This is an unusual obituary, because Citty died 20 years ago last month. She was influential enough in the traditional music world to have a prestigious award dedicated to her memory. Hoever, I can find very little on mudcat about her, and I suspect that many singers who have competed for her trophy have little idea of who she was or what she did.
I met her at St Andrews 'Star' folk club about 1966/7 when with the Marsden Rattlers band. She invited us to play next day upstairs at the Woollen Mill shop cafe - she had a job there & amid the lively session we found she was just 15 years old! She became a good friend, a firm defender of womens' rights and also once TUC Woman of the Year for her political activities. Citty was also in at the start of the iconic Blairgowrie TMSA festivals 1966-70 and a fixture at many festivals all over Britain, Ireland & Europe. Her zany outfits were a feature of many of these- a cloth parrot on her shoulder o giant sunglasses!
She became convener and later a director of the TMSA and was indeed a driving force in the movement. When she moved from Newport on Tay to Auchtermuchty she decided to rope in the usual suspects to set up a festival in Jimmy Shand's home town, and it ran successfully for several years, featuring the real singers like Jock Duncan & sheila Stewart.
Citty struggled with cancer from 1989 until her passing in 2005. I never heard her sing, but she truly loved the music. I have great memories of this lovely woman and I hope a few other older folk might have some thoughts about her life & times- really the younger generation of traditional singers and musicians should be made aware of her huge contribution to the tradition.