Singing the history of Scottish industrial workers with Margaret Bennett

Celebrate Scotland's remarkable industrial heritage with folklorist, singer and storyteller Margaret Bennett who will bring history to life through film footage, images, and songs.

She will draw from the National Library of Scotland's moving image archive as well as her own recorded interviews with millworkers, coalminers, brickmakers, railway workers, and engineers.

Margaret will be joined by students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland for this engaging, musical journey into the heart of Scotland's industrial past.

About the speaker

Originally from Skye, Margaret Bennett studied folklore at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and then Ethnology (PhD) at Edinburgh University. From 1984 to 1996 she was a lecturer and researcher at the School of Scottish Studies (Edinburgh) then joined the part-time staff of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland's Traditional Music Department. Margaret is also Professor of Folklore and Antiquities at the RSA, Edinburgh and an Honorary Fellow at the University of St. Andrews.

We are pleased to be hosting Margaret as part of Celtic Connections Festival 2027.