Annie Kissack

Annie Kissack

2025

“If there is one person who truly lives and breathes Manx culture, and deserves to be Manannan’s Choice of the Year, it is Annie Kissack.”

What a stunning way to sum up the Reih Bleeaney Vanannan for 2025!

Annie Kissack has been awarded the Isle of Man’s highest cultural honour for her lifelong contribution to creativity and education in Manx culture, with a particular emphasis on the Manx language, traditional and original song, music and choral arranging, poetry, literature and folklore.

Annie is someone who tells and shapes the stories of these shores with care, passion, and the deepest of integrity. She is one of life’s natural communicators, and her contagious enthusiasm and often no-nonsense delivery ensure that everyone, young and old, can get involved in or simply sit back and enjoy Manx music, song, and poetry. She wears her learning lightly, though, for Annie has honed her knowledge for more than five decades and has an MA in Manx Studies from the University of Liverpool's Centre for Manx Studies. She is equally at home in the Manx Museum archives or with her nose in old books as she is talking to people who hold a store of Manxness in themselves – and she is a good listener. All that she carries with her embodies this living spirit of the Manx tradition, as expressed in the poems, songs and music she creates; in so many ways, Annie represents the beating heart of the Isle of Man.

Annie’s interest in Manx Gaelic was first awakened by her teacher at Onchan School, Leslie Quilliam RBV, an interest encouraged by her parents who themselves subsequently started Manx lessons at night school and remained long-term supporters of the language.  Annie and sister Jenny joined Mona Douglas’s Manx youth movement, Aeglagh Vannin in the mid 1960s. Alongside other children, Annie regularly participated in Manx-themed concerts, plays and competitions, including the Guild and Yn Chruinnaght. A talented singer and musician, she has represented the Isle of Man at inter-Celtic festivals from her teenage years right to the present day, as a soloist, and as part of groups such as Perree Bane dance group and Caarjyn Cooidjagh Manx Gaelic choir. As an accordion, piano and whistle player, she was a founding member of the Arthur Caley Giant Band playing Manx tunes at festivals, ceilis, sessions, and weddings.

Her musical arrangements and poetry have been recognised with awards and honours around the world. In 2001, she was the recipient of the inaugural award for artistic merit from the Daaue-Scoill in Northern Ireland, and in 2013 her songs and arrangements brought success for her choir, Caarjyn Cooidjagh, at the Pan-Celtic Festival choral competitions. In short, she is a vital force in not only preserving and promoting, but also creatively developing the Isle of Man’s rich tapestry of cultural heritage.

With a strong personality, creative mind and drive to inspire others, Annie seemingly never tires of promoting the Manx language, music and culture, both in her own time and through her long career as a teacher at the Manx Gaelic medium school, Bunscoill Ghaelgagh.

In 1989, inspired by a competition at Yn Chruinnaght, she gathered musical friends together to form Caarjyn Cooidjagh (Friends Together), which has just celebrated its 35th year. The choir continues to perform Annie’s arrangements of Manx songs along with her own compositions in Manx, and her output has been truly incredible. Her long-term involvement in Yn Chruinnaght was recognised by the festival committee, too, who were very proud to have her as their President for many years.

As young parents living in Cregneash, Annie and her husband Phil Gawne ensured that the Manx language was passed onto their children. The couple played a key role in establishing Manx language provision for early years, helping set up Yn Chied Chesmad (The First Step) playgroup in 1993 and developing Mooinjer Veggey (Little People), a pre-school initiative in 1996. These early successes led to the establishment of the Bunscoill Ghaelgagh in 2001, driven by the growing demand for a Manx language primary school.

Annie’s commitment to the Island’s culture is also reflected in her creative and educational contributions. Her songs range from fun and catchy to serious and contemplative; she can pen a simple rhyme to aid learning in the classroom, and conjure up a complex choral work that can fill a whole cathedral with beauty and wonder.

One of her most significant publications for Mooinjer Veggey was Roie Mygeayrt, a book and CD of easy Manx songs which has gone on to play a key role in the teaching of the language to families and new learners. She has also produced several albums with her choir Caarjyn Cooidjagh, written large-scale works such as ‘Erin Gaelgagh’ (Manx Mass), and contributed to music projects like Sollys, The Promised Land, and The Mona’s Isle Project, as well as supporting educational resources such as Ree ny Marrey and the Coraa Choral Pack.

Annie has helped establish the Bunscoill Ghaelgagh in St Johns as a place of excellence for the Manx language and performing arts. Over twenty years, she has co-written seven Manx Gaelic musicals with fellow teacher, Aalin Clague, resulting in dozens of songs which are enjoyed by hundreds of children, their families, and the Manx speaking community alike. Her songs have been published in the Kiaull yn Theay series, and in the Christmas song book, Nollick Ghennal, and are loved and sung widely.

In more recent years, Annie has been rightfully recognised as a poet, actor and playwright. She was crowned the fifth Manx Bard in 2018, publishing her collection of poems, Mona Sings in 2022, as well as having poems published in various international anthologies. Her poems describe the Isle of Man’s landscape, people and the sense of place, and this is also reflected in her plays, such as In-Between Times. An authority on the Manx dialect, she is often consulted by the BBC and recently voiced one of the characters in their radio play of Hall Caine’s The Manxman.

An encouraging voice to all who seek to discover Manx culture, Annie’s impact on the Isle of Man is immeasurable, and she is most deserving of the Reih Bleeaney Vanannan award. The Island is certainly richer for her contribution to Manx culture, for all that she has done and continues to do.

The Reih Bleeaney Vanannan or Manannan’s Choice of the Year is the Isle of Man’s highest cultural honour, awarded by Culture Vannin, and decided by a selection panel made up of representatives from Yn Cheshaght Ghailckagh, Yn Chruinnaght, Manx National Heritage, IOM Arts Council and Culture Vannin itself.

Annie was presented with the medal at a concert at Barregarrow Methodist Chapel, along with £500 prize money from Culture Vannin. She nominated Mooinjer Veggey Manx language educational charity for a further donation of £500.