Song about Manchester attack teenager Eilidh MacLeod

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Eilidh MacLeodImage source, Eilidh MacLeod Family
Image caption,

Eilidh MacLeod was a fan of music and a piper in a pipe band

A song written in honour of Manchester Arena attack victim Eilidh MacLeod has been been revealed by a leading contemporary Celtic music band.

Eilidh, 14, from Barra, was among the 22 people killed in May last year at US singer Ariana Grande's concert.

Skipinnish originally released Wishing Well in December but said it did not feel it was the right time to explain the story behind it.

The band is releasing a new version of the song this weekend.

Eilidh was keen music fan and a member of the Sgoil Lionacleit Pipe Band, which is made up of children from Uist and Barra.

Her friend Laura MacIntyre was badly injured in the terrorist attack on 22 May last year.

In a statement, Skipinnish said: "Over the last few months having met with Eilidh's parents we decided with encouragement from them, to make the origins of the song known to the public.

"Following from that and to help with fundraising for a permanent memorial to Eilidh on Barra, we got together with Malcolm Jones who arranged and produced the original track, and created a new version of the song."

Skipinnish was co-founded in 1999 by Angus MacPhail from Tiree and Lochaber musician Andrew Stevenson.

The band's numbers have grown over the years and today the members include musicians from Kyle of Lochalsh, Carloway on Lewis, West Calder in West Lothian and Bishopton in Renfrewshire.

Named Scots Trad Live Act of 2017, last year also saw Skipinnish play its biggest gig so far, a performance in Glasgow's Barrowland Ballroom.

The band's fans included the late former MP Tessa Jowell, who said she found relief in her battle with brain cancer in its tunes, including the song Alive.

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