FOR Melbourne GP Dr Ronald McCoy, it is his Celtic roots that have proven the inspiration for his creative pursuits.

During his intern years, Dr McCoy (pictured above left) studied classical singing, but it wasn’t until he heard Gaelic music originating from the Scottish Highlands that his passion was ignited.

“I heard some on a recording and thought ‘this is fantastic’,” he recalls.

Since that time Scottish folk music has become his genre of choice, and after completing a distance education course run by Sabhal Mor Ostaig University on the Isle of Skye, he is now fluent in Scottish Gaelic.

In past years, he has also performed in the choir of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. “There is something intensely personal about singing because the instrument is part of your voice,” he notes.

Dr McCoy is also adept at playing the fiddle, among other instruments.

He is a member of the Melbourne Scottish Fiddle Club, which won best Australian Folk CD and two Golden Fiddle awards at last year’s Tamworth Country Music Festival in NSW.

“Music is actually another form of communication and I think good medicine is all about communication as well,” he says.

Along with helping him form life-long friendships, Dr McCoy’s love for the culture earned him the 2008 National Folk Fellowship, bestowed by the National Library and the National Folk Festival.