Alan Millar is an award winning writer and poet, originally from the Laggan area of east Donegal, now based in Ballymoney, Co. Antrim. His inaugural poetry collection Echas frae the Big Swilly Swally was published in 2023.
The Lost Isle of Saint Columba is an immersive poetic experience. A Hebridean wild swim of Scots and English through time and place.
William Hershaw, former editor, Lallans
The Lost Isle of Saint Columba is an important, complex piece of work that is up there with some of the best contemporary writing. It is noteworthy that writers – makars - of Millar’s calibre are choosing Ulster-Scots as their preferred medium.
Wesley Hutchinson, Professor Emeritus (Irish Studies) Sorbonne Nouvelle
Alan Millar has provided his readers with an inspired collection that blends the personal with the historic.
Dr Frank Ferguson, Ulster University
This is an excellent way to bring Ulster-Scots into everyday life and bear witness to its ability to narrate a world so vividly.
Áine Toner, Features Editor, Belfast Telegraph
Alan Millar captures something that is not often enough the focus of poetry collections – he captures the joy that the holy men he discusses must have felt on their journey.
Dr Dubhán Ó Longáin, File, Gearrscéalaí