Peter Mackay

Peter Mackay / Pàdraig MacAoidh is a writer and academic whose work is heavily influenced by the diverse linguistic heritage of his birthplace – the Isle of Lewis. He is a native Gaelic speaker.

After being awarded an MA from Glasgow University and a PhD from Trinity College Dublin, Peter went on to work at the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry, Queen’s University Belfast, Trinity College Dublin and the University College Dublin. He also spent some time as the writer-in-residence at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, part of the University of the Highlands and Islands.

He has co-edited collections of essays on modern Irish and Scottish poetry and on Scottish Gaelic literature, including An Leabhar Liath / The Light Blue Book, an anthology of Gaelic love poetry which won the Donald Meek award in 2016.

Peter had his own collection of poems, Gu Leòr / Galore, published in 2015.