Peter Mackay

Academic, writer and broadcaster Pàdraig MacAoidh (Peter Mackay) has been appointed as Scotland’s Makar – our national poet. First Minister John Swinney MSP formally welcomed Pàdraig to the role at Edinburgh Central Library on 2 December 2024.

The Makar takes a leadership role in promoting poetry in Scotland and internationally, as well as producing work relating to significant national events.

Dr Mackay was appointed by the First Minister for a three-year term on the recommendation of a panel representing Scotland’s literary sector. He is the fifth person to hold the role since it was established by the Scottish Parliament in 2004, following in the footsteps of Kathleen Jamie, Jackie Kay, Liz Lochhead, and Edwin Morgan.

Pàdraig is a native Gaelic speaker from the Isle of Lewis. He is an academic, writer and broadcaster whose work is influenced by the diverse linguistic heritage of his birthplace. With an MA from Glasgow University and a PhD from Trinity College Dublin, Mackay has worked at the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry, Queen’s University Belfast, and at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, where he was writer in residence. He has also worked as a journalist and television news producer for the BBC. He lectures on literature at the University of St Andrews.