Dundee legend Sheena Wellington honoured at the Scots Language Awards
Legendary Dundee singer Sheena Wellington has been honoured with a lifetime achievement award in her home city.
The renowned traditional singer received the Janet Paisley Lifetime Achievement Award at the Scots Language Awards 2026, held at Dundee’s Discovery Point.
It was a fitting homecoming for one of Dundee’s best-known musical figures, recognising Sheena’s remarkable contribution to Scots language and traditional music over several decades.
The award was one of three selected by judges at this year’s ceremony, which brought performers, writers, educators and champions of the Scots language from across Scotland to the City of Discovery.
Sheena has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in Scottish traditional music and is perhaps best known nationally for singing A Man’s a Man for A’ That at the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999.
She has also been a passionate advocate for Dundee’s culture and heritage throughout her career.
The sold-out ceremony at Discovery Point marked the eighth Scots Language Awards, organised by Hands Up for Trad, with a 49-strong shortlist competing across 13 categories.
A record 7,000 votes were cast by members of the public this year - almost double the number recorded in 2025.
Among the other winners were Dr Clive Young, who was named Scots Champion, Lucy Beth, who received Scots Writer o the Year, and Olivia Caw, who was crowned Scots Performer of the Year.
Banff Academy was named Scots Schuil of the Year, while the National Theatre of Scotland’s Through the Shortbread Tin received Scots Stage Production of the Year.
The evening also featured live performances from Scots singers Iona Fyfe and Scott Gardiner, before celebrations continued in Dundee with a Blether at Elfie Picket Theatre and a ceilidh as part of Dundee Fringe.
Guests at Discovery Point were also among the first to hear plans for the inaugural Scots Language Week, which will take place across Scotland from 6 to 11 September 2027.
Simon Thoumire of organisers Hands Up for Trad said the variety of work celebrated at this year’s awards demonstrated how Scots continues to be used across literature, performing arts, education and business.
He added that the dedication of nominees and winners was helping Scotland’s “mither tongue” remain thriving and relevant today.
For Dundee, it was particularly fitting to see a national celebration of the Scots language come to the city - and one of Dundee’s own cultural figures receive one of the evening’s biggest honours on home soil.
