Mary Ann Kennedy
Mary Ann Kennedy is a broadcaster, writer and musician with an on-air career spanning over three decades. The long-time presenter of flagship BBC ALBA programmes, ‘Na Trads’ (the annual Scottish Trad Music Awards) and ‘Seirm’ (annual Celtic Connections festival highlights), Mary Ann started out on radio in BBC Inverness’s bilingual newsroom in 1993. She spent seven years there, ultimately leading BBC Gaelic’s news operations before returning to freelance life in 2000. A classically trained musician from a Gaelic tradition bearer background, music has been at the heart of most of Mary Ann’s television and radio career. Her first major TV series was a BBC/RTÉ collaboration, presenting and performing in a TV version of the music series ‘Sruth na Maoile’, at 27 years the longest running Gaelic co-pro in broadcasting history, and awarded a CMF Torc in 2020. Mary Ann went on to present various music and current affairs programmes over the years, most notably for several years leading the extensive annual TV coverage of the Royal National Mòd and Glasgow’s Celtic Connections. She also made her presence felt behind the cameras, MDing many music series for BBC Gaelic including ‘Alleluia’, ‘Sorchar nan Reul’ and the award-winning ‘Aig Cridhe Ar Ciùil’. And as presenter of world and folk music programmes on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio Scotland, Mary Ann also presented other major award series on TV, including the BBC Folk Awards and World Music Awards. At the time of the launch of the launch of the BBC’s national Gaelic TV channel, ALBA, in 2008, Mary Ann was given the massive compliment and privilege of presenting the very first programme on air. Having run a successful commercial recording studio in rural Lochaber for over twenty years with partner Nick Turner, the couple expanded their production capacity to independent television production as Watercolour Studios. Their productions include ‘Triall’ a cross-country musical pilgrimage documenting a return to live music-making in the wake of the pandemic, and ‘Rùrachd’, a new hit series on wild food foraging presented by Mary Ann and foraging friend Lucy Cooke.
- Title
- Mary Ann Kennedy
- Title in English
- Entry Category
- Presenter of the Year (Screen)
- Produced By
- Watercolour Studios | BEEZR Studios | BEEZR Studios
- Producer
- Programme 1 - Rùrachd: Margaret Cameron & Mary Ann Kennedy | Programme 2 - Na Trads: Calum McConnell & Alasdair MacCuish | Programme 3 - Seirm: Calum McConnell & Alasdair MacCuish
- Broadcaster
- BBC ALBA