Malcolm Angus MacLeod

Malcolm Angus MacLeod of Skir Dhu and Birch Plains, was well known and respected far outside the confines of his community on the North Shore of Cape Breton. He is remembered for his fine singing and as one of the last Gaelic speakers to be able to "precent" psalms, as well as perform other genres of sacred Gaelic song. He was a long-time member of the North Shore Gaelic Singers, performing both secular and sacred songs on their recordings.

Malcolm Angus spent some time when he was younger in the winter occupation of trapping on the North Shore. It was in this situation that he was able to acquire and perform songs. He was a great supporter of Gaelic festivals on the North Shore and frequently attended milling frolics. Malcolm's ancestors were from the Islands of Harris and Lewis and in the 1960s he and his wife travelled to Scotland to visit these places.

Malcolm Angus MacLeod with Scythe. Photo by Ronald Caplan. Used by permission.