Махаир: Гаэль тіліндегі телесериал

Machair was a Scottish Gaelic television soap opera produced by Scottish Television Enterprises between 6 January 1993 and 6 April 1999.

The series was created and developed by Peter May and Janice Hally who was also the storyliner and principal scriptwriter. As there was no history of large scale television drama output in the Gaelic language, the pair spent two years of preparatory work on the creation of the show. Their initial proposal for Head of Drama at Scottish Television, Robert Love, included details not only of the characters and storylines for the show but details of the process required to find, recruit and train actors and writers. They went on to conduct actors' workshops, screentests, and writing courses to train the talent they had found to a professional standard for television. Machair was written in English and translated into Gaelic, then given English subtitles and broadcast at peak viewing time. Although the concept was initially greeted with derision by the press, when the show aired it received unanimous praise from reviewers. Kenneth Roy, television critic of Scotland on Sunday, described it as "a credit to the company [Scottish Television] and a smack in the face to those of us who were doubtful" and after a few episodes said "it is even better than it looked at first glance quite simply the best thing to have happened to television in Scotland for a long time". The series was funded by the Gaelic Television Committee, and according to government reports, had the effect of creating jobs and boosting the economy in the islands. The writing and producer team of May and Hally made the first ninety nine half hour episodes. After they left, further episodes were made but audience figures dropped and the show was cancelled,

The programme was given a second screening on BBC Alba, the dedicated Scottish Gaelic language digital television channel and is now (from September 2011) being repeated on that channel.

Actor Character Duration Simon MacKenzie Aonghas MacLeod 1.01 12.07 Iain MacRae Ruaraidh Campbell 1.01 – 12.07 Shaun Scott Jamie Spencer 1.01 – 1.13, 3.12 4.03, 5.12 5.13 Ann Swan Jenny Campbell 1.01 – 8.13 Alyxis Daly Morag MacRae 1.01 – ? Maggie MacKenzie Fiona MacAsgill 1.01 – 12.07 Domhnaill Ruadh Fionnlagh MacRath 1.01 – 7.06 Mina Smith Annag MacRath 1.01 – 12.07Martin MacIntyre Anndra MacDonald 1.01 – 1.13Anna Murray Mairead MacAsgail 1.01 – ?Derek Murray Iain MacIver 1.01 – ? Donna Morrison Marsaili MacSween 1.01 12.07 Erica MacPherson Cairistonia Stuart 1.01 – 12.07 Tony Kearney Calum MacNeil 1.01 – ? Artair Donald Coinneach MacArthur 1.01 – ? Dolina MacLennan Iseabel MacIver 1.01 – 12.07 Naomi MacLeod Sine MacIver 1.01 – ? Michelle McDonald Kirsty Campbell 1.01 – ? Evelyn Coull Kirsty Campbell ? – 12.07 Donald MacSween Eachann MacPhee 1.01 1.13 Eliza Langland Eilidh MacLeod 1.01 4.04Donald Homson Seoras Grant 1.01 – ?Ceit Kearney Annmarie Morrison 1.09 – 3.13 Robert Urquhart Menzies Fairbairn 2.01 – 2.13Erika Hoffman Charlotte Van Agten 3.01 7.06Diarmuid de Faoite Seán Donoghue 4.01 – 5.07