Douglas and Richard Macintyre, won Album of the Year in the Scottish TradMusic Awards 2006. He continues to work as the Director of Development at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Scotland's National Centre for the Gaelic Language and Culture on Skye.
Munro completed a series of acclaimed live shows titled 'An Turas - The Journey', with a forty piece ensemble and is preparing for the release of a live album, recorded at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow, during Celtic Connections 2008.
Munro was elected as Rector of the University of Edinburgh in 1991, a position he held until 1994. He contested the Scottish Parliament seat of Ross, Skye and Inverness West at the 1999 election for Labour, but was defeated by Liberal Democrat John Farquhar Munro. This necessitated leaving the band, which he did in 1997. His reasons for departure were a matter for lengthy private discussion over a two year period but were never the subject of public discourse.
Munro was alleged to have given up the offer of a 'safe' Labour seat in Central Scotland as he had already agreed and been adopted as a candidate to contest his own native Highland constituency, coming close to winning this hitherto safe Liberal Democrat seat in the 1999 Scottish election.
In 1996 he gave the prestigious Sabhal Mòr Lecture.
In 1998 Munro was elected as the first rector of the UHI Millennium Institute, a post that lasted 3 years.
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Muriel Gray |
Rector of the University of Edinburgh 1991–1994 |
Succeeded by Malcolm Macleod |
| Preceded by New position |
Rector of the UHI Millennium Institute 1998–2001 |
Succeeded by Sir Alistair MacFarlane |