Born in the Possilpark area of Glasgow to parents who both worked in bottling factories, MacDonald learned Gaelic at night school at a young age.
He worked initially as an electrical engineer, then later as an advertising salesman, first for the Evening Citizen, then for the Glasgow Herald group.
[1] MacDonald joined the Scottish National Party (SNP), and was involved with various activities in the party prior to the electoral successes of the 1960s, including co-authoring the early songbooks of the Bo'ness Rebels Literary Society.
[5] MacDonald next moved to Iran to work in advertising for the Kayhan Newspaper Group, leaving only on the outbreak of the Iranian Revolution.
[1] Ill health compelled MacDonald to take early retirement, and he devoted his remaining years to freemasonry and in particular its Knights Templar group.