The BBC Alba television series Ulaidhean (Treasures) scours Scotland’s museums in search of fascinating artefacts and the stories behind them - and the episode to be aired on Tues 11 November at 8.30pm features the Museum of Islay Life. The episode will be repeated on the following Sunday night at 11.30pm. The 13-part production taps into the public fascination with history – especially the history on people’s own doorsteps. In each programme, the two presenters Derek MacKay and Kirsty MacDonald descend on a museum to seek out its treasures. Sometimes they find evidence of great events that shaped Scotland; other times they find objects that shed light on obscure but fascinating local history. Their discoveries will range from artefacts made in the stone-age, to objects manufactured within living memory. The treasures may be as small as a pin – or as large as a fishing boat!

The programme featuring the Museum of Islay Life will show the collection of masterpieces of Celtic carving, the Tuscania bell salvaged from one of more than 250 ships wrecked off Islay’s coast since the 18th century and the museum’s illicit whisky still. Other museums explored in the thirteen part series, made by Les Wilson and Faye MacLean of Caledonia TV, include Edinburgh’s National Museum of Scotland, Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum and Kilmartin House Museum. Ulaidhean is a Caledonia TV production, funded by the Gaelic Media Service, for the Gaelic Digital Service.

Tag: museum bbc alba television

This story was published with kind permission of the Ileach local newspaper.