He was born in Uig, Lewis, but grew up on Raasay,[2] and took an active interest in Gaelic tradition while still young and made a conscious effort to seek it out amongst his family and community.
[3] In 1948, John MacInnes went to study at the University of Edinburgh and was awarded a scholarship in Gaelic established by the Church of Scotland.
In 1958, MacInnes was appointed to a Junior Research Fellowship in the School of Scottish Studies and spent years conducting fieldwork amongst Gaelic speakers in Scotland and in Nova Scotia, Canada.
John MacInnes penned a significant body of seminal articles on aspects of Scottish Gaelic linguistics, folklore, oral narrative, song, dance, history and indigenous beliefs which continue to inform contemporary scholarship.
A special issue of the journal Scottish Studies contains biographical information and a range of articles celebrating and extending MacInnes’ intellectual and cultural legacy.