As the the cultural year draws to a close, 2022 has been a year to celebrate the incredible diversity within Scotland’s art scene. The List’s Hot 100 sought to highlight the best in Scottish talent from all walks of life, but whether it was The List's rundown, Snack’s Scottish Single Of The Year or The Scotsman’s Scottish Books Of The Year, one question remains: why aren’t Gaelic creators given equal recognition? Here, we aim to redress the imbalance by picking out five crucial cultural figures invigorating the Gaelic scene right now. 

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MARTIN MACINTYRE

For decades, Martin MacIntyre built up a solid reputation as one of Scotland’s foremost contemporary poets and novelists in any language. Writing in the South Uist Gaelic of his family, he was named Edinburgh University’s inaugural Gaelic writer-in-residence. Since the autumn appointment, MacIntyre has held workshops and events with fellow writers and editors, in conjunction with local Gaelic groups. The two-year post continues into 2023, with more to come.

ANNE MCALPINE

Lewis-born Anne McAlpine is well known to those following the news on BBC An Là and BBC Radio nan Gàidheal, where she has honed her craft as one of Scotland’s favourite emergent television personalities, contributing to BBC European affairs staple Eòrpa. This year saw her break further into the Scottish media mainstream with late-night Wednesday, Thursday and Friday stints on Scotland Tonight. She can also be seen regularly on the rural affairs programme, Landward. 

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ELSPETH TURNER

This autumn, Edinburgh-based Turner welcomed a cast and crew to the preview of Marram, her Gaelic-language short film, written and directed with Robbie Jones. Starring Gaelic national treasure Dolina MacLennan, it tells the story of a family on the island of Berneray Harris, engaging with themes of isolation and LGBTQ acceptance. While Marram’s release is hotly anticipated, Turner is also writing and starring in a brand new radio play for BBC Radio nan Gàidheal’s Rudeigin ri Ràdh series. 

RACHEL WALKER

This Spean Bridge-based singer, songwriter and lecturer hung up her baton as conductor of Lochaber Gaelic Choir to concentrate on her many solo and collaborative music projects through 2021 and 2022. Building on the success of 2021’s solo collection Gaol, she cemented her position as one of Gaelic music’s foremost musical innovators with two projects in collaboration with the Battlefield Band’s Aaron Jones: a charity EP for Maggie’s and a full-length album, Despite The Wind And Rain which celebrated Scotland’s unsung heroines.

^{Mary Ann Kennedy / Picture: Seán Purser}

MARY ANN KENNEDY

One of the Gaelic winners at this year’s Trads, Mary Ann Kennedy developed a brand new musical commission ‘Talamh Beò’, celebrating the link between language, community and landscape in Coigach and Assynt. Working alongside regular collaborator Finlay Wells, Donald MacLean and her husband Nick Turner amongst others, the virtuoso song-cycle is embedded with spoken word and archive recordings of oral accounts relating to the region.