 He was also a strong campaigner against the enlargement of Stornoway Airport into a NATO base in the 1970s.He is the subject of a BBC documentary 'Murchadh MacPharlain; Bard Mhealaboist' which won the Celtic Film and Television Festival Award for best Arts documentary in 2001.In the 1970s, with the Gaelic Resurgence, Murchadh wrote many poems, songs and pipe tunes for the cause, such as "Cànan nan Gàidheal", "Òran Cogaidh", "Màl na Mara", and "Mi le m' Uillin air Mo Ghlùin".