The Award was presented to Dolina by the Soceity's President Magnus Linklater. The formal ceremony was completed with performances from aclaimed singers Kathleen MacInnes and Cathal McConnell. Dolina said of her award: I am most honored to receive this award from the Saltire Society in particular for the recognition of my contribution to the promotion of the Gaelic language. I hope I may have helped towards the current resurgence of interest in Gaelic both amongst learners and those who value and support the language as a vital part of Scotland’s diverse culture.

Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun Commemorative Lecture

Professor Thomas M. Devine OBE, BA, PhD, DLitt, HonD Univ (Strathclyde, 2006), Hon DLitt (Queen's, Belfast, 2001), Hon DLitt (Abertay, Dundee, 2001), FRHistS, FRSE, Hon MRIA, FBA.

Professor Devine is currently Sir William Fraser Professor of Scottish History and Palaeography, Director of the Scottish Centre of Diaspora Studies at Edinburgh University. Before election to the Fraser Chair, Tom Devine held Professorships at Strathclyde, where he was also Vice Principal, and Aberdeen, as Director of the AHRC Centre in Irish and Scottish Studies. He is the author or editor of some three dozen books on a range of themes, including empire, emigration, immigration, transatlantic commerce, slavery, sectarianism, urban elites and rural society in Highlands and Lowlands.

The Lectured Darien: a Scottish disaster revisited

The failure of the expeditions to Darien in the 1690s is presented as one of the great Scottish disasters of all time with ruinous economic consequences for the nation and helping to trigger the series of events which ultimately led to the Anglo-Scottish Union of 1707. In the words of one eminent historian of Scotland, the enterprise can be dismissed as 'a tragic farce'. This lecture will challenge this orthodoxy (recently confirmed in the 2010 Edinburgh Festival play by the National Theatre of Scotland) by seeking to present a different perspective on this dramatic story.