Metagama

This event has been rescheduled to 26th March 2026

Shortly after the end of World War One, the British and Canadian governments came to an agreement. The British armed forces were going to come home to a land fit for heroes. It is well recorded now that this didn’t happen as the Great Depression of the late 1920s destroyed this high-sounding hyperbole.

In the Outer Hebrides two events happened within a few years after the end of the war which affected and are remembered by subsequent generations. First, on January 1 1919 there was the HMY Iolair disaster as the fully laden troopship sank with all hands after hitting rocks approaching Stornoway harbour. That removed at a stroke about 200 men of the islands. Few families on the Isle of Lewis did not experience the loss of relatives or friends among the 184 Lewis men who died that day. The bereaved also included some of the 3,100 Lewis men who had served in the wartime RNR. Most of them survived to enjoy the peace, but some lost fathers, uncles, brothers or cousins on the Iolaire.

To help crofters migrate in the 1880s the British government committted £10,000. After World War One, it then set up the Overseas Settlement Committee to help ex-soldiers emigrate. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Empire Settlement Act of 1922 provided funds for those who wanted to emigrate.  No doubt encouraged by this as well as by stories filtering through from those had already emigrated to the USA and Canada people from the islands keenly signed up.

Canada wanted immigrants to help expand the country to the west across the great plains and the Rockies to the Pacific west coast. Enter the Canadian Pacific Steamship company and the SS Metagama, along with their two other ships, Marloch and Canada. The Metagama played a significant role in the 20th century migration of people from the Outer Hebrides to Canada. On Saturday 21 April 1923, she sailed from Stornoway with 300 young Lewis emigrants on board, all but 20 of them young men, with an average age of 22. This was one of the first waves of mass emigration from the islands, and had a profound effect on the island culture and history.  The image above shows the crowd at Stornoway harbour to Metgama departing.

The show Metagama: An Atlantic Odyssey tells this story in music, song, words and pictures of the islanders’ emigration, its effect on the islands and how some of those who emigrated thrived but others sometimes did not thrive while trying to farm on poor soil!

Tickets:

Advance – £20 / concession £18 +£2 Booking Fee

On the door –  £22 / concession £20

The show comprises …

Liza Mulholland
Liza Mulholland is a musician, singer-songwriter and producer from Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. She co-created, produced and performed in the acclaimed touring show In The Wake of Metagama: An Atlantic Odyssey jn Story and Song in 2023 /2024. Liza is co-founder and performer in Inverness’ 2024 bi-monthly Edge of the World Cabaret. She devised the multi-artform show Stand and Stare for Celtic Connections festival in 2017, based on the centenary of WH Davies’ famous poem, Leisure. Liza is Musical Director of Elphen Chronicles, a visual art and story project by artist Paul Taggart, composing and recording all the film soundtracks and an album to be released in 2025. She has performed with numerous other artistes and bands, played on around 20 albums and recordings by other musicians as well as her own album, Fine ‘n’ Rosy, and singles. Her original music has been used in several short films including Scottish Women’s Aid 40th anniversary film. Liza has also devised and produced award-winning arts documentaries for BBC Scotland with her independent production company. Along with Donald S Murray (below), Liza devised, “In The Wake of Metagama: An Atlantic Odyssey in Story and Song”, bringing together a stellar ensemble of Scottish (mostly) musicians and artistes which toured in the Scottish Highlands and Islands through April 2023, with support from Creative Scotland, Ceolas and the Gaelic Society of Inverness. The show garnered wide acclaim, including 5* reviews, sold-out venues and standing ovations at every performance, including Celtic Connections Festival (January 21 2024).

Donald S Murray.
Award-winning Lewis writer & poet, author of Guga Hunters, Iolaire novel As the Women Lay Dreaing, Herring Tales etc, who Liza worked with successfully on several multi-artform projects. Liza and  Donald’s mutual interest in the 1923/24 emigrations let to them travelling to Canada & USA to research their respective writing projects. They are friends from student days at Glasgow University and have found they work well together. Donald has written widely about the Hebrides & has in-depth knowledge of their history. Native Gaelic speaker.

Dolina Maclennan

Lewis native Gaelic speaker / singer, actor, lecturer & writer, Dolina is well known in the Gaelic world & has a track record of quality work including being an original member of the famed and seminal 7:84 Theatre Co which toured the H&I with The Cheviot, Stag & Black, Black Oil, and was a stalwart of the 60/70s folk revival with the late Hamish Henderson, and was Chair of The Saltire Society etc. Dolina at 85 years is closest to the generation which left on the Metagama and is a conduit to that period in terms of oral tradition, song, folkloric remembrance and will make an immense contribution to this project.

Calum Alex Macmillan

… is a Lewis native Gaelic speaker singer, composer, musician (pipes, small pipes, whistles) and comes from a family of well known Gaelic singers & tradition bearers. Calum Alex has played on some of Liza’s original recordings and she known him for some time through fèisean. His grandfather emigrated on the Marloch in 1924 so he has a personal link to the subject matter. Calum Alex is a hugely talented artiste & one of Gaeldom’s top male singers.

Charlie Mackerron
Fiddler with famed bands Capercaillie, Session A9 & more… was the Trad Awards Tutor of the Year 2022 and has garnered many other accolades through his lengthy career. Charlie runs his own music school and tutors with Fèis Spè. He is an immensely talented musician and composer who also worked on Liza’s Stand and Stare project for Celtic Connections 2017, Charlie’s musicianship is second to none and he will bring superb creativity to the project.

Christine Hanson

Canadian cellist of Scottish descent. One of the cello’s most versatile exponents in both trad & wider folk music, Christine is highly regarded as composer and session musician. She devised, wrote and performed the acclaimed ensemble show Cremation of Sam McGee which toured in the Highlands and Islands in 2018. Liza has known Christine for twent years and she also played in Stand and Stare (ibid).

Willie Campbell

From Lewis, songwriter and guitarist Willie has a great track record as a successful artiste in the bands Astrid, Tumbling Souls and many other collaborations. He is one of Scotland’s top singer-songwriters, performing at major festivals and though Liza says she has not worked with Willie previously, she’s admired his versatile musicianship and songwriting for many years. With this project straddling Scottish/North American history, Willie will bring a unique Americana sensibility to some of that music, while deeply rooted in Hebridean song traditions.

Doug Robertson

A Scottish visual and fine artist, Doug is superbly talented, particularly of natural world, sealife, birds, who worked with Liza on Stand and Stare (ibid).
She sought him out again because he will create beautiful artwork for project visuals and will also look after overhead projection.

Steve Bull
A Highland sound engineer (experienced in both live and studio, inc BBC). Liza has worked with Steve on numerous recordings and live music projects and he was her first choice for live sound for Metagama.

”The quality of the music is astonishing. A MUST LISEN! *****” Folk London magazine’. A story full of imense contemporary resonances. ****” Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman.”Top drawer music.” Gary West, piper and piping podcast presenter. ”A night of exquisite music and storytelling. *****” Inverness Courier