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U IST S T U D E N T ’S SUCCESS
I
1
Mr Angus Matheson, a student at
Edinburgh University, lias won the
Blackie Prize of £100, a prize awarded
every four years to the best Celtic stu­
dent of the three Universities of E din­
burgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. Mr
Matheson is a son of the late M r Mal­
colm Matheson missionary at Sollas, I
North Uist.
i
SCHOLARSHIP SUCCESS
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Mr Angus Malheson, 4 Marclirnont
Crescent, Edinburgh, has been awarded
the M'Caig Scholarship in Gaelic of
r
i £200 by the Go\ernor9 of the Catherine
M'Caig Trust. Mr Matheson, who is a
etudenfc of Edinburgh University, was
!5 medallist in the advanced Celtic clase,
Blackie prizeman in Celtic in 1932, and
graduated with first-class honours in
Celtic at Edinburgh University in June
last.
Mr. An?ua Matheson, M.A.. 4 MarctimoQt Crescent, Edinburgh, who has
been awarded the M'Caig: Scholarship
in Gaelic of £200 by the Governors of
the Catheriue MCaig Trust. Mr.
Matheson, who is a student of Edin­
burgh University, was medallist in the
advanced Celtic Class, Blackie Prize­
man in Celtic in 1932, and graduated
with flrstrdasa honours in Celtic at
Edinburgh University in June last.
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i
The MacCaig Scholarship
A HIGHLAM) ST 1'' DENT’S NITC'ESS
PARENTS
W ELL-KNO W N
IN
fi
LE W IS
I
As m any h e a d e rs of th e O han T im e s are
in terested in th e M acC aig Scholarship which
is associated w ith a fam ily who figured prom ­
in en tly for a long period of years in various
professions in Oban and d istrict, th e following
p a rtic u la rs re g a rd in g M r A ngus M athesou,
31.A., 4 M arch m on t C rescent, E d in b u rg h , th e
b rillian t young s tu d e n t who h a d th e d istin c t­ *
ion, as sta te d in last w eek’s issue, of g a in in g
th e coveted b ursary, is w orthy of p ub licatio n.
Air M atheson wa.s born in H a rris, of Lewis
m ren tage, a n d was b ro u g h t up in N o rth
\list. H e was e d u c a te d a t Sollas P u b lic
School, N o rth Uist, an d S ir E d w a rd S co tt
School, T a rb e rt, H a rris. From th e re he w en t
to Inverness Koval Academ y w here h© ob­
ta in e d th e L ondon Inverness-shire Association
Silver M edal tw ice for Gaelic, th e B a rro n
p rize tw ice for H isto ry , a n d th e H enderson
prize for H ig h lan d H isto ry . I n th e L eaving
C ertificate E x a m in a tio n he was aw arded th e
Royal Celtic Society prize for first place in
H ig h e r Gaelic.
A t E d in b u rg h U niversity he was m edallist
in Advanced Celtic, Blackie P rizem an in 1932
and he obtained first class honours in Celtic?
w ith L a tin in .June last. In o th er classes he
obtained first class certificates in Scottish
H isto ry (1st place), B ritish H isto ry (,2nd
place), an d L a tin (rtrd place). I t is also inter--,
c itin g to add th a t his b ro th er, W illiam , a fte r :
a distin g uish ed career in H isto rv g ra d u a te d
V ,} h ^ onours in V'm < gaining' the James
iMhot I n z e m th e H onours course in Scottish
H istory.
D uring his te n u re of th e M acC aig Scholar­
ship M r A ngus M athesou hopes to prosecute
research a t Dublin. T his is a n o th e r instan ce
of th e pluck, perseverance an d nbilitv of
H ig h la n d stu d en ts, an d the fu tu re of th is o u t­
sta n d in g young H eb rid ean who has won the
M acC aig Scholarship will be followed w ith
very much in terest.
The S ecretary of th e M acC aig T ru s t is
M r .John C am eron, L L .fL , Solicitor, Glasgow
!Vl VlC c a d e n t an d now H on. P re sid e n t of
th e Clan C am eron Association.
rr a
H is m a n y frie n d s i n the H ig h la n d s and
Islands w i l l be pleased to lea rn o f the
latest success
o f M r A n g u s Matheson,
M.A., o f 4 M a r c h m o n t Crescent, E d in ­
burgh, w h o has just been a w a r d e d the
M a c C a ig
scholarship ol‘ £200 by the
G o v e rn o rs
of
the
Catherine
M a c C a ig
Trust.
T h i s a c h ie v e m e n t comes as
a fitting
'clim ax t o a brilliant school and U n iversity
career.
Mr
Matheson
I 'n i v e r s i t y
fro m
Academy, where
,
cam e
to
E dinburgh
the
Inverness
Royal
he w o n the L o n d o n
liivem ess*sh ire m e d a l f o r Celtic in t w o
successive years, an d w a s first in the
H i g h e r L e a v i n g certificate p ap er in Celtic,
g a i n i n g ' the H oyal Celtic S o c ie ty prizel i e g a in e d also the A n d erso n P r i z e in
H i g h l a n d History, and the B a r o n P r i z e ]
in H istory.
i D u rin g iiis course o f study in Celtic at
E d in b u r g h U n iv e r s it y he w a s medallist
,
in the A d v a n c e d Celtic class, and w o n in
the m uch coveted Blackie prize in
1Celtic. H e w a s also, in ciden tally, first in
Scottish History, second in British History
rm<i third in Latin.
He completed his
■graduating
w ith
course
first-class
this
year,
honours
in
Celtic.
H is brother, W i l l i a m , gradu ated last
y e a r w it h honours in H istory, g a i n i n g the
James E llio t P r i z e in Scottish History, and
has n o w successfully co m p leted a course
nf t r a i n i n g for the tea ch in g profession at
jUouse C ollege.
T h e y o u n g m e n ’s
,
father, the late M r j
M a lc o lm Matheson. w a s w ell-k n o w n in
the Islands as a preacher o f outstanding
a b ility . A native o f Shader, llarvns, he
w a s f o r m a n y y e a rs 'm issionary at Sollas,
North Uist.
Mrs Matheson is also a native o f Lewis,
h a i l i n g from Ness.
■ i
M'CAIG SCHOLARSHIP IN
GAELIC
The governors of Catherine M'Caig’s Trust,
at a meeting in Oban, awarded the M'Caig
scholarship in Gaelio of £200 to Mr Angus
Matheson, M.A., 4 Marchraont Crescent.
of
Prtiìl?
Mr
Matheson,
who
is
a
student
1 Ead,1"burgh University, was medaUiat j
l(?7;™ ced Celtio class, Blackie Prizeman
in Celtic in 1932, and graduated with
first”
hu
urst*
c a ss honours in Celtio at Edinburgh
j Umveraity in Ju n e last.
PERTHSHIRE ADVERTISER, November 7, 1962
GAELDOM’
S GREAT LOSS
T> Y the death on Friday last of burgh University. M r Matheson in
1938 succeedcd James Carmichael
Mr Angus Matheson, Pro­ Watson
Lecturer in Celtic in
fessor of Celtic in the University Glasgow asUniversity,
when the latter
of Glasgow, at the age of 50, moved from that post to succeed his
Celtic scholarship in general and father in the Edinburgh Celtic Chair.
Gaelic scholarship in particular
have suffered a severe loss—the
By T. M. MURCHISON
greatest loss, to quote Mr
Donald Thomson, president of
An Comunn Gaidhealach, since . At Glasgow, except for four years
the death on active service in in intelligence work with the Forces
1942 of James Carmichael during the last war. Angus Matheson
Watson, Professor of Celtic in remained until his death, a period of
24 years. Six years ago, when the
the University of Edinburgh, at Chair
of Celtic was founded in
‘the age of 32.
Glasgow, he was appointed to it. It
Matheson and Watson were
fellow-students; they sat at the feet
of that truly great scholar, James
Watson's father, Dr William J.
Watson, of the Edinburgh Celtic
Chair; they both did much good
work; but there was so much that
they might have done had they been
spared.
Angus Matheson was the son of
Lewis parents. His father, the late
Malcolm Matheson. was one of those
devoted men whose labours in the
remoter areas are not sufficiently
appreciated, the lay missionaries (or,
to use the older word, “ Catechists ”)
of the Church. It is the lot of these
lay missionaries to be moved around
from place to place, wherever those
in authority think it best to place
them. This may have had its dis­
advantages. but it helped to give the
family a first-hand knowledge of life
In various districts and of the
different Gaelic dialects. Both Angus
Matheson and his brother, Rev.
William Mathescm (who, since 1952,
has been Lecturer in Celtic in Edin­
burgh University) were thus nurtured
;in Gaelic. Basic to their scholarly
competence in the language, ancient
and modern, and in the other Celtic
tongues, was their upbringing as
native Gaelic speakers.
Born in Harris, Angus Matheson
passed through the Inverness Royal
Academy, studied at Edinburgh
under W. J. Watson, and there
jgraduated with first-class honours in
Celtic. There followed a spell in
Dublin in specialised studies in the
National University of Ireland, and
a further period in the University of
Bonn. He was MlCaig Scholar in
1934. After two years as assistant
in the Celtic Department of Edin­
is indeed very sad that his tenure of
his Chair should thus so soon have
been cut short.
Angus Matheson had a wide range
of accurate knowledge, not only in
his own special field of interest but
outside it. It was my good fortune
to be associated with him on various
projects. One was the job of revising
the spelling of the place-names on
the new Ordnance Survey maps of
Scotland. Many years ago I had the
privilege of attending his honours
class, where we read some of the
Old Irish literature and the poetry of
the great Jacobite poet, Alexander
Macdonald. Mr Mathieson could
draw on e x t e n s i v e stores to
illuminate obscurities. He was a
former chief of the Gaelic Society of
Inverness and president of the Scot­
tish Gaelic Texts Society.
The amount of his published work
is, unfortunately, not great, but its
quality is first-class. He was fas­
tidious in his scholarship. He pre­
ferred to make the best possible job
of anything he undertook rather than
rush into print. Had he been spared
for what one would regard as the
normal span of scholarly activity,
much could have still come from his
pen.
In 1954 there was published
volume 5 of “ Ciirmina Gadelica.”
that great collection of Gaelic
hymns, incantations, and poems
collected almost a century ago by
Dr Alexander Carmichael, maternal
grandfather of Professor James Car­
michael Watson. The first two
volumes came from Carmichael him­
self in 1900. Volume 3 appeared in
1940. and volume 4 in 1941, both
edited by James Watson, w'ho, with
a strange premonition that the time
was short, toiled swiftly to get these
volumes ou-t before he was caught ,
up in the war, and made preparations
for other hands, if need should arise,
to publish the remaining material,
Alas, the need did arise, for Jam es,
Watson was lost at sea in March,
1942. It fell to Angus Matheson to
take up this particular unfinished
task, and so in 1954 appeared volume
5, edited by Mr Matheson, and with
a considerable portion of the trans­
lations and the notes by him. There
was still another volume to come,
volume 6, to which M r Matheson
had been devoting much time during
these past years. One hopes that he
was able to bring th t manuscript to |
completion or near completion.
Angus Matheson made valuable
contributions to various journals. To
the Transactions of the Gaelic
Society of Inverness he contributed
two important papers—in volume 35,
“ A Traditional Account of the
Appin M u rd er” (delivered to the
Society in 1938), and in volume 41,
“ Gleanings from the Dornie Manu­
scripts ” (delivered in 1952), the latter
consisting of some 60 pages of
Gaelic verse, the only part discover-able of what was a very valuable
collection of Gaelic material. To
volume 5 of the Transactions of the
Gaelic Society of Glasgow he con­
tributed two papers. “ Traditions of
Alasdair MacColla ” and “ Docu­
ments Connected with the Trial of
Sir James Macdonald of Islay.”
These, of course, important though
they are. do not exhaust the list of,
his published work. 1 have before;
me a slim booklet which he presented^
to me some years ago, a reprint of
an article he published in “ The
Journal of Celtic Studies” in 1949,
“ Some Proverbs and Proverbial
Expressions from Lewis,” a very
useful supplement to Nicolson’s
standard work on “ Gaelic Proverbs.’*1
Most of these proverbs and phrases
were taken down, he tells us, from
his mother and his aunt, who were
brought up in Ness, Lewis. Angus
Matheson also was always ready to'
help others with their work, and n o t’
a few books by other hands have
benefited from his meticulous and
knowledgeable proof - reading. We
express our deep sympathy with his
wife and young family and his
brother.
3
5 .
• "
PROFESSOR A'
Obituary
MATHESON
PROFESSOR A.
MATHESON
An Appreciation
Distinguished Celtic
scholar
A correspondent w rites:—
The death of Professor
Angus M atheson has deprived
Scotiag^^pf one of the most
learr^pd C ekic scholars she has
ever feroduCedi
He oeioaged to the first generation of* “Scottish Celticists who
enlarged tfteir scope in their
formative years- by experience in
the great schools of Celtic studies
outside Scotland—a t Dublin under
Bergin. and at Bonn u n d e r
Tburneysen.
A nother member of this group
wa.* James Watson, and this
country has been cruelly unfor­
tunate in the tragic premature
deaths of these two, which in the
space of 20 years have destroyed \
the flower of her Celtic scholar­
ship.
Matheson’s heart was always
primarily in Scottish Gaelic, but
everyone knows nowadays that a
scholar in this field cannot dis­
pense with a wide knowledge of
the Irish language and literature
at all periods; and Scottish Gaelic
apart, he showed himself here,
above all. to be master of a
profound learning.
T h e death occurred yesterday at his
home in Glasgow of P rofessor Angus
Matheson, the firs t occupant of the
C hair of Celtic a t Glasgow University.
He was appointed six years ago.
Professor Matheson, who was 50, was
widely esteem ed as a Celtic scholar in
B ritain and Ireland, and was the
au th o r of several works, including
volumes of W est H ighland tales. He
edited the fifth volume of th e Carm ina
Gadelica.
A native of H arris, he was a I
g rad u ate of E d in b u rg h University,
w h ere he gained first-class honours in
Celtic, and he won the open McCaig
Scholarship in th a t language in 1934.
A fte r studying in Dublin and Bonn,
P rofessor M atheson became A ssistant
L e c tu re r in Celtic at E dinburgh U niver­
sity in 1936. Two years later he was
appointed McCallum-Fleming L ecturer
in Celtic at Glasgow University.
He served in Intelligence d u rin g th e
Second W orld W ar. He was a form er
chief of the Gaelic Society of Inverness
! and a fo rm er p resid ent of th e Scottish
}Gaelic Texts Society.
He lived a t . 52 K ersland Street,
Glasgow.
S
Illuminating
Scholars like him, who can
speak with up-to-date authority on
the history of the Gaelic language,
are growing ever rarer Much of
his work was published as com* (
pact articles in journals read only i
Lbv the few Celticists and philologists, and the layman was probably
unaware of its full Quantity and
illuminating quality.
However,
bis
edition
of
Carmichael’s “Carmina GadeUca,
volume V,M and his part in
Mackay’s "More West Highland
Tales, volume 1 1 /' of which he
was joint editor, are widely known.
A notable part of the first was
his original work, for about half
the translations were his, and his
revision of the rest, and his colla­
tion, annotation, and edition of
the t e x t s , are a remarkable J
production.
.
Gaelic Texts
The second was prepared by a
committee from the papers of
J. G. Mackay, but the bulk ot the
editorial work was Matheson’s, and
in particular he was responsible
for the Gaelic texts and notes on
them. Indeed, he was always
generous with his help in Celtic
matters, and many scholars have
been grateful for his meticulous
p r e c i s i o n and extraordinary
learning.
Matheson was a modest, easy'oing man who did not thrust
.iimself forward, but the fire was
there and might be seen to flash
when necessary. His pupils will
long remember his kindness, and
his friends, who felt the warmest
affection for him, will miss the
delightful hospitality, the good
company* and the good talk in his
home at Glasgow,
3 (u U Z
The Late Mr John
Matheson, Inverinate
The death occurred suddenly
while on his w ay to hospital
in Inverness of Mr John M ath­
eson, Tullochard, Inverinate.
Mr Matheson was one of a
family of 12 of Mrs J. M ath­
eson and the late Mr J. M ath­
eson. Camusluinie. Killilan.
Mr Matheson was born i n ;
Camusluinie 64 years ago and
spent most of his life farm -t
lng. After his wife died in
1951 he w ent out to New
Zealand but* came back to In ­
verinate in 1964.
The funeral service w as held
in Ardelve F ree Church and
was conducted by Rev. K.
Smith. B urial took place at
Applecross Cemetery.
Sym pathy is expressed to
his m other at Camusluinie and
his son Alan who is a male
n u rse a t Craig Phadric Hos­
pital. Inverness and to sisters
Mrs F raser in Inverinate, Mrs
MacLennan in B alnain and to
brothers Lachie in New Zea­
land, Willie in Ullapool. C har­
lie in Inverness, Donald in In­
verness. F a rq u h a r in Inverness. Christopher in Cam us­
luinie, D uncan in Camusluinie
and Alex in Aphmore.
o x J li- f o h i
M M-'.EOD. — At L a rk fte ld H ospital,
G rse n n c k . on 1st S e p t e m b e r 197«
Ca t h e r i n e
graham
sm it h ’
Ti"h-»n-Fbr^(^ch ’
BORVE
Tnw^r Drive
Gourock. w idow of DONALD JAMFS
MACLEOD. O.B E.. M.A. ( fo r m e rly
H.M. c h ie f I n s p e c to r of schools).
S e rv ic e
in
St
J o h n 's
C h u rc h .
Gourock,
to m o rro w
(F riday).
3rd
S eptem ber
at u . a o a .m .: * f u n e r a l
t h e r e a f t e r to Gourock C e m e te ry .
;
Tragic Death. — The whole com­
munity heard the sad news recently
of the death of Mr Angus Matheson,
39 Borve, at the Royal Infirmary,
Glasgow. Angus had been flown to
the Royal from the Lewis Hospital
some weeks before, after being in­
volved in a very bad accident, where
he sustained
considerable internal
injuries.
Death, at a ll times, leaves fam ily
and friends with a feeling of sadness
and 1088, but In the case of Angus,
who was only twenty-three years of
•ge, a young man on the threshold
of life, the anguish and grief brought
to his happy and respectful home is
beyond description. The pain and tor­
ment suffered by parents and fam ily
in such tragic circum stances can only
be fully understood by those who have
suffered the same.
To say that Angus was w ell-liked is
an understatement. Although his home
was the centre of his life. It was by
no means the circum ference of it.
Angus's circle of friends was wide andnumerous. His lively w it and humour,
his generous personality, his wonderful zest for life, his unusual turn of
phrase,
endeared him to everyonfr
who had the good fortune to know
him.
Whence most of us merely see our
fellow men, Angus observed people
with
sympathy
and understanding,
This could be seen on many occa­
sions when he would entertain his
friends by giving his own unforgettable
■interpretetion of the character and
I mannerisms of those he knew well.
J Those interpretations were never of­
fensive, but always amusing, never
derisive, but showed' a deep affec­
tion for and understanding of every­
one he knew — a g ift aeidom found
in one so young.
In his chosen trade, he was skilful
and hard working, loyal to his em­
ployer and never slow to put his
! skill at the disposal of anyone In
the community who needed It.
Outside his house and work, his
main interest was football. The club
he was loyal to w ill miss him. He
helped to organise it and keep it
going. He went on the field to play
I with the same vigour and energy
4 that he displayed In every task he
undertook.
I
No doubt his fitness and strength I
j and his great love of life restrained
J him during the short but gruelling
period between his accident and
death; a period during which there
J was some hope of his eventual re­
covery. Sadly it was not to be.
The funeral took place to Barvas
cemetery and the attendance was
{ larger than at any funeral ever seen I
| in the d istrict.
j
To Mr and Mrs Matheson, to his
brothers and s is te rflffto all who held
him near and dear, we extend our
deepest heartfelt sympathy In ttheir
immeasurable loss.
Z *-/n f'J 7
-t j - i h t K ,
UIG
i
Sudden Deaths. — During the past
fortnight, the neighbouring vijj§ges of
Timsgarry and Crowlista have peen i
plunged into mourning by two sudden
deaths which occurred w ithin a week
of each other.
Peter Angus Maclean passed away
at his home. 6 Timsgarry, during the
early hours of September 21. His
death came as a great shock as he
seemed to have recovered from his
serious illness of early summer. Aged
sixty-four years, he was the eldest of
the fam ily of the l«te Roderick and
{Kate Maclean and he was brought l
up in a home renowned through- Ii
put
Lewis
for
its
hospitality.
For most of his working life, he was
the postman for prow ljsta and Aird
as well as being a hard-working
crofter and a great sheep men.
A professing Pfyrjjttiap *or many
years, he was a deacon of the Uigen
congregation where hf$ place was
never vacant, and a frequent visitor
to
neighbouring
congregations
at
Communion times. His strong fjiith in
the Heavenly Master was evident to
all who knew him and
his cheerful
*
and humourous personality is sadly
missed in the neighbpurhood. Heart­
felt sympathy is extended to his
pndow, Jean, now left alone in the
fiome, to his sister, fihoda,
Mrs
Greer, at Ayr, his brothers. Neil at
Erskine. Hector at Fort W illiam and
the Rev. Colin in Trinidad.
On the 29th September,
Angus
» Matheson passed away very suddenly
at his home 24 Crowlista. He was
seventy-three years of age and had
bpen in poor health for many years,
although he was better after his re­
cent spell in the Lewis Hospital and
able to be up and about. He was the
fast surviving son of the late Mr and
Mrs Peter Matheson, and his life was
spent at home in Crowlista, where
he was a quiet and wise man who
never bothered anyone. For most of
' his life, he was a member of Balna; p iile congregation and he was a
' regular attender at church while he
, was able.
The best testimony to his lifelong
witness is to be seen in his fam ily
of three sons and one daughter, none
of whom ever caused their parents
a moment's anxiety. He is survived by
^his wife, the former tyurdina MacdonI aid of Carloway, his daughter, Jessie,
(Mrs Macdonald. Timsgarry, his sons,
Peter Murdo, whose home is in North
Uist, Alex Murdo, who has been the
mainstay of the fam ily home, and
Roddy, whose home is at Back, and
by his sister. Mary Ann, Mrs Mackay
at Edinburgh.
The services at both homes were
very well attended as were the two
funerals, both of which .were to Ardro il Cemetery. S C
i
MATHESON. — Peggy Matheson, 18
Uigen, passed away peacefully, on
1 st
December,
aged
81
years
Daughter of the late Malcolm Mathe­
son and Catherine Morrison, sur­
vived by tw o brothers. Norman and
Murdo, one sister, Kate, and nieces
and nephews.
„ .
t
Greatly missed. k* l O j l ’Z I T 7
I PARK Sfr ic f i t f77
Ì
MARTIN. — At home, after a linger­
ing illness, Christina Matheson, be­
loved wife of the late Roderick
M artin, of 30 Upper Shader; twin
sister of Margaret (G alson), daugh-1
ter of the late John and Annte
Matheson of Ballantrushal. A de­
voted
mother,
grandmother
and
great-grandmother.
MATHESON. — Suddenly, at his home, ,
2 Ardroil. Uig, on 14th November, i
1977. John Matheson, beloved h u s -i
band of Christina A. Maciver and I
dear father of lom hair and C h ris ->
Una.
I
(&
( ii.0 i.c k >
W edding. — The marriage took
place recently in the Free North
Church, Inverness, between Miss Isobel Matheson. youngest daughter of
Mrs Matheson ( and the late Angus
Matheson, 15 Glen, G ravir) and Mr
Ian MacLeay. 17 Cnoc Terrace, Kyle
of LochalshIsobei is a teacher and before her
marriage
was
teaching in
Keose
School. They are making their home
in M ull, where Mr Macleay is to be
a Missionary.
The marriage ceremony was per­
formed by the Rev. Douglas M acm il­
lan. St. Vincent Free Churoh, Glas­
gow.
We wish them ail blessings and hap­
piness in th e ir married life together.
I ^ CL , J o f t k i
.
MURRAY. — Passed away at 6 South
Dell, Ness on 4th December, Christin a Murray, aged 82 years, beloved*
sister of Donald and Catherine.
Very sorely missed.
,v 6 C r < 7 | i 3 . / - n
I
\
NESS
Deaths. — It is w ith deep regret
that we record the deaths of Allan
Sm ith (A ilean Ruarachan), Habost;
C atherine
Gunn
(Bean
Dhomhnulll
R obhair), Swalnbost; Christina Murray
(C airstiona
lain
DhomhnuiH
D u ip n ). South Del" and Jessie M arkay (Banntrach Sheonnaidh Sgiogorsta id h ), South Dell.
A llan Smith, who was a Captain
w ith Silverline, died about five days
sailing out of the Solomon isles.
His remains were fldw n home and
the funeral took place last Saturday.
The funeral was one of the largest
seen in Ness fo r a long tim e.
To his mourning parents, brothers,
sister, uncles and aunts, we convey
our deepest sympathy.
Catherine Gunn died at home after
a few m onths' illness. To her hus­
band. her son, her daughters and her
brother we extend our deepest sym­
pathy.
Obituary. — It is w ith profound
sorrow that we record the passing at
her daughter's home (2 Sheshader)
of Mrs Agnes Matheson, 4 Glen Gra­
yir. Born eighty years ago at 23
Gravir. she was a daughter of the
late Mr and Mrs Donald M acm illan
and
fa m ilia rly
known
as
Agnes
Dhom huill Ian Bhig.
She came to stay at Gien Gravir
on marrying her late husband, Mr
John Matheson, who predeceased her
many years ago. Some years ago her
health broke down and, because she
was on her own, she went for stays
with her daughter, Mrs Macinnes, 13
Gten Gravir, and to Sheshader.
She
was
a
peaceful,
friendly
woman, very w ell liked and respected
in the neighbourhood. During her
long illness, we never heard her
com plain, saying always that many
others were far worse than she was.
although she was an invalid for a
very long time.
The funeral took place to Gravir
Cemetery from
the home of her
daughter, Mrs Macinnes, Glen Gravir
and worship at the house was con­
ducted by the Rev. W. J. Campbell,
assisted by the Rev. Angus Mackay,
Leverburgh.
To her fam ily here and elsewhere,
and her sisters at Cromore and Tor­
onto. the deep sympathy of the com­
munity is extended. 5 6 - 2 c | / | 7 ?
1
Christina Murray died at home after
a prolonged illness. To her brother
and sister, we convey out deepest
sympathy.
Jessie Mackay died in an Inverness
hospital after a short illness. We
extend our deepest sympathy to her
son and daughters.
Sympathy. — It is w ith deep re­
gret that we record the death of
Gormelia M acleod, Fivepenny. To her
relatives, we extend qur deepest symI pathy.
MACPHAIL. — A t home, 25 Arnol,
on 19th December, 1977, Donald
M acphail (D om hnuill a' Chriom an*
a ic h ), aged 81.
*| I . l 7 o
Sorely m is s e d .* 1*
I
I **
.
tX>
r
MACAULAY. — Peacefully, at the
Lewis Hospital, on 31st May, 1978,
Margaret, aged 92 years, lately of
9
C hurchill
Drive.
Stornoway;
daughter of the late Donald and
Catherine Macaulay, Islivig .
i MACKENZIE. — Peacefully, at 20
Breanish, on 4th June, 1978, aged
99 years, Mary Macaulay, w ife of
*ate
Roderick Mackenzie.
•
*
^
^
S t
MATHESON. — At the C ounty‘Hospital,
on Thursday. 6th April. Isabella
Matheson, late of 26 Gravir, aged .
85 years. H
J
Isabella Matheson. — It is w ith
deep regret that we report the passing
at the County Hospital. Storrftway, of
Miss Isabella Matheson (Ishbel Murchaidh Tharm oid), last surviving mem­
ber of the fam ily of the late Mr and
Mrs M urdo Matheson, 26 Gravir, at
the age o l eighty-five years.
A fter the death of her late brother,
Alastair, in 1972, she moved to Dun 1
Berisay and was keeping remarkably
w ell until she suffered a stroke two
weeks before from which she did not (
recover.
fshbel was a keen debater on many
topics and one would not feel the
tim e long in her company. Two of her
late
brothers were School Head­
masters — Donald was in Sandwick
School and Angus in a Glasgow
school. Another brother, Norman, who
died some years ago, was living on
the croft.
The funeral took place to Gravir
cemetery last Saturday and worship
at the home of her niece at 44 Grayir
was conducted by the Rev. W- J.
Cam pbell, assisted by Mr Donald
Mackay, elder, G ravir and leading the
praise was Mr C olin M acm illan, Gra­
vir. To a il nieces, nephews and rela­
tives at G ravir and elsewhere, the
deep sympathy of the community is
extended.
SC-
h a t h f SON
^ a n n h te r
daughter.
1S'
!o'
— At the home of her
2 Sheshader, Point, on
Agnes Macmillan.
beloved wile of the late
A
11 \ C.JT 2
I I*
MACIVER. — At the Lewis Hospital,
on 13th September, 1978, John A.
Maciver, late of Soval, Lochs, aged
4 80 years, after a long Illness,
patiently borne, a beloved father
and grandfather.
A few short years of evil past,
We reach the happy shore,
Where death-divided . friends at
last, S O - 2 1 H
1 «
CKall moot, to o'►art no <
more.
A Tribute. — We also règret to
report the death of Mr John Maciver, »
Soval, who recently passed away I n '
the Lewis Hospital. The late Mr Mac­
iver hed very strong connections with
Bernera, for his father, the late Mr
Kenneth
M ariver,
was
born
and
brought up in Bernera.
It can be truly said that the late
Mr John M aciver was one of nature s
gentlemen, and no ope who ever
vteited his home could in the very
least doubt this statement. His very
humorous nature and his hearty hand'-1
shake could make any visitor fe e l(
relaxed in his home.
For many years he served the
Church of Scotland congregation of
Kinloch as an eider, and Bernera was
one of his choice places of visitation
at communion seasons. Outside his
occupation as a gamekeeper he was
a real expert on geneology and he
possessed a rich store of local his­
tory, and being a good drator, he
could w ell state his geneological and
^ lo c a l history knowledge in a precise
Pmanner to any interested person.
* Being a survivor of the G allipoli
^ la n d in g , he was a firm upholder of
-4 h e annual G allipoli reunion dinner,
(•usually held In Stornoway. We regret
t*th a t we shall no more converse with
fchlm
on
matters
spiritual
or
'^tem poral. The sympathy of the com(ftmunity, both in Bernera and Tir
Mor. goes out to the sorrowing fam ily
in their tim e of mourning.
•ài _
missed.
a
M l-
-
FEAR-TAC
SCALPACH
Chaochail Dòmhnall Caimbeul, Dòmhnall Iain Oig no
Dòrnhaiall mac^ Iain Oig mar
dòcha, anns an t-Suituinn,
1784, agus a bhean beagan
bhliadhnaichean ’na dhèigh.
Hugadh Dòmhnall ann an
1690. Bha e ’na fhear-tac air
eilean Scalpaigh anns na
Hearadh. Cnaidh e gu ruige
Ceann-a-tuath Carolina an
Amerigea ann an 1774 ’s e
timchioil air ceithir fichead
bliadhna a dh’aois; an dearbh
ihear a thug aoigheachd do i
Phrionnsa Tearlacn ’45 a n '
Scalpaigh mu ochd bliadhna i
lichead roimhe sin. Chaidh ej
le bhean 's mac air an robh \
Iain agus a thriuir nighean, ;
e air an robh Cairistiona ’s )
Maireaa air te agus iseBail:
air i eiie gu ruige Ceann-a-;
tuath Carolina. Shuidhich
iad iad fhèin air “McLendon’s
i Creek” ann am Moore
' County, Ceann-a-tuath Caro­
lina. Tha iad air an adhlaiceadh le chèiìe air an oighreachd a bh’aig Dòmhnall ann
an Carolina-a-Tuath.
Faodaidh gu b’e 'n teaghlach a bha ’na mheadhon air
Dòmhnall a chur a nùll ’na
shean aois . . . chaidh a
mhac Iain, a bha na chaptain
airm a mharbhadh thall an
isud an Ceann-a-Tuath Caro!lina ann am batal Moor’s
reek- I f Ann an 1784 tha
airead a’ sgriobhadh coheangailte ri caillteachd a
haobh buntanas do ‘stuth’ no
còir’ a bhuineadh dha’n
ighreachd an Ceann-a-Tuath
arolina . . .
’S a ris
griobh Coinneach a dh’fhuirch, a bhos (an Scalpaigh?)
nn an daimh ri oighreachd'
thar thaU an Ceann-a- Tuath
arolina. y Ann an aon bhad
de d h ’iomradh a th’againne
tha cunntais air mao eile
bh’aig Dòmhnall air an robh
Calum. Saoilidh sinn a nise
bu b e aon chuid Coinneach
no Calum a bha an greim
aig leagail bunait a’ chiad
tùr tigh-soluis a thogadh air
Scalpaigh ann an 1787-1789,
oiy^tha lorg againn air Coinnach a bhith sgriobhadh a
thaobh oighreachd athar a
eann-a-Tuath Carolina ’s a ’
hliadhna 178Q/B’e Catriona
an t-ainm bh’air bean
Dhòmhnaill.
I Bha dithis nighean eile aig
Dòmhnall, te air an robh
Barabal ’s t^. air an robh
nna. Shan *eil againn mu
arabal gu’n seo ach//a hinm a bhi ann an sgriobhdh a thaobh tiomnaidh a
inn a h-athair. Bha teagh|ach Dhòmhnaill aig an am
ig aois . . . bha Cairistiona
àsda ’s Mairead is IseabaiLi
Ma bha Coinneach neOi
Calum, chan ’eil fhios agam
n dràsda, no Barabal ? *7Tha
coltach ris gun deachaidh
oinneach air gnothuich a
haobh oighreachd athar a
h e a n n -a -T u a th Carolina,
us gun do thill e an
ighearachdy air ais a
hreatuinr/f(a Scalpaigh?)
Tha lorg againn air an
uiread seo de dhealbh phearsanta a thaobh Dhòmhnaill
mhic Iain Oig . . . (FearScalpaigh . . . m ar a their*
ear . . . fs dòcha gun tug an
aoigheachd a nochd e dh’an
a ’ Phrionnsa (*45) na b fhollaisiche e m ar FhearScalpaigh . . . m ar a dh’ainmich sinn roimhe seo . . .)
ach, a thaobh athar Dhòmhnaill (Iain Og) . . . *e i
Dòmhnall MacMhurachaidh
is Dòmhnall Ban mun do
sgriobh sinn trie a cheana,
tha cuimhn1 agaibh gun
hiirt sinn nach d’fhuair sinn
an dealbh f hathasd slàn
(Tha aon fhiosrachadh eg
radh gu robh deichnear a
fheaghlach aig Dòmhnall mac
Iain Oig. Nach robh nighean
aig air an robh Peigidh . . . ?) I
D. R. MOIREASDAN,
Am Baile, ££■ £
I
Scalpaigh,
Na Hearadh.
Hincha Guala Is
Innse-Gall
HEADER is anxious to know
whether anyone can identify
for him the Alan RadrkPof Hincha
Guala — presumably Innse-Gall
who features in a letter written by
a Spanish merchant in 1285.
He draws attention to this inter­
esting extract from “Mediaeval
Scotland" by R. W. CochranPatrick :
“In 1285 an extraordinary letter
was addressed to Alexander III by
a Spanish merchant and ship­
owner. which is sUll preserved in
the Public Record Office, London.
It is written in Spanish, and narrates
how the ship sailed from Bordeaux
for London and was driven by a
tempest far out of her course to the
isles of ‘Hincha Guala', where they
found a good harbour, and remained
there till the storm was over.
“Then there came the men of
“Alan Radric” with a sealed letter
offering to show them a better port |
and to take care of their goods.
They accordingly went, and Alan
took out all their wares and left '
only two men in the vessel, and she
went ashore and became a total
wreck: whereupon Alan took for
himself all the goods, including 8
tuns of wine. 300 dozen of Cordova
skins, a great quantity of raisins
and dates, a bale of silk, shields and
armour for 30 men, and 20 silk
banners. Besides this, the crew lost
two changes of clothes for each !
man. and a considerable sum of
money which they had to spend.
“The Soanish captain concludes
his letter vVth the following prayer :
“And Lord for the great mercy in
you make Alan and his men come
before you and tell these things in
our presence; and Lord do me
justice in your Court.’’
A
s a
n{&/&3
The Place=Name “ Reay.”
DEAR SIR,—The place-name "Reay" has
aroused the etymological interest of quite
a number of your readers. May 1 add
my humble quota to the discussion?
In modern Gaelic, the parish of Reay
is “Sgire Meadhrath.“ The present
English form is obviously the latter halij
of the Gaelio compound word. “Meadhrath/*1.
Reay is the Gaelic “rath.” Now.
“Meadhrath,” spelt “Meghrath'' by Mao
vurieh, the aeanachie, aud “Mioghradb'*
by Rob Donn, the poet, wa« cnee applied
to the whole of “Duthaieh Mhic Aoidh,"
or Mackay’s Country. Rob Donn ad­
dresses Lady Reay: "Baintigheuma
Mhioghraidh, ’S cinuteach gur h-iughair
i.” The old form of the name
still
preserved in his d ‘r.
J)r W. J. Watcon - ur "reatest Scottish
authority in this floid, states definitely
that "rath” ifi “a circular fort.” “Rath’'
is likewise the second part of the name
“ Dounreay." The first part. “Meadh," of
the full name, ''Meadhrath,“ Is, l>r
Watson affirms, most probably Old Irish
Mll>, English ' middle." Meadhrath ia
thus “the middle fort;” probably witli
reference to its position midway between
the waters of Halladalo and Fores.—I am,
etc..
JOHN MACINNE8.
Manse of Halkirk, 27/4/45. t
J cfc»t
a definite degree of con­
sanguinity, as well as demons­
trating the tendency for Mac­
Eachens of the period to
assume the surnam e of Mac­
donald. This was particularly
so among the pretentious and
they were probably following
the example of their illustri­
ous cousin the Marshal Mac­
donald.
rine and Drimsdale, and the
I endorse Mr D. J. Mac­
families of John and Roderick donald’s account of the de­
scendants of Anne MacEachen
Bowie.
Traditionally the descend­ who married Donald Mac­
ants of this Hector and of his, donald (mac Dhomhnuill ’ic
brother Ronald, who is now Iain) but I cannot accept the
represented by Ronald Mac­ statement that she was a
Eachen, Lochskipport, have sister of Neil MacEachen.
been regarded as the closest Neil was born in 1719 but
male line relatives of the Anne’s son, John was not
Marshal, in Uist. The re­ born until 1815. It is inter­
ference to this money gift esting to note in passing that
would tend to corroborate the John’s grandson, Ronald Mac­
tradition, but the exact rela­ donald, Daliburgh, has united
tionship is now obscure.
two MacEachen pedigree
Elsewhere in the same con­ lines, by his marriage with
text Carmichael records that Flora, daughter of Louis Mac­
the Marshal gave £30 to the Eachen, mentioned in an
father of Ronald MacEachen, earlier paragraph.
Eochar. This Ronald (Raonull To return to Anne Mac­
mac Iain ’ic Nil ’ic Raonuill) Eachen; she was, undobtedly,
was the father of the late “nighean fir Though Big”
Louis MacEachen, Lochbois- but of which one ? She
dale. He was, presumably, could have been the daughter
the great grandson of Neil of Neil MacEachen’s brother,
MacEachen’s brother Ranald, John, or of John’s son Alex­
the “son of O’Begg’ who was ander, the last styled “of
a prisoner in London in 1746. Howbeg”. Alexander did, in
(Prisoners of the ’45 — Bruce fact have a daughter, an­
Seton and A m ot pp. 86-87). other Anne MacEachen, who
Iain mac Nil ’ic Raonuill is on was born in 1830. In 1848 she
record locally as having, on married Donald Patterson,
the death of his contemporary tailor in Balgarva. Two of
MacEachen of Howbeg, her grandsons, who are still
assumed many of the latter’s alive, are Angus Macdonald
erstwhile social obligations, j (mac Dhomhnuill ’ic Aonghais
such as sponsorship. He also Mhoir) and his brother in
gave away Howbeg’s daughter Nos, Eochar.
in marriage; all oi which
I do not know by what
tends to indicate a very close standard
one measures relat­
family connection.
ive degrees of consanguinity
The third point of interest but it is clear that these two
that Carmichael made on this men could correctly rjfer to
subject is that Alexander His Grace of Tarentum, as
Macdonald, Tacksman, was a “mac brathair mo shi-si-seanfull cousin of the Duke. This air.
Alexander “Macdonald’* was
Yours etc.,
without doubt, Alexander
MacEachen, the much refer­
ALASDAIR MACLEAN,
red to, last of his line. This Daliburgh,
point is doubly important
South Uist.
establishing, on the one hand,
THERE IS MORE TO BE
LEARNED ABOUT THE
D IK E OF TARENTUM
Sir, — I am most inter­ It is clear from this account
ested in the correspondence that fhere was no Hector
initiated by my namesake in Macdonald of Howbeg during
America, dealing with the the material period and that
family connections, in Uist, of the Duke of Tarentum ’s father
the M arshal Macdonald, Duke Neil MacEachen was a son of
of Tarentum, and I regret that Alexander MacEachen of
I have only now seen the Howbeg.
scholarly letter of 12th Octo- The Macdonalds of Bornish
ber by my friend Mr D.' J. were the heritable chamberMacdonald.
lains to Clanranald but I
doubt
if
Howbeg
was
ever
in
M r Macdonald’s literary their gift. While there was
references are, of course, a Donald MacEachen in
authoritative but I feel his Ormaclete in 1638, the Mac­
traditional version of this donalds did not receive the
interesting family history feu of Bornish until 1672.
cannot be reconciled with According to Dwelly, the
o t h e r well documented Bornish family were “Sliochd
accounts.
Iain mhic Raonuill” and thus
I cannot recollect w hat the would not be descended from
“Clan Donald” says of the Rory III of Clanranald. (Book
family of Howbeg, but I have of Clanranald). I can find no
recently studied, in the Edin­ evidence to support the theory
burgh University Library, a that they were the progeni­
manuscript account of the tors of the MacEachens of
family written by Rev. A. Howbeg.
Macdonald. Kilearnan (one of In the Carmichael papers
the co-authors of “Clan there is an interesting manu­
Donald”. He states that the script in which Alexander
MacEachen sept is derived Carmichael records virtually
from Hector, son of Rory, 3rd first hand accounts of the
chief of Clanranald, and that visit of the Duke of Tarentum
the first of the name in Uist, to the birthplace of his father.
was Ranald, who had How­ Three items can be selected
beg early in the 17th Century. which have a considerable
Ranald MacEachen was fol­ bearing on the question of
lowed by his son Alexander the Marshal’s family con­
who was followed by his son, nections. In the first place
John. From this point the he refers to a money gift and
succession can be verified an annuity settled by the
from the Clanranald papers. Duke on Alexander Mac­
John was followed by his Eachen and his sister Ishabel.
son Alexander, who had four From the identity of Car­
sons v iz : John, who suc­ michael’s informant, and his
ceeded him; Neil who stated relationship to the said
attended Prince Charles; Alexander MacEachen, I
Ranald, a prisoner after the know that this Alexander
Forty - Five; and Angus. must have been the brother
Alexander, the last tacksman of Hector MacEachen, from
of Howbeg, was the son of the whom are descended the
MacEachens now in Peninelast mentioned John.
✓
s
%
correspondence. This fact, clari­
To trace a direct male line we f (Another descendant of "Anna fication
was the inten­
THE CONFUSION must bridge the gap between the | Mhor" is John Macdonald. Fro- tion of ofthewhich
paragraph
referring
bost).
Equally
traceable
are
the
forebears of this Alexander Mac- |
STILL REMAINS
the Duke in my previous letter,
donald, last of Howbeg and the j female line descendants of the to
is,
that
the
only
Uist
relatives
of
last
Alexander's
daughter
who
I must thank Dr. I abovementioned Hector. We can married Patterson of Balgarva. >the Marshall Macdonald who can
Sir,
Alasdair Maclean for his very in- : only fall back again on tradition, The query arising here is. why claim a dir«ct unbroken line from
; formative letter of 16th N ovem ber,; corroborated by the only asser- should the direct male progeny the Howbeg family are the deon the subject of the Marshall tion that the descendants of the of this distinguished family peter, scendants of the two Annes, viz.
Macdonald’s family connections *said Hector are MacEachens,
out into impenetrable obscurity the Macdonalds of Stonybridge.
in Uist. While I concede t h a t ' Considering — according to the while
its female counterpart is; Askernish and Eochar.
he is undoubtedly correct in his Carmichael papers — that Alex- represented
by present-day con-. In conclusion we must not omit
: references to the Howbeg family ander Macdonald (?) last of How­ temporaries of
our
own
?
.
another
famous
South
Uist
family,
beg,
and
Marshall
Macdonald,
j according
to the Cianranald
At this point we may touch
,„oh" Macdonald expapers, I find that the confusion Duke of Tarantum were full ogam
on the "Fear Bhoirnis" F,ity of Glasgow Police P.pe Band,
— which has ever been evident in cousins, any direct male line
his
brother
Roderick
and
two
tracing the male line to the pre-, must needs emanate from Alex­ theory, which introduces the sisters who are — through their
sent day — still remains.
1 ander; and It must be obvious Hector Macdonald, connecting mother — in direct line of descent
I conclude that Hector — whom that any male or female progeny him to the Duke’s father's im­ from "Anna Mhor' and her father,
he asserts to have been a brother of Alexander would be M ac-1 mediate forebears: but while "Fear Hough Big".
of Alexander, the recipient of the donalds irrespective of whether there is also no authoritative
Yours
etc.,
his
surname
were
assumed
or
in­
,
version
to
support
the
tradition
Duke’s monetary gift — must
DONALD
J.
MACDONALD,
herited.
it is quite evident, in relation tc p enlnenie*
have been the grandfather of
Alexander MacEachen (Alasdair As my friend Dr. Alasdair various local accounts that a con­ South Uist. s c , - r / m / c 3
Mac Ragaill ic Eachalnn) whose Maclean correctly states, the nection did really exist between
grandchildren live at Drims­ exact relationship is now obscure, the two families. This statement
dale today. Apart from this and to his statement I may add is based on lore and a certain
gratuity, we have again only tra­ that any direct male line, if any, amount of family history garnered
from an informant — now de­
dition, uncorroborated, to estab­ is equally so.
lish, beyond any reasonable doubt. Regarding the female line, It is ceased — who was undoubtedly a
; a direct male pedigree line to the i interesting to note that
while descendant of "Anna mhor.
the male line cannot be exactly nighean fear Hogh Big” ; but
earlier Howbeg family.
In giving sanction to the Clan­ traced — the descendants of even although this connection
ranald papers’ account of the of Anne (Anna Mhor, nighean might throw a fair amount of
i family tree, Alexander, nephew Ì fear Hogh Big) i.e. the Mac- light on an otherwise obscure
' ot Neil (the Duke's father) to donaids of Stonybridge (Clann theory, I feel disinclined in be­
whom Alexander Carmichael in Ailein) and the Macdonalds of ing tha author of it initiation in
his papers refers to as
j Askernish (Clann a Ghreidheir) literature.
Macdonald, Tacksman, must be | are clearly accounted for in my One fact however, has been
regarded as the last verified re- | own previous letter and con- made perfectly clear bv this
presentative o£ the family.
firm e d by my friend Dr. Maclean.
«
I
«
A l e x a n d e r
W9
••
AN IMPORTANT QUESTION
LEFT UNSOLVED
b ec au se th e ste a m -b o a t upon,
Sir, — T h e v e ry accurate
w h ic h he h a d vtaken passage,
a n d in fo rm a tiv e le tte r from
h a d developed en g in e tro u b le
m y frie n d Dr. A la s d a ir Maca n d got no f u r t h e r th a n
le a n on th e su b je c t of th e
T o b erm o ry .
H e goes on
M a rsh a l D u k e of T a r e n tu m ’s
to re la te h o w he h a d visited
fam ily connections in S outh
th e M arshal, la te r on a t th e
U ist h as le d m e to look u p
S t a r In n in G lasgow. A b th e
n o te s m a d e se v e ra l y e a rs ago,
e n d of th e le tte r h e offers his
a n d th e follow ing in fo rm a tio n
com plim ents of “m y b ro th e r
is offered in th e hope th a t it
a n d his fa m ily .” T h e w r ite r
w ill shed f u r t h e r lig h t on
w as obviously a m a n of
som e p o in ts t h a t h a v e h ith e r ­
b re e d in g a n d ed u catio n , a n d
to re m a in e d obscure.
m u s t c e rta in ly h a v e belonged
T h e m o st im p o r ta n t q u es­
to th e ta c k sm a n class. W hile
tio n
left
u n reso lv ed
con­
th e above facts do n o t con­
cern s
th e
id e n tity
of
s titu te conclusive proof, th e re
A le x a n d e r M acE achen, w ho,
can be little reaso n ab le doubt
to g e th e r
w ith
his
sister
th a t th e b r o th e r a n d siste r on
Isabel, h a d an a n n u ity settled
record in 1781, k n o w n of
on th e m by th e M arsh al, as
from th e above le tte r, a n d re ­
A le x a n d e r
Carmichael
fe rre d to b y A le x a n d e r C a r­
le a rn e d fro m
reliab le in<
m ich ael’s in fo rm an ts, a r e th e
fo rm a n ts in S o u th U ist. In
sam e persons, nam ely, A lex ­
th is connection it m a y be
a n d e r M acE achen, la s t tack s­
n o te d th a t, according to Dr^
m a n of Howbeg, w h o died in
M acdonald, K ille a rn a n , in his?
1835, a n d his siste r Isabel.
MS. H isto ry of S o u th U ist
T he fo rm e r w a s A la sd a ir m ac
(E d in b u rg h
University
Ia in m hic A lasd air, w hile th e
L ib r a r y ) , Isabel, siste r of
D uke
of
T a re n tu m
w as
A le x a n d e r
M acE achen
of
S eu m as
m ac
Nèill
m hic
Howbeg, is on reco rd in 1781, j
A la s d a ir — in o th e r w ords,
w h en she figured in a n :
th e y w e re first cousins.
affiliation case t h a t caused
J o h n M acE achen, G reenock,
con sid erable s tir a t th e time.
w e n t to see his illustrious
T hen, again, th e re is a le tte r
cousin acco m p an ied b y five
(p u b lish ^ in th e “Celtic Red au g h ters, th r e e sons-in-law
viecj”, Vol. V., p. 114), d a te d
a n d one g ra n d -d a u g h te r. In
20th July,' 1825, w r itte n by
a p o stscrip t h e re fe rs to “a
J o h n M acE achen, G re e n o c k ,,
le tte r from son from Q uebec.”
to his siste r Isab el in South
(U n fo rtu n ately , th e possessive
U ist, tellin g h e r t h a t h e h a d
p ro n o u n has been o m itted
been u n a b le to m eet M arsh al.
before “son” e ith e r b y t h e ,
M acd o n ald in S o u th Uist!
p rin te r o r b y th e w rite r, b u t
t
✓
/
■
THE DUKE AND HIS UIST
RELA TIONS
Sir, — M ay I say how m uch
I a p p re c ia te d t h e le tte r by
M ac G ille C haluim , (S to rn o ­
w a y G azette, 14th D ecem b er)
on th e su b je c t of th e D u k e of
T a r e n tu m ’s S o u th U ist re ­
lations. It w a s ju s t th e sort
of in fo rm a tiv e a n d re a so n e d
com m ent, I h a d ho ped fo r in
th is connection.
H ow ever, I m u s t apologise
fo r having, in th e first place,
p ro v id e d a r a t h e r flimsy and,
it n o w
a p p e a rs, u n so u n d
b asis fo r h is com pletely logi­
cal a rg u m e n ts w h ic h has
allow ed a false conclusion to
be d ra w n . T h e conclusion is
t h a t A le x a n d e r M acEachen,
la s t ta c k s m a n of H ow beg, is
th e A le x a n d e r M acEachen,
w h o m C a rm ic h a e l h a s n o ted
1as h a v in g received m oney
a n d a n a n n u ity from th e
D uke, a n d w h o, by m y a rg u ­
m ent, w a s b r o th e r of H ecto r
M acE achen, g re a t-g ra n d fa th e r
of R o n ald M acE achen, Peninerine.
U n fo rtu n a te ly this
conclusion is n o t justifiable.
P e r h a p s I ca n n o w m a k e
a m e n d s by p re se n tin g m y ow n
1 case m o re clearly.
A le x a n d e r M acE achen, last
of How beg, obviously h a d a
siste r called Ishbel and, no
doubt, h e received m a te ria l
benefit fro m th e D u k e ’s visit,
b u t C a rm ich ae l q u o ted Iain
M a c la in M a c in ty re to th e
efTect t h a t th e D uke gave th e
g ifts
to
A le x a n d e r
M ac­
E achen, “b r a th a ir a sh e a n a ir.”
T h e sta te m e n t, a s w ritte n , is
am biguous, b u t it is con­
sidered t h a t th e th e n eld erly
D u k e w as u n lik e ly to h a v e a
p a te r n a l
g ra n d u n c le
still
alive, and, even if he h ad , th e
n a m e A le x a n d e r w as u n ­
likely — his g r a n d f a th e r be­
ing A lex an d er.
It seem s
safe to a ssu m e th a t A le x a n d e r
M acE achen w a s J o h n Mac.in ty re’s o w n grand-uncle.
T h e la te D o n ald M acintyre,
J o h n ’s g randson, g av e m e to
believe t h a t J o h n M a c in ty re ’S
m o th er,
F lo ra
M acEachen,
w a s a d a u g h te r of H ector
M acE achen, above m entioned,
a n d J o h n ’s g ra n d u n c le w ou ld
th u s be H e c to r’s b ro th e r.
H ector M acE achen did, in
fact, h a v e a b r o th e r A lex ­
ander.
it sh o u ld p ro b a b ly b e “m y ” .)
Of th e son he say s t h a t “th e
D u k e is to p ro v id e a b e tte r
s itu a tio n fo r him , a lth o u g h
h is p re s e n t o ne fis n o t bad,
£110 stg. p. a n n u m .”
T u rn in g now to th e ques­
tio n
of
th e
re la tio n sh ip
b etw e en th e M acE achens a n d
th e fa m ily a n d d e sc e n d a n ts of
D onald M acD onald (D om hnall
m ac D h o m h n aili m h ic Ia in ),
this can be e x p licated w ith
th e aid of a s ta te m e n t m a d e
in 1869 b y th e l a t t e r ’s son,
A le x a n d e r M acdonald, Snaoiseabhal. to A le x a n d e r C a r­
m ichael
(C arm ich ael MSS.
No. 107 — E d in b u rg h U n iv er­
sity L ib ra ry ). H e called th e
D uke of T a re n tu m
“m ac
b r à t h a i r mo s h e a n a r ” b y th e
side of his m o th er, w h o m he
described
as
“A n n a
Nic
E achainn , n ig h e a n F ir H ogha
B hig.” . B u t he also said th a t
th e D u k e w as “ogha b r à th a ir
mo
s h e a n m h a r”
on
his
f a th e r ’s side. T h a t is to say,
D o m h n all m a c Ia in m a rrie d a
d a u g h te r of J o h n M acEachen,
th ir d of Howbeg, and h is son,
D om h n all m a c D hom hnaili
m hic Iain , m a rrie d h is first
cousin o n c e rem oved, A nn,
d a u g h te r
of
John
M ac­
Eachen, fifth of How beg. No
d o u b t it is this double con­
nection w ith th e M acE achens
t h a t h a s led to som e con­
fusion in p re se n t fam ily t r a ­
dition.
T h e tr u e place of the
B o rn ish fam ily in th e story is j
also a p p a re n t from A lex­
a n d e r M acdonald's statem ent.
H e gave h is f a th e r ’s an­
cestry as f o llo w s : “Domhn a ll m ac D hom hnailiV m hic
D h o m h n aili m hic I a ir ^ m h ic ) t i
Iain m h ic R aghnaill Bhoirnis
U a ra ic h .” This show s th a t
h e w a s d irectly descended
fro m
R a n a ld
MacDonald,
fo u rth of Bornish, who is on
record in 1672, w h en h e re­
ceived a feu c h a rte r of the
la n d s
of
B ornisuachdrach
from D o n ald M acdonald of
C la n rin a )' ■
O ne final point. It is v ery
doubtful, as th e a u th o rs of
“Clan D onald” adm it, w h eth er
th e M acE achens w e re in fact
M acdonalds
by
ancestry,
th o u g h pedigrees w e re fram ed
to show a descent from one
of
th e
ea rly
C la n r a n a ld !
chiefs. T he nam e Hector, not
to m ention th e ir ea rly associa-,
tions w ith M orvern and Kilm alieu, leaves us w ith more
th a n a ^ suspicion th a t they
w e re re a lly M acleans, though
th e y settled in th e Clanra n a ld country and in some
cases assum ed th e M acdonald
nam e. Be t h a t is i t m ay, it is
good to le a rn from . D r. M ac-|
le a n ’s le tte r th a t th e sept s t i l l ,
flourishes, and t h a t th e How­
beg fa m ily is well rep re­
sented in S o u th U ist a t the
p re se n t time.
Y ours etc.,
MAC G ILLE CHALUIM.
*
Vfe
*
S ince m y e a rlie r letter, “ old, b lin d A le x a n d e r Mac­
how ever, I h a v e been forced Eachen, being led to th e Duke
to re co n sid er th is opinion, b y w h o said, “m y poor old uncle,
consideration of th e ap p ro x i­ how like m y f a th e r you a re .”
B oth th ese stories could,
m a te b ir th dates of H e cto r’s
k n o w n children. F lo ra M ac­ clearly, re fe r to th e sam e
Eachen, born n e a rly fifty m an, b u t n e ith e r , suggests
y e a rs e a rlie r th a n they, w as A le x a n d e r M acEachen, tack s­
m o re lik ely to h a v e been m a n of How beg, th e D u k e’s
H e c to r’s sister. T h is w o u ld ,’ full cousin a n d a p p r o x im a te ,
in tu rn , m a k e A le x a n d e r contem porary.
M acEachen, J o h n M a c in ty re ’s
g ran d u n cle,
an
uncle
of [ T h e tra d itio n a lly recognised
H ector M acE achen. H e cto r’s connection betw een th e M ar­
p a tro n y m w a s son of Jo h n , shal, D u k e of T a re n tu m and
son of H e c t o r : h is uncle, H ecto r M acE achen is, thus,
then, w ould be A lex an d er, son still u n co rro b o rated .
of Hector.
T h e re is, how ever, am ong
A n A le x a n d e r M acEachen, th e p a p e rs of th e celebrated
son of H ector, is on record. C arm ichael,
a n o th e r docu­
He died in H ow beg in 1859, m e n t w hich, u n fo rtu n ately ,
aged 95.
falls ju s t sh o rt of convincing
Miss C a th e rin e M acdonald, proof. A le tte r w ritte n by
S toneybridge, w ho h a s
a Fr. D onald McColl, d a te d
w e a lth of such in form ation, 18 : 5 : 86, gives th e ancestry
tells of A la sd a ir M acEachen, of Neil M acE achen th e n in
w ho h a d m oney “p u t in h is H ow beg. T h is Neil w as John
h a n d ” b y th e D u k e b u t w a s B ow ie’s
g ra n d fa th e r:
his
physically in c a p a b le of p re ­ b r o th e r R o n ald w a s g ra n d ­
venting its a p p ro p ria tio n by f a t h e r of R o n ald M acEachen,
y o u n g er m e m b e rs of h is in P en in erin e. N eil is de­
household. H e is said to h a v e scrib ed as, son of H ector, m ac
Jived in D rim sdale.
Ia in ic E a c h a in n ic A lasdair
In a correspondence, in a n ­ ic Ia in ic R onuil, and, as
o th er n ew sp ap e r, th e e ru d ite such, I c a n n o t identify th e
“ N orth A rg y ll” re la te d a t r a ­ genealogy. I f
how ever, 1
d itio n al acco u n t of th e D u k e ’s m a y be p e rm itte d th e pre­
v isit to Uist. H e re te rs to su m p tio n of suggesting th a t
it c o n ta in s a n e r r o r in tra n s sc rip tio n , a n d t h a t t h e second
a n d t h i r d l a s t n a m e s sh o u ld
b e in te r c h a n g e d th e p a tr o ­
n y m ic w ill n o w c o n ta in th e
n a m e series, “E a c h a n m ac
Ia in ic A la s d a ir ,” w h ic h is
co m m o n to all t h e o r a l v e r ­
sio n s w h ic h I h a v e b e e n able
to find w ith p r e s e n t m e m ­
b e rs of th is fa m ily g rou p . T h e
v e rsio n s v a r y in c o m p leten ess
b u t th e y a r e a ll consistent.
T h e fu lle st is t h a t given b y
R o n a ld
M a cE ach e n ,
L ochsk ip p o rt. H e is m a c R h ao n u ill ic A o n g h a is ic R a o n u ill ic
Ia in ic E a c h a in n ic Ia in ic
A la s d a ir.
H is
g r e a t-g ra n d ­
fa th e r, w a s b r o th e r H ector,
f a t h e r of Neil, s u b je c t of
M cC oll’s le tte r. T h is H e c to r
C
' f
.
U
i
i f c
O
1
c
V
■ O
is, of course, th e s a m e H e cto r
M acEachen,
so
fre q u e n tly
r e f e r r e d to in m y e a r lie r
p aragraphs.
T h e b ro th e rs , H e c to r a n d
R o n ald , m a y t h u s b e e s ta b ­
lish e d a s sons of Ia in
E a c h a in n ic Ia in ic A la s d a ir
ic R aonuill.
They
w ere,
su re ly , second co u sin s of th e
D uke, m a c N i’l ic A la s d a ir ic
Ia in ic A la s d a ir ic R aonuill.
E q u ally , th e ir uncle, A la s­
d a ir, A la s d a ir M a cE ach a in n ,
w ho, I believe, w a s th e A lex ­
a n d e r M acE ach en , r e f e r r e d to
b y J o h n M acin ty re, w o u ld be
fu ll cousin to th e D u k e ’s
fa th e r. H e could w ell be th e
b lin d A le x a n d e r, to w h o m
th e D u k e r e f e r r e d as “poor
old u n c le .”
4
t
;
C
/
c
ì x
1
7
o
I
I could leave, w ith M o r
n i ’n E a c h a in n ic I a in ic
E a c h a in n ,
th e
la s t
w o rd ,
em p lo y ed b y h e r, 90 y e a r s
ago, in a b o u n d a r y d is p u te
w ith a n e ig h b o u r M acE ach en
of d iffe re n t stock — “ *s a n n
t h a m ise de C h la n n E a c h a in n
b h u id h e n a M o r-th ir” .
P e r h a p s t h e fore-going w ill
h e lp to c la rify a confusion,
w h ich w as p a r tly of m y m a k ­
ing, o r p e r h a p s it w ill evoke
a n o th e r v a lu a b le
c o n trib u ­
tio n to o u r kno w led g e of th e
su b ject, su c h a s t h a t o f M ac
G ille C haluim .
I fo u n d his d isc o v ery of
th e
in fo rm a tio n
given
to
C a rm ic h a e l
by
A le x a n d e r
M acd o nald (m ac D h o ’il ic
D h ’il ic Ia in ) m o st e n lig h te n ­
- T
^
*2 * - * • ' 2
ing. T h is a c c o u n t shed a
v e ry c le a r lig h t on t h e w id ely
ac c e p te d
d e sc e n t
of
th a t
b r a n c h of M a c d o n a ld s fro m
th e f a m ily of B o rn ish , as w ell
a s e s ta b lis h in g t h e id e n tity
of h is m o th e r A n n e Mac*
E ach en .
H ith e rto all th e
ev id en ce p o in te d to h e r being,
in fact, th e d a u g h te r of J o h n
V th of H ow beg, a lth o u g h th e
only w r itte n re c o rd of h er, I
h a d been a b le to discover,
gave h e r f a t h e r ’s n a m e as
A le x a n d e r M acE ach en. O ddly
e n o u g h h e r son, A le x a n d e r
w a s n a m e d a s in f o r m a n t in
t h a t re c o rd also.
Y o urs etc.,
A L A S D A IR M A CLEAN,
D a lib u rg h ,
£ # / t \i* .L ± .
S o u th Uist.
1 1 T ?
f Vc*
1
V
RADIO TIMES
☆ BROADCASTING
FROM
SCOTL,
The Songs of Alexander MacDonald
I n the year 1860 Alexander M acD onald
was born in Glenm oriston, Invernessshire. H e was a great-great-grandson of
Alexander M acD onald of Aonachone, one
‘ seven men of G lenm oriston * who hid Prince
Charles Edw ard Stewart in a cave at the top
of the Glen, after the Battle of Culloden.
F ro m boyhood Alexander M acD onald was
deeply interested in the Gaelic language— its
music, literature, and song. T h is interest was no
doubt inherited from his m other, M rs. Angus
□
M acD onald, who edited and published the songs
of Archibald G ran t, the G lenm oriston bard.
As a young m an M acD onald went to work for
the H ighland Railway in 1879. By 1904 he had
risen to be its chief accountant and traffic
auditor. While holding this position he devised
a system of cross-accountancy which is now
being used by British Railways. M acD onald re­
mained accountant and auditor until the early
twenties when the H ighland Railway was merged
in the L.M .S., and he stayed o n with the L.M .S.
in his same post until his retirement.
All this time Alexander M acD onald was show­
ing himself to be an excellent composer and an
expert on Gaelic language and tradition. F rom
1890 right u p to his death hardly a we.'k went
by w ithout a song from his collection appearing
in one of the local Inverness-shire papers under
the title of T h e Songs o f Loch Ness-side.
H is chief work— S to ry and Song from Loch
Ness-side— appeared in 1914. It was well re­
ceived. In 1927 he edited and published a second
edition of a Com pleat Theory of the Scots H ig h ­
land Bagpipe by Joseph M acdonald, the first
theory of bagpipe music ever written. Alexander
M acD onald died in February of the following
year just as the theory was going into circula­
of tion,
the b u t his youngest daughter, M a in A.
M acD onald, carried on her father’s work.
O n T h u rsd ay night Gaelic listeners to the
Scottish H om e Service can hear Lewis-born
Evelyn Campbell, who now lives in Edinburgh,
and Alasdair Gillies, whose parents come from
Skye, sing a selection of Alexander M acD onald’s
songs. William M atheson is the narrator.
D U A N C A L L U IN N
i
is e seo Duain Calluinn le
Iain M aoan-Aba a bha 'na
mhaighistir - sgoile ann an
Cill Mhoire an Eilean
Sgiathanaich. B’e esan athair
Catriona Dhughlas, banabhàrd Throtarnais. ’Nuair
bha mi glè og ’se oidhche
mhòr a bha ann an Oidhche
Chaliuinn. Fad re an fheasgair thigeadh grunnan bhalach; sheasadh iad an taobh
; a mach dhe’n dorus agus
ìghabhadh iad, fear ma-seach,
' a dhuan Challuinn.
i Chan e m ar a chluinnear
an diugh, “Hogg-a-mar-aye,
Hogg-aman-aye” — ach
duan gasda anns a’ Ghàidhlig is feàrr, agus duan ù r aig
a h-uile fear. “Thàinig mis*
a nochd air Challuinn etc.
“Tha mise an so an nochd ag
ùrachadh na Calluinn,” agus
m ar sin air adhart, cuid
dhiubh spòrsail, cuid nach
robh, ach bha iad uile ann
an Gàidhlig mhath nan
Eilean. Bha a h-uile fear ’s
a phoca aige, agus air dhadbh
na duain a ghabhail bheireadh muinntir an tighe
dhaibh gibhtean de gach
seòrsa. Cha robh na “suiteas”
(sweets) cho pailt anns an
là ud, agus cha mhotha bha
i na sgillinnean airgid, ach
gheibheadh iad aran corc,
\aran milis, ùbhlan, marag ’s j
dòcha, beagan shuiteas, sgil. linn no dhà am fear, carbhaidh, agus nithean matha eile
: a thachradh a bhith aig
bean-an-tighe.
Ruigeadh iad dhachaidh!
aaamoch le pocanan làna,
agus is iomadh neach a
gheibheadh bl-asad air na bha
anns na pocanan.
Rachadh Iain Mac-an-aba
cuideachd a mach air Chal■lainn ann an Cil^Mhoire agus
j anns an duan a leanas tha e
ag innseadh m ar a thachrI adh.
Dhèanadh Iain a chuid
duain fhèin agus is math is
fhiach iad a bhith a l t an
ctunail air chuimhne.
Fhuaireadh an duan so am
measg sgriobhaidhean Chaitriona, an nighean aige.
D. B.
Ceann Foilliart. .
.
.
.
.
i
Ho t o la ri o
Thàinlg mise 'n taobh 60
Dh'ùrachadh na CaUuinn •
Ho ro la ri o
1Mise fear a h-uile bliadhna.
Tha tighlnn air m’fhiaradh as
peighn’òrra.*
cfia chum uisge, gaoth, no- sian
mi.
Gàrradh criche. no cion ròidean,
•S an dorcha 'n cunnart gum
bàthar.
An làthach Tobar an Olgh mi,
No air iochdar -crait -la Mha^lain,
Gun caochail mi # n poll-nfòna.
Ni mi stiùireadh air Catriorta, t
Nuair bhios an dlot ah ordugh,
pailteas de dheoch 1s de bhiiadh
ann.
1. ,
Bidh fion ann do gach heach a
dh’òlas,
.
Bidh paitteas de dh’aran b de
dh’iasg ann.
f
Bidh silhionn eun apus feòil| ann
•S m6ran de ghnothaichean
cosgail,
. i
Thàinig leis a* phosd a bhò n-de.
Ho ro la ri •
>
a dhachaidh. ' , , i »
,.,a phiuthar.
'
Gaidhlig Nan Ceard
B e feasgar Di*Sathuirn aì ■
bha ann agus bha na liugaichi abhad a buisearach bras seach
agus te no dha de na peartagani an t-seann beòr a bha buisear­
air falbh sa bhaìl'.
ach sguith-thèit.
-- ------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------- — ---------------- -
Bha an fheadhain a bha air Liugach — gille.
fagail dripeal gu leor. Bha na Peartag — caileag.
gearraichean traing eadar glan- Gearrach — boireannach.
adh a mach nan cian-bin, dean- Cian-bin — pailluinn.
amh bras agus cumail deacar Bras — biadh.
air an turc-abhad. Bha seann Deacar — suil.
beòr le fainneachan na lais- Turc-abhad — teine.
gearan agus teamban na bi Beòr — bean.
na suidhe a caradh gloigean Laisgear — cluas.
agus a tachas a neachar drasd Teamban — pioba.
’s a rithist. Ri a taobh bha an Bi — beul.
glòthach aice na shuidhe le Gloigean — "sock".
gulabanaieh air na uigearan Neachar — ceann.
agus obaid air a neachar g ’an Glòthach — duine.
chumail blath chionn 's gun Gulabanach — "slipper".
robh a lodan a fas gann. Bha Uigear — cas.
noid is teàlusg na mhearcar Lodan — fait.
1
traing a gearradh teammach- Noid — fear.
ain airson nan cian-bin agus Teàlusg — sgian.
fear e il' a toirt sguith d o ’n Teammachan — Tnaide no gad.
ghiobhan. Faisg air an turc- Mearcar — lamh.
abhad bha fear a deanamh Sguith — uisge.
gìacharach agus chualas fuaim Giobhan — each.
an uird air an stèig feadh na Stèig — innean.
campa. B e toraigearan a bha Giacharach — "tin making” .
s na glòthaich seo agus bha Toraigear — ceard, “ tin sm ith” .
coimhse aca air an fheadhain Coimhse — grain.
eile a bhios bagail air a rathaid Basgail — “ tram ping” .
mar na trusdairean a Bho-gloin Bo-gloin — Glaschu — "Glase
cow ".
a bhios bearracal grad is rudan
eile, Bha coimhse aca cuideach Bearacal — gold.
air na glòthaich a bhios guisean Grad — airgid.
s an aon a it’ ’s iad cho fuar Guisean — fuireach
Lag — Thainig.
is pròiseal nan nadur.
Cladan — buth.
Lag an fheadhainn a bha ’s Sglàdach — tea.
a bhail' leis na fhuair iad ’s Talamain — bainne.
a chladain. Bha sglàdach aca Meilein — siucar,
agus talamain, meilein, niamh- Niamhain chuirc — min choirc.
ain chuirc,
niamhain fhlùir, Niamhain fhluir — min fhluir.
rùndal sguith-thèit agus da-dàit. Rundal — botuil.
Choisg sin ceithir lùmb da Sguith thèit — uisge beatha.
sgorrach
agus deich
uillis- Da-dàit — tombaca.
Lùmb — not.
thothin dhaibh.
Sgorrach — tasdan.
Ceann tacain bha iad uile Uillis thothin — sgillin.
nan suidhe mun cuairt an turc- 3uisearach — ag ithe no ag ol. j
S fe
ì . -ZZ { * /
—
I
---------------------------------------------------------------------
T H E MACDONALDS OF K E P PO C H
Inverie, Loch Nevis, 8Mi Feb., 1900.
S ir ,—May I ask you to kindly insert this
letter in your n e x t week’s ‘‘Oban Times.” I t
has b^en impossible* for me to write in tim e for
this vzeek’s issue, owing to the very inconvenient
and tard y postal 3orvice to and from Inverio.
I presume your correspondent “ J . MacDoneU,”
is Miss Josephino MacDonell, who now resides
in London with her m other and youngest sis­
ter. In my opinion your correspondent’s state­
m ents of “ historical fact3,J are far from cor­
rect.
(1) Angus Ban had three so n s; 1, Alexander,
who died u n m arried ; your correspondent as­
serts ho “ loft daughters.” 2, Colonel Archi­
bald MacDonell, with his son—(a) George, who
died unmarried ; (b) Alexander, with issue— two
daughters, both of whom died' unmarried in
America ; (c) Angus, with issue— Coll and Archi­
bald. Coll died unmarried, and Archibald,
who married has no sons surviving him. Your correspondent states h e “ left a large family of sons i
and daughters, now living in Australia.” I '
maintain, on th e authority of my la.te fa+hrr.
who died in May 1891, th a t all Archibald’s sons
are dead. Again. Colonel Archibald MacDoncJl had four so n s; your correspondent says three
(3) Donald, who, on the 11th of July 1797, mar­
ried Annie, only daughter of th e Rev. Patrick
MacDonald of Kilmote, by his wife Barbara,
third daughter of Alexander MacDonald of Keppoch, who fell a t Culloden. w ith issue, Angus,
late of Keppoch, etc. Miss Josephine MaoDonell is 6tli daughter of this said Angus.
(2) As to th e six daughters of Keppoch killed
a t Culloden (a) K atharine w«.< th e e ld e st; (b)
Jessie, (c) Barbara, (d) Annie, (e) Clementina
(who was n o t M rs MacDonald of Dalness, but
marrKii M acNab of Innisewan (f) Charlotte.
Therefore th e eldest representatives in thefemaie
line, are from K atharine and not Barbara. Yom
correspondent states th a t Barbara “ was the
eldest who left issue.”
(3) Having pointed out these inaccuracies ,uid
discrepancies in your correspondent’s èta.tom ents of “ historical facts,” I will now proceed
to state briefly my roason for laying claim to
th e chieloiup of th e K eppochs: —
-----I
DAY, N O V E M B E R 13, 1965
Sc<sU >va ^ WEEK-END MAGAZINE
NOT MAD ABOUT THE MOD
I travelled from London to
Harsh words from a N ew Zealander, E. D. M c K E N Z I E ,
tionai manner will realise that
here is, still extant, one of the
great communal musical forms
of expression of the past. This
is singing of impressive dignity,
of great devotion, of under­
lying passion; a sound to make
one’s scalp tingle. And the
Mod ends with a travesty of
this; the tune “ French” in a
nineteenth-century arrangement
and sounding like a respon*
sorial chant of that time,
replete with hymn tune har­
mony and carefully calculated
ornament.
A the Mod at Largs, filled with
who found the Mod at Largs the only disappointment
gleeful anticipation at the
prospect of a few days of soak­
of his visit to Scotland.
He castigates it as a
ing myself In traditional Scot­
tish music, carefully preserved
competitions society that must be rescued from the
and nurtured, and presented
flim-flam and sham of V ic to ria n /
&
with skill and artistry. This, I
thought, would be the music of
a people; here I would find the
stronghold and refuge of a
culture elsewhere already dead accompany any type of repeti­ nineteenth century patterns
or in decline, but here held tive activity, such as work regardless of the verbal stresses
together by a large group of songs and mouth music, have and meanings which it is the
task of music to emphasise and
dedicated musicians. Remote a regular pulse.
from the Beatles. Remote too All this music is inseparable heighten.
from Beethoven and Brahms. from its traditional perfor­ In most cases the notes of the
; The music of the crofters and mance and indeed the music original music had been
Gaidhealach now has
i fishermen of past years. The can exist only in performance; obviously and crudely altered Thea Comunn
professional director, a full­
I lullabies, the mouth music, the it is impossible to realise all not only to conform to the time
Let him go
waulking songs. I found none its intricacies on paper in such general shapes of nineteenth- to theappointment.
men
and
institutions
of
century
tunes,
but
to
imply
and
of these.
a
way
that
a
singer
unversed
towards Scottish
: I found a competitions society, in the tradition could give a allow of an accompaniment of goodwill
to the places and people
indistinguishable from its reasonably adequate account of the simplest and most puerile music;
this music is still a
counterpart anywhere else in it. The degree of gracing and tonic—dominant sort, with a where
living and vital organism, and
the world except for two ornamentation, the particular subdominant thrown in here discuss
can be done to
things: the wearing of kilts and type of vocal production re­ and there as an occasional restore what
art to its former
! the wide employment of the quired, the flexibility of its bonus. Thus already the music stature. this
Let
all
the
flim-flam
was
but
pale
ghost
of
its
Gaelic language.
internal structure; those arc former self. Yet worse was to and sham of Victoriana be
So far as the Mod is concerned, things
completely
cut
away.
Have
new
which
must
be
passed
on
come.
The
unfortunate
tunes
the music of Scotland, the real, orally from father to son, from were seized upon afresh, and publications prepared, with a
living and vital organism of the teacher to pupil. Voice quality
type
of
notation
more
suited
to
arranged
for
three
or
four
past, has ceased to exist. What and production in the European voices, from which treatment such a subtle and delicate
is presented as Scottish music lieder and bel canto sense of they emerged substantially melodic line. Make recordings
is a Victorianised pastiche the terms have no relevance Indistinguishable from the in the true tradition freely
which belongs nowhere; to no here. They are a hindrance worst part songs of, say, available in quantity. Kecon*
class, creed or race. And the rather than an aid to a realisa­ Pearsall or Sullivan.
sider
‘he
whole
Mod
programme
I performers too show little tion of the true art.
in
the
light
of
tradition
and
And
the
judging?
"
A
beautifully
!■ evidence of a realisation of the
decide
whether
or
not
such
a
produced voiceM says one of wholly competitive environment
I true nature of the material.
the adjudicators. Is this German is in the best interests of the
lieder
we
are
hearing?
‘‘The
One is bound to find a consider­ shift to the supertonic in bar music. Let the judges be not
The true Scottish tradition is of able dilution of the indigenous ten requires a careful approach just men of distinction in an
a single vocal line of great forms and styles with extran­ by the tenors in the previous academic world, but men also
I
complexity, freedom and flexi­ eous and unassimilated cultural bar, or faulty intonation will and r.ecessarily in sympathy
with, and having a wide know­
bility. It has no harmonic elements hanging limpet-like result.” Is this an English ledge
implication whatever, and thus round the edges. I was totally church choir preparing the judging.of, the music they are
singing is not, and indeed could unprepared, however, for the Sunday anthem? What has all An Comunn Gaidhealach is in a
not be carried on in parts. wholesale slaughter of tradition the paraphernalia of operatic unique position to do this. It
Except in special cases, such as which took place publicly with­ voice production and chordal has a fine organisation and a
the waulking songs, mouth out a voice being raised in succession to do with a folk whole-hearted enthusiasm for
music, the line Is entirely protest. Here indeed was the art that was flourishing a Scotland and its future. The
subordinated to the words: the Victorian idiom being recreated thousand years ago?
changes would be radical and
rhythms, the length of the In its most pretentious and
far-reaching,
and
no
doubt
u
g
l
y
form.
Almost
without
i
phrase and frequently its structhere
would
be
much
vocal
exception
the
melodies
had
\ ture is determined by vocal
opposition,
but
if
some
such
There
is
too
the
final
towering
been
squeezed
into
bar
lines,
stresses and necessities.
organisation
does
not
act
now,
anachronism
of
the
Mod.
Any
The barline, as a regular re­ and phrase lengths carefully person of musical sensibility the true tradition will b*
curring stress, does not form a adjusted to a four bar pattern. who hears for the first time a substantially dead in another
' part of this music at all, though The complex rhythms too were psalm precented in the tradi* generation.
altered to suit the few common
of
course
songs
used
to
.-■■‘if
ooaU:..
' .>
✓
.
« U
1
Comhradh Cagailte
LE DOM H NALL DONN
An Clàrsair Dali
B k a m i o chionn ghoirid an so* ;
t
sann a n c o in n e a m h f a r a n ro b h 1S ^ a n n M hic A gsaill r ’am faof e a r a ’ la b h a ir t a th a gu m a th ta in n a n G leann-eilge f h a th a s t
fìle a n ta le a th e a n g a . C ha ro b h
^ a ’ a f Us aon f h e a r co-dhiubh
n io r a n su s b a in t a n n s n a b h a ^ e , C hloinn M hic C ru im ein . B h a
a ig e r i ràdtr. ach la b h a ir e cho c f is te a *- a i2 M acLèoid an G leann
d u r a c h d a c h is cho dòigheil is G1^ e ' 6U h -à rd a ir o ir creige os
g u n sa o ile a d h tu n a c h c u a la tu ^}0 nn G h a llta ir. ’S g an n gu bheil
r ia m h f e a r - la b h a ir t cho com as- ly ra c h fh ein r i lo rg a ir a n ionad
a c h ris no c u s p a ir cho iongan- sln a n diugh, ach fad n a n
b lia d h n a
b h a Cinnta c h ris an ni a i r a n ro b h e a* e e u d a n
fh e a d h n a n a n L eo d ach a ’ riag h la b h a irt.
Is
id
h
fiM
c
ru
a
id
h
an
siud.
N
ach
M u d h e ire a d h , th ò isich m i a ir
b ’a n n a n G leann-eilge m a r an
fàs egith, agus th u g 1 m i a n a ire
„ ,.
.
,
gu ro b h n eaeh no d h à d lù th “ U,d " a l
,a a . c h o m h ra e e a d a r
C
alu
m
M
acL
eòid
agus
an
ta
r
b
h
■-dhomh a ’ s in e a d h r i m ia r a n a ic h
fiad h aich . b h o ’n d ’f h u a ir
na
a g u s th ò isich m i fh in a ir a1
L eò d aich “C ean n a n T a ir b h ”
*cheart chleas. ’S e a b h ’a n n gun
m a r s h u a ic h e a n ta s agus “Cùm
<k> le a n am f e a r - la b h a ir t roD a in g e a n n ”
m ar
sh lu a g h fh a d a . B h r u id h in n e a ir son u a ir
g b airm ?
a sh id e ag u s ochd m io n a id e a n
B
h
u
in
e
a
d
h
R
u
a
irid
h
.
a
n
C
làr•aeug. N a n ro b h e a ir fu ire a c h
s a ir D ali, do C hloinn M hic
a i g tr i c h a irte il n a h -u a ra c h
C h ille M hoire, n o na, Moireapr a c h a d h a ’ m h ò r-c h u id ag a in n
ta
n
a
ic
h
,
a
n
L
eodhas.
B
h
a
e
de
■dhachaidh is sin n a e r à d h ri
cheile. “N ach fcu cho m asach shliochd n a n b rith e a m h . Bha
g
ab
h
ail
f
e
a
ra
in
n
a
ig
Iain,
a
th
a
ir
.siud!” A ch ’s a n n a c h a id h sin n
a*
c
h
là
rsa
ir,
a
n
n
a
m
B
rag
a
ir.
'd h a c h a id h sg ìth sà ra ic h te .
agus b*e a m c là rsa ir iar-ogha a 1
So. m a th à , a n r u d a th à in ig
b h rith e im h
L eò d h asaich
mu
th u g a m is m i a i r m o r a th a d
d h e ire a d h a b h a ann.
-d h ao h aid h a n o id h ch e ud: “Am
A n n s a n t-se a c h d a m h linn
p o rt a b ’f h e à r r a g h a b h R u airid h ria m h . d h ’fh à s te se a rb h d e u g agus a n n s a n o ch d am h lin n
<3heth.” Sin ag a d r u d a n n s a d e u g b ha m ò ra n de shliochd
"bheil to m h a s m ò r d e ‘n fh irin n . n a m b r ith e a m h a* lio n ad h à ite a n
B idh lu ch d n a B e u rla a ’ b ru id h - in b h each a n n a n L eodhas, fe a d ­
in n m u “too m u c h of a good h a in n d h iu b h ’n a m m in is te a ra n
t h in g .” ag u s ch a n ’eìl a n teag- sgire.
a m h as lu g h a a g a m n ac h biodh
B h a e a la n ta c h d agus gèiread
b a r r a c h d m e a s a in lu ch d-lab h in n tin n a7 c o m h a rra c h a d h nam
a i r t ag u s b a r r a c h d b u a n n a c h d a ’
M o ire a sta n a c h so, agus th a sin
le a n ta in n a ir a n cuid la b h a irt.
a n n ta gus a n là a n diugh. Co
n a m b io d h ciall sguix?- a c a fich-1
n ac h bi a ’ leu g h ad h n a bhios
■ead m io n a id n a ’s tr à ith e n a th a
“B r ith e a m h ” a ’ G h a z e tte a ’ sgria m h ia n n a c a fhèin.
o b h a d h a n d r a s d 's a rith ist? ’S e
Is m a t h a t h a fhios a g a m n a c h d ao in e com asach a b h a a n sliou r r a i n n d h u it ò ra id no searm o n chd Ia in B h rà g a ir. B h a Iain
a th o m h a s le to m h a s a n u a irea- fh èin gu m a th sg aiteach le a
fida-ir. T h a f e a d h a in n a n n a labh th e a n g a . A n u a ir a choinnich cù
r a s deich m io n aid ean , agus th a cro sd a r is aig d o ru s a n tigha n ù in e sin d h u it cho fa d a ri tri m hòir, agus a th u g a d h ach m h au a ir e a n a shide. T h a fe a d h a in n sa n d h a a ir son gu n do d h ’
-eile a n n — ac h is te a r c iad — fheuch e buille d e ’n b h a ta a ir a ’
a g u g ged a c h u m a d h aid a ir chùv n ac h a n n a t h u b h a ir t I a in a g h a id h fa d c h e ith ir fichead
is balgaire tighearna.
ipio naid .
d h ’fh a iric h e a d h
tu Balach
dithls nach còir leigeil leò.
g o irid e. A ch c h a n a n n a ir Buail am balach air a' charbaid,
’s buail am balgaire 's an t-sròin.
•òraideirean n o se a rm o n a ic h e a n
a b h a m i dol a th o ir t ta r r a in g
B h a c e a th r a r m h a c a ig Iain
a c h a ir a ’ C h là rs a ir D hall. A gus B h rà g a ir — m u r a n ro b h a n
g u dè, a rsa tu sa, a n g n o th ach a c ò rr — R uairid h , A onghus, Iain,
b h a aig a ’ C h là rs a ir D hall ris a ’ agus M u rch ad h . B h a n e a r t corc h u s p a ir a ir a b h eil th u a ’ p o rra a b h a n e o -c h u m a n ta aig
fcruidhinn?
M u rch ad h , agus b h a e ris a ’
“A m p o r t a b ’f h e a r r a ghab h g ho ibhneachd. F h u a ir a n tr iù ir
R u a ir id h r i a m h ” — ag u s b 'e an eile sgoil, ag u s b h a A onghus is
R u a ir id h sin, m u r ’eil m i a ir m o Ia in ’n a m m in iste a ra n . B ’i a ’
.m healladh. R u a irid h Dali, a bha b h re a c — g a la ir a n u a m h a is —
’n a
c h là rs a ir
aig M acLeòid a th u g a le irsin n bho R u airid h .
D h u n -b h e a g a in , ag u s a ir a bheil ■ach, m a chaill e com as leabh-deagh ch liù gus a n la a n diugh. ra ic h e a n a leu g h ad h , cha do
;
a n n a i r R u a irid h a thòisich chaill e com as a ’ c h là rsa c h a
m i a ir sm a o in e a c h a d h , is m i a ’ ghleusadh. B h a e m a r an ceudna
lig h in n d h a c h a id h b h o ’n choin- 'n a b h à rd , agus fs a n n m a r
n e a m h ud.
b h à r d a th a cu im h n e a ir an
A n n a n G leann-eilge, d lù th diugh.
d o ’n s^oil, th a s e a n n la r a c h ris
S ao ilid h m i fh in nach ’eil ò ran
a n a b r a r “A n T o b h ta M ò r” agus
as tric e a c h lu in n e a r a ig M od —
t h a ia d ag r à d h gum b ’a n n an
de n a se a n n ò rain m h ò ra — na
.siud a b h a a c h ò m h n a id h aig a ’
“O ra n M òr M hicL eòid”. B ’i sin
C h là r s a ir D h a ll m u d h e ire a d h
a' b h à rd a c h d a r in n R u airid h ,
n a s e a c h d a m h lin n deug.
agus e a ’ caoidh n a n a th a r r a c h A ig an am u d b h a G lea n n aid h ean a th à in ig ’n a la th a agus
« ilg e a i r a g h a b h a il a s te a c h a n n
n a h -u aislea n a ir fàs cho G allda.
;a n o ig h re a c h d M hicL eòid D h u n G le a d h ra ic h n a n dos. e à ir n a n
j b h e a g a in , agus lh a n a L eòdaich
i,
teu d , ceìleireachd beòil, gach
f’GÒI i s c a id re a b h a b ’à b h a is t a
b h ith a n D ù n n a n cliar, a nis
ail ^ dol à clea ch d ad h is cha
m h ò r à cuim hne.
Chaidh a' chuibhle m u n cuairt.
Gun do thiqnndaidh gu fuachd
am blàths;
Nàile, chunne.lc mi uair
Dun flathail nan cuach a thràigh,
F ar m biodh tathaich nan duan.
Ioma maithcas. gun chruas. gun
chàs;
D h ’fhalbh sn latha sin bhuairm,
’S th a na tighean uu fuaraidh
fas.
A G aelic song by th e late
M alcolm Macleod, late of 17
G a re n in , C arlow ay :
AX TIM, Mfs A CHAOIDB ?
An
till m is’ a chaoidh do na
ghnn s an robh mi 6a ?
F ar 'm bu chridheil aoibhneacb
sm n
gun uallaeh inntinn
oirnn;
A’ biiachailJeachd crodh laoigh
agus gamhna m ar bu nòs
An till m is’ a chaoidh do na
glinn s an robh mi 6g ?
I s t r i e f m a* c u i m h n e a c h a d h a i r
g a c h l o c h is U n n e ’s 6b,
S m e ò r a c h g la s n a n g lin n , a ’ s e i n n
C ha robh lu aeh a nis a ir b àrd
n o clàrsair. B ’fh e u d a r do R u a ir­
am measg nan còs,
idh an T o b h ta M òr a leigeil An crodh is iad chto riaraichte
seach ad , a e u s th ill e do L e 6 d - |f .s
‘' L n S S d J i n
has, f a r an do chaochail e, agus
dol sios mu c h 1 a d a c h
Leòdhuis,
f a r a n d ’a d h la ic e a d h e a n n an
se a n n ch lad h n a h-A oidhe, am ‘S minic mi a' beachdachadh •
air na h-achaibh 's iad lo
m easg dusd n a n io m ad h ceathphòr,
a rn a c h a th a an sin. S aoil nach Fraoch am tiàrr nan beannaibh
is na pallaichean fo ròs.
bu chòir clàr-c u im h n e a c h a in a
ag iasgach 's cuid
b h lth a n àit-eigin a chvunail E athraichean
iargalt ru ith fo sheòl,
ain m a ’ C h là rs a ir a ir chuim hne. 'S a ’ ghrian a* dol sios taobh an j
iar Loch-a-Ròag.
No a m fà g sinn aig n a h-òrain
aig e
a
b u a n - | | c h a dèan mise dìchuim hn’ air
.. feasgar feathach reòit,
m h a ire a n n a c h ? “A m p o r t a b ’
An eala. bhàn 'na sgiamha ri
fh e à rr a g h a b h R u a irid h r ia m h ’’
sgiathalaich 'sa-n òs.
is m ise aon n each n ac h f h à s K '8 a’ fchealach cho ion-mhiannaichte ri riaghladh anns na
sg ith d e ò ra in is de b h à rd a c h d
neòil,
iuajm tràigh Uig is Shanndaa* C h làrsair. C h an io n an n is
bhaig, O b'annsa leum an
m o ra n eile a leu g h as is a chluinceòl !
n eas mi!
ain m
a
ch u m ail
M l J / T7
Malcolm Macleod
Was the Composer
Sir, — I tr u s t I m ay be for­
given w hen I fe a r injustice
is being done, both to the
living a n d tn e dead, by those
w ho try to p reserv e w h a t is
good in o u t h eritage. T h ey do
this by failing to m a k e us0
of in lo rm atio n av ailab le t
to them . Yet I respect an 3 honour these pepole for they
try to p reserv e w h a t is good
in o u r heritage.
Orel a ruiginn criochun air fad
-s ail- ieud na stàit.
J
M' algne-sa bidh 'g larraidh do’n
eilean 'a an de>anainn tàmh.
F ar bhefl na beanntan fianaich
'8 na sliabh to chaoraich
bhlàr.
Far an cluinn thu ‘n cuan-a-siar
tighinn gu b>iarganach gu
tràigh.
Siud an t-à it bu m hiann leam
$ an iarrainn bhith r i ’m
bheò:
Measg chàirdean bàigheil fìalaidh,
bu chiatach iad mu'n bhord;
Gu fallain, slàn, a dh'iarrainn
sibh is biadh a bhith 'nar
stòr,
' Bu thlachdm hor bhith 's a ‘
ghleann ud 's cha b e Calltachd
's bailtibh mhor.
In a book of p o p u lar G aelic
songs, th ere was a song in
is fada thall mi 's gun
w hicn
I
w as
interested,, Ged ghanntachd
air mo stòr.
m a rk e d “G u n U r r a ”, A u th o r ( Tha mo dhurachd*sa measg
ghieanntan
is
bheanntan
unknow n. Y et the song itself
Eilean Leòdhui£.
clearly in d icated th e district
Ach tha sùil agam bhith ann
from w hich the com poser
ro fheasgar fann mo lo,
came. Let m e quote lo you
I** luiginn a bhith amhlaichte
aig
ceann
tràigh
Dhaile
one v erse — “G ed is fhada
M6ir.
thall mi ’s gun g h a n n ta c h d
a ir mo stor. T h a mo d h u ra c h d
m easg g h lean n tan is bheann^i 'S iongantach bhith smaoineachudh air caochlaideachd ar
ta n Eilean Leodhuis. A ch th a
16;
suil agam bhi ann so roim h
Na suinn bha cridheil aotrom r,
fh e a sg a r fan n mo lo. Is luiggun aon a n àit an dig;
inn a bhi am h laich te aig Tha leapaichean nis fàs: dh'fhàg
sin parantan ri brùn;
ceann tra ig h D h a la m o r”.
Sgapt' air feadh gach ceàrnaidh
iad. O slàinte leis n a seòjd !
I oan assu re y ou t h a t th ere
w ere m an y a t th a t tim e not
only in D alm o re a n d district, Mo bheannachd leis gach m àthair
lha na làithibh so le bron
but also in o th e r p a r ts w ho Airson
dealachadh ri pàisdean
knew the com poser person­
is p a ir t nach tachair beò.
ally. D a re I suggest to those 'S eugal leam gu fàsaichear àit
mo ghraidh 's an deach m'
w ho possess th e book to m a k e
àrach òg;
the
necessary
correction? Na dh'fhùg am Metagama ac tha
T h is song was com posed by
Marloch leò lo sheol.
M alcolm Macleod of G aren in ,
C arlow ay. in D etroit, USA Fàgam fhein an trèth-sa sibh. air
ab o u t 1925 and is a t the
dhàin cha dean nu n c6it;
m om ent being sold on a long Mo shojridh chum mo m hùthar
's mo chàirdean beag is mor;
p lay in g record w ith o u t th e
M ‘ aigne-sa bithidh blàth do’n
com poser’s nam e. T h is to me
àite so rì’m bheò,
is w ro n g and can in no w ay gu iùiginn fallain slàn sibh. ’&
gach àite an Eilean Leòdhuis>
be justified. T h e song and the
SG- i *t» 12 j *7
com poser’s n a m e should go
to g eth er and this om ission
should be p u t right in f u tu re ,
records.
I enclose a copy of th e sone
which I hope you will p rin t
in fne S to rn o w ay G azette.
Yours etc.,
K E N N E TH MACDONALD,
A r D achaidh,
31 K n o ck b reck Road,
Tain.
M o t c L 4. o
F
-1 3 . ]
M U S IC
Q uite w hat anyone w ho is n o t a composer
can do about this apart from deploring it I
cannot imagine, b u t I doubt very m uch whether
M r. M e n u h in ’s idea of instructing Western
musicians in the m usic of the Hast will provide
m uch of a solution. E urope (and its great cul­
tural colony America) has been com m itted to
the w orship of individual achievement for too
long to tu rn to a m ode of expression governed^
by tradition. Freedom to improvise can exist
only w ithin a traditional framework, and tradi­
tions, once lost, cannot be reimposed.
Improvisation Today
I n a d u l l w e e k the brief discussion
-i between Yehudi M e n u h in and Nicholas
Nabokov ‘ O n Im provisation ’ (T h ird
Program m e, Ju n e 15) was conspicuously in­
teresting. N o t that it was particularly good as a
discussion: neither speaker proved very articu­
late, and far too m any of the questions— let
alone the answers— were padded o u t with
parenthetical expositions of tangential issues for
the course of the argum ent to be easily followed.
But however unpractised these two musicians
m ight be as speakers, both of them, the com ­
poser and the violinist, have w ide-ranging and
speculative m inds, a n d inevitably they started a
hare or two. Since these will still be ru nn in g
TU u* Ca
v«s
' UNE 23 1960
next year, a n d for m any a year to come, I rather
hope that the B.B.C. will invite Messrs.
Nabokov and M e n u h in to resume their conver­
sation o n some future occasion, b u t this time
in the presence of, say, a philosopher and a
historian w ho could help to form ulate the right
questions— which means, of course, the awkward
questions.
P art of the trouble sprang on this occasion
from N abokov’s over-simplification of the his­
torical background. T h e suggestion that there
was a flourishing tradition of improvisation
until about the end of the eighteenth century
which m ore or less died w ith Beethoven is a
h alf-tru th based, I suspect, o n too exclusive a
concern with the realization of figured basses.
A more fruitful start m ight have been made by
considering the role of notation in music. T o
judge by o u r ow n musical culture, which is the
only one that most of us know anything about,
notation was first adopted as a m nem onic aid in
transm itting a traditional repertory from genera­
tion to generation and from place to place. At
first such a notation could do (and was expected
to do) no m ore th an transm it the bare bones
of a piece; the scope for individual interpreta­
tion and embellishment remained as wide as it
ever had been, though such improvisation
would be mainly decorative in function. But
little by little notation allowed (and tempted)
musicians to greater individuality and to more
complex kinds of invention. N otation has
always lagged slightly behind the composer’s
intentions, but nevertheless it is a vehicle for
them— one that has made them increasingly
independent of mere performance.
N ow M r. Nabokov seemed to imply that this
latter result was a bad thing. It well may be, but
at the same time we have to adm it th a t it is
precisely am ong those compositions which are
most dependent on the existence of notation
that we find those we agree to value most
highly. H istorians of m usic know very well that
even if all the written music of the late M iddle
' Ages survived it would be as the exposed part
of an iceberg in com parison w ith the music that
was improvised and never w ritten dow n because
it never needed to be; yet few of us would sacri­
fice M achaut's Mass for the privilege of hearing
L andini improvise upon a plainsong— as he
often m ust have. We know from contem porary
reports th a t M o zart’s and Beethoven’s improvi­
sations at the keyboard were magnificent, but if
we had to pay for the privilege of hearing them
by losing the music that they actually took the
trouble to write dow n I imagine that m ost of
us would forgo the pleasure.
T h e trouble today is that composers have
developed such a refined notational apparatus
for expressing their intentions that the element
of genuine improvisation (and M r. M enuhin
was surely right to exclude the deliberate
‘ random ness * of certain members of the avantgarde from this category) has been banished
alm ost exclusively to the realm of jazz. Of
co’urse, for m any centuries there has been more
scope for improvisation in dance-music than in
more complex and sophisticated compositions;
w hat is alarm ing about the present situation is
simply the sharpness w ith which the line is now
draw n— and this is merely another sym ptom of
the immense and still increasing gulf that
separates the preoccupations of most ‘ serious *
composers from the needs or interests of the
vast new potential public created for them by
the radio and the gramophone.
(a )
M
HIGHLAND NOTES & Ql/ERI&’.
♦
■
------------
A FAM OUS H A R PE R .
Apropos M r A le x a n d e r M a c d o n a ld ’s very interest*
ing p a p e r on " C eltic M usic,” I h a p p e n ed to-day to
ta k e up a copy of th e " T e sta m e n ta ry In v e n ta r " of a
fam ous h a rp e r.
D uncan M cln d eo r, Ì h a r p e r to S ir
D uncan C am pbell of A uchinbreck, was w ithout an
equal in his d a y and g en eration . V ery little can be
gleaned ab o u t him now, because of the w anton
destruction of his compositions. R iv als w ere envious
of hia ra re skill, and it is said th a t one of his pupil*,
in a fit of jealousy, destroyed th e most choice of hi*
M SS. A search am ong the A uchinbreck p a p e rs m ig h t
b rin g fra g m e n ts to ligh t, b u t the purpose of th is note
is to give some id ea of th e estate of a h a rp e r in th e
olden tim e. D uncan M c ln d e o r h a d a house in E d in ­
burgh, and a sm all holding in U p p e r F in oh arne. H o
m a rrie d C h ristia n C am pbell, who survived him , a n d ,'
along w ith his b ro th e r N eill, was a d m in is tra to r to
his daug hters, M ary, K a th e rin e , and J e a p . D uncan
M c ln d e o r died in S eptem ber, 1694, when tb e follow­
ing “ In v c n ta r ” was given up by C h ristia n C am pbell
on behalf of h e r c h ild re n ; —
Im p., sex g re a t kowes ..............................
80 00 00
Item , two tw o y e a r olds .........................
13 06 08
Item , ten g o a tts ..........................................
13 06 08
Item , of household plenishing in E dinr.
26 13 04
133 C6 08
Debt* d c tr to th e Dead.
Im p ., of m oney delivered bo the defunct
in th e hands of Alex. L atnbie gard in e r to A uchinbreck tw elve guineas
& a Ja c o b u s ............. ............................
Item , dew be Cplline M cL auchlane
b ro th er to Arch. M cL auchlane of
C ra ig in te rv e to the d efu n ct be bond
b earin g @ re»t and p en alty ...........
Item , dew be R o b ert M e ln d e o r of Kilchoan be bond d a te d —b e a rin g @ rent
and pen alty ...................... .......... . ...k..
Item , dew to th e d efu n ct be M r J a m e s
Clershers D octor of D ivinity in the
Colledge of E d in r. and J a m e s
Edmonf*tone m erc h a n t th ere
bo
bond—bearing (girenfc and p e n a lty ....
Item , restin g of a n n u al re n t th e re o f......
Item , dew bo N eill M c ln d eo r in Over
F in c h a rn e be bond, etc.........................
Ite m , be G ideon C am pbell sadlor be
bond d a te d —b e a rin g @ rent and
and p en alty .............................................
Item , dew be Arch. M cL auchlane of
K ellin achan ich be deed d a te d ----f Item , dew be J o h n C am pbell in Sallachrie
................................................. .
N yno bolls of C oins .............. .......
173 06 C8
66
13 04
133
06
oa
200
6
00
00
00
00
133 06
08
33 66
08
446
00
13 06 08
18 00 00
1337 06
D eb ts d u e l e the Didtl.
Im p., to M a ry McCottocJiòr in E d in r.
Item , to M istress G ray tn ere ..... .. . .
ite m , to M ary MoGibbon in E dini
[Item , to J a m e s G ray th ere
Item , to D onald McC’aTlum factor to th e
E sta te of L a u d e rd a le ............................
Item , dew to N eill M e ln d eo r in F in e h a rn
dew lykewyuc to said N o i l l ..............
f } dew to M ary B eith in F in ch o rn e .
tt dew to Donnld McIndf»or th ero ......
* > dew to Jo h n C am p b ell of G iasvare
dew to D uncan M o K ellar in Ardarick
.................................................. .
f* dew to R o b ert M c ln d c o r of K ilchoa*
of servants leos ............................
of fu n era ll c h a r g e s ..............................
*
jp
/
/V
(a. ✓'t
fcO
08
20
10
03
03
00 00
00 GO
08 00
06 08
C6
Oo
13
14
03
01
13
13
C6
13
06
06
04
04
08
04
08
00
05 00 00
01 C6 08
08 00 00
Id 00 00
121 01 08
D, M R .fo
BOIDEAN BLIADHN' fTfRK
G ed bhiodh t* ean ach ain n -sa na*s fh e à rr
Na h-ui!e b r à t h a i r th a m u n c u a irt dhiot
Na seal! o rra -s a n le d iù m b a d h
M u r do d h ’ionnsaich iad n a c h u a l iad.
Ma th u g D ia d h u t fh èin a n t-e a n a c h a in n
C u ir gu h-iom chuidh e
1 buanachd —
StiCiir am f e a r nach e il no dòigheil
A n n s an d ò i g h ’s an cò d h a gluasad.
(New Year R e s o lu t e *)
1972
'
FaiIt. is furan d h n ’n bh liadh n’ ùr
a i h ’a ir tighinn ù r o im n ’n a h-òige,
G uidheam aid g u n bi i ciùin dhuinn
Re n a h-ùine bhios i còmh rinn.
G u m eal sinn s là in t is loil-inntinn
’S g u m bi sith a n à ite còm hstri,
’S g u n tu ig an saijrhdeir ’s a ’ b h là r
G u r a n n ri ’b h r à th a ir th a e còm hrag.
i
D h ’fh à g a ’ b h lia d h n ' a d h ’fh a lb h a n dè b h u a in n
Io m a d h f e a r is le ’n a sineadh,
D o m h a in n ’s a ’ gham onhich a n c à ra d h
A n c la d h H à lla n ’s a n A ird-M hieheil.
’S io m ad h d iù n la c h fe a ra il là id ir
B h o ’n C h à m a n gu C ille-B hrighde.
N ach d o shaoil ’n a in n tin n ria m h
N a c h tig e a d h a ’ b h lia d h n a gu erich dha.
D O M H N U LL IAIN MACDHOMHNUT1
U idhist-a-D eas.
*1/% , | I \
C h u ir sinn. u ile m ile fàilte
A ir g ac h p àisd e th à in ig ù r o irn n ,
’S m e a l-a -n a ig h e a c h d a i r gach m à th a ir
A ghin 's a d h ’à ra ic h ’s a ghiùlain.
A ch gu d u ilic h leam r i r à itin n
N u a ir ni m i ’n à ir e a m h a c h im n ta is 1—
M u c h o in n e a m h g a c h p à is d ’ a thainig ,
T h io d h la ic sin n a d h à d o d h iù n laich .
FREAGAIRT DO LITIR
MHIC PHARLAIN
A Mhic Phàrlain Mhealaboist
Leugh mi d ’ainm an raoir
Ri do titir shnasail,
’S tu toirt rabhaidh innt,
,A* sparradh oirnn gu lèir
Bhi eudmhor mu ar cainnt
’S nach leig sinn a dhith
An dìleab ’thugadh dhuinn.
A ch cò ’s u r r a in n Lonse dhòm hsa
’M bi e beò mun- tig a ’ challaig
A n n s a ’ b h lia d h n a so t h a òg d h u in n —
F e u c h n a c h tè id gu m o a m h eallad h .
C h a sh e a ll a m b às c à it’ a n i a r r e
’S coingeis le is f e a r lia th no lean ab h ,
G e d t h a th u s a d iu g h ’n a d sh là in te
Saoil am bi th u m a ire a c h m a ire a n n ?
D h’fhàiltich mi do litir
Leis a’ ghliocas àigh
Bha thu cu r an cèill innt
’S air ’eil feum an dràsd
C ait an deach ’na filidh,
Fileant ann an dàn,
A labhradh ruinn le grinneas
Anns an teanga b'fheàrr?
T h a e f r e a g a rra c h gu le ò r d h u in n
A r b e ò sh ià in t a d h e a n a m h cin n teach ,
F e u m a id h sin n m a r sh lio ch d a g h à ra id h
O ib re a c h a d h le s p à irn is diehioll.
A ch n a s a n n ta ic h a m a id stò ra s
A c h u r a n n a n t ò r r ’n a m hH tean.
’S fh à g a il ann. a ’ d e a n a m h D ia d h e th
’S io m a d h b eu l ag Ia rra id h plos d heth.
C iiirea m a id f o m h a in n am b lia d h n a
Bhi gu d è a n a d a c h ’n a r c u rsa
M a bhios d ^ irc e à c h o i m n a g ia rra id h
C u ife a m a id g u fialaidh ù id h an n .
T u ig e a m a id g u r u ile c la n n sinn,
’S gU b h eil e e a n n a rd os a r cionii a n n
’S m a ni sin n c ro n a i r a r b r à t h a i r
Bi a r m à th a ir r in n a n d iù m b a d h
Suaicheantas ar dùthchais
'S an robh ùidh nam bàrd
Sheinneadh iad ie mùirn innt
Mu gach cùis is càs,
Greadhnachas na fieadha,
4 Gaisg ri aghaidh blàir,
’S cruadal nuair bu doirbh
A bhiodh an stoirm air sàl.
<1
r
j
%
Mar Ghàidheil ’s maith is còir dhuinn
A bhith beò le eud
S mur a seas sinn còmhla
Gur a mòr am beud,
Gu bhi dion ar cànain,
Cainnt is fheàrr fo'n ghrèin,
An grinneas cha robh seòrs’ ann
Ann an Ro)mh no ’n Grèig.
Tha i òrdail, ùidheil,
Tha i siùbhlach rèidh,
Gu bhith daanamh ciùil innt
No cur ruin an cèill
^
.
’S bochd a bhith a’ truailleadh
S C ^ ^ 4 //5 /
Rud cho uasal gnè
t
Ris a’ chainnt a d h ’fhàg
A r màthair againn fèin.
D. MACILLIOSA,
Crosabost.
I
4
’S c a r p fv jth ra irh c a n gach a o n to
F c a d h an t-sao g h a il d u b h no b a n i,
’S g<*J p h ca caich a* cheud th e ‘11 saoghiil
R inn M ^ire a s h a o ra d h ’na h~ait<?.
M a r sin ru in n s d chuim h'ne daonnati
Gu bhoil m a ig h d r a n n a o m h le g rà s a r.
’S nia b h e ir th u s ’ a h -o n air hhuaipe
T h a l-hu tru a illc a d h M oire M h à th a r
G a b h do d h r a m n u a ir b h io s i d h ith ort,
A rh na firom gu ì^lc b rù id cad h .
Na b à th d o chointi^oas ’n a d ’ m h ia n n a ir
Lcis m a r lio n as tu do b h rù leis.
C u im h n ich m a thig crioch do shaoghail
’S tu f o ’n d a o ra ic h a i r a n ù r l a r —
’S ann- ’n ad shuidh* a ir b e u laib h S h à ta in
A d h ’fhosglas an c rà d h do shùilean.
Dh fhàgadh againn oighreachd
Ann an cainnt ar màth r,
’S mur a bi sinn duineil
Thèid a leigeadh bàs
Cheana ’s mòr an call e
I bhi fann a' fàs,
Sinne 'call ar grèim oirr'
’S Beurla dol 'na h-àit.
Tog do ghuth, a Mhurchaidh,
Cha do shearg do làmh.
’Na do thosd na fan
Ach biodh do bhratach àrd
Tog j ris na gaothan
’S biodh i sgaoilt a ghnàth,
’S cuireadh seirm do chaismeachd
Teachd an òrdugh blàir.
A ch c u ir th u s ’ a ’ ehetist r i u t fhein
G a c h l a t h a a dh*£ireas tu ’m b liad h n a.
S ao il a n d iu g h a m bi m i beusaeh.
A i r neo saoil a n c e u s m i C riosda ?
T h a ’n d e o m h a n fo rio c h d a n c ù b h ra id h
’S e c u r na h -ù b h a l a i r do b h ia la ib h
A ch ged t h a r ù s g b o id h each d e a r g o ir r ’
T io n n d a id h id h i s e a rb h ’n a d bhial-sa.
M u r b h eil facal c e a rt ’n a d in n tin n
N u a ir a b h ru id h n e a s t u m u d ’ n à b u id h .
C ù m do theang* a stigh 'n a d ch id h lean
’S n a leig le a th a b ig a rad h a,
O ir n i d o th e a n g a d o d h ite ad h
M a c h u ire a s i ’n fh irin n c e à rr o rt
’S c à iric h in n i1 an t-srian gu te a n n
M un re ic i th u ri ain g iean S h àtain .
Na le a n a m a id a ir a ’ che n sin
G um biodh r è it a i r fe a d h £ach àite.
G u m biodh gaol is s ith le ehèile
F a r n ac h eil ach èud a n d rà s d a :
’S th u sa nis a leugh n a sgriobh mi :
Bheil th u cin n teach g ’eil th u sàbhailt*
Ma se
g u r e nochd an o id h ch ’
A nochdas tu ri High n a n gràsan.
1
I
-V
i
■
■
A
.
1
1
SEILBH NACH GABH CEANNACHD
<;l e i -r s p a s t a n d p r e s e n t
‘ At one time there was a section of performers on the
Arts Council’s schedules that they found very difficult
to classify \ said M a r y R o w l a n d in a talk in the
jo n
(Seo leasachadh beag eile rie 9' bhàrdachd agus an eadarghuldhe a rlnn na diùlnafch eudmhor, e a la in : An MJrramach
Dòmhnuf) Gitllosa agus ar caraidean Murchadh Mac Phàrlairt
agus Coinneach Gobha as leth na G àldhlige 's a' Ghazette bho
chionn ghoirid.)
\
•
(
Ma mheasar air àireamh nam filidh mi,
Ged robh m' àite air fhilleadh an iom all a falluinn,
Nach m ithich 's nach iom chuidh dhomh m’ Impidh
C hur a thaiceadh stuth-bhrioghm hor na cuideachd a labhair;
Cha robh èis air bàrdachd G àidhlig nam fear ud,
’S ann thàrm aich is shii i à uisg thobair fhallain —
Cainnt bhlasda na cùbaid tha drùighteach is fileant
An com haii ri sgit fhear gun inneadh air balaist.
1
’S nach cudthrom ach cùis an cinn-agair
'S luchd dèagh-rùn a’ tagairt cho annamh ri’n tàladh;
Tha miann-ghaoil air maoin agus earras
C ur aognajch is galair air caramh ar cànain;
Seilbh tha bho riamh ’s nach gabh ceannachd,
Seunachd a labhairt dol air ais teinn gu àrsachd
Saoibhreas nan linn tha dol thairis
A ir tiodhlacan falamh, tha neo-mhaireann is bàsmhor.
An goirear dhìot Gàidheat gun faontradh
Tha leantainn luchd-saobhaidh gu raointeàn an t-seachrain?
A thug uamharr do smaointean gu aomadh,
Le fuathaich, tha saobh-nosan staoin a' cur as dhith;
Gha meas 'na cnap-starra do mhaoin-ghlòir
Tha margadh nam plaosg a’ to irt daonnan gu sealiadh;
'S amaideach attrum cho faoin
Nach c u ir seilbh ri saothair dhaoin’ tha ruith beartais.
An àill leat an uilebheist do shlugadh
'S do shnaimeadh ri cuideachd tha cum ant ’san lhasan ?
'S na shònraich do dhealbh an taobh muigh dhlot
A dhòrtadh le sruth tria ll gu m uir 's nach ruig cala ?
Tha 'n dara crann air do shiubha! —
Do chànan d ’ ath-chumadh air chruth eadar-dhealaicht’
Na do ghnlomh-ualtl, d' oid-àlaich is d' ulaidh
A chriathradh bho 'siol-cura, 's tu an urra ri 'crannadh.
Cha pheacadh pròis-àrdain d ' ath-dhùsgadh
Thoirt do chànan à dùsai! ’s à diùbhait na h-ana-bhuil;
Cha leasaich ach faiceal is cùram
A clo in n ’ i o bheag-diù tuchd a spùinidh ’s a cearbaidh;
E 'n crochadh a ir caidrich do ghràidh dhith
A teasairg à làmhan luchd-àichidh is marbhaidh;
Tha ‘n leighis ’s an ìocshlaint ’nad làmhan
'S na dìobair ’na càs i; chaidh a fàgail air t'earbsa.
Thoir do bhòid thu thoirt urram is aite
Le spèis, dha do chànan, seach càt! tha leat airidh;
Cuir mathajch ri freumhan 's gu fàs i
Fo dhuilleach a blàthan is àilleachd a maise;
A bratach air turait cho àrd
So-ruigheachd a lànachd cha tàr-dhleas an talamh
A h-iarmaid, a h-eachdraidh ’s a bàrdachd.
0 I Suas lets a’ Ghàidhiig ! 's an fhàilt gu robh maireann.
AONGHAS CAIMBEUL,
Suaineabost.
£=
Donald John
IVIacEachem
A TRIBUTE
B A S C A R A lt)
L ia th a ’ m h ad u in n , ’s
dhtusg th u ,'
Suas 9' gh rian. c h a
cha
do
rrihodha
I t is n o o v e rstate m e n t th a t
dhùisg thu.
th e w hole ot South Uist was Sheirm
rieveille bhinn n a h*ulselg*
deeply shocked on learn in g of 'S c h a do ghluais thu.
th e untim ely d e a th of D onald
Jo h n M acEachen a t t h e age of Maduinri Or. a c h tè m a r b’àbhaist,
«4 years.
F u a im e an d e a n a d a ls a i r fàìr'e
t D onald J o h n was th e younges Gu m òr-thim chioll; ach th a dith
Son of th e late Mr an d Mr*
ann
•Hector M acEachen of PenineTin F iam
h do ghàire.
bnd w as unm arried.
J o in in g the M«*chant Navy S p e u ra n gottna, ’s oiteag chùbtt*'
3? y ears ago, h e served in this r a id h
c a p a c ity u n til shortly b efore his T ighinn bho’n ia r a ’ c ra th a d h
dfeath w h en h e flew over from fhluran,
S in g a p o re to visit his n a tiv e Isle. Anail U idhist d h u t a ’ feltheam h
H om e only a short week, he S c h a d o d h ù lsg -thu.
b r e a t h e d his la s t a t D a lib u rg h
Hospital on F rid a y 23rd August, ’N tusa b h ’ann n ù a ir th o g mi ’11
b u t n o t b efore visiting a few of sgàilean
his friends, am o n g th e m the p r e ­ A b h ’a ir t«aodtihn. 's n a ch do
s e n t writer.
ghàir th u
To give stra n g ers a tr u e and D h earc mi df iomhaigh. ach
a c c u r a te description and assess­ càit' idif
m e n t o f D onald J o h h ’s c h a ra c te r An rob h ’rt' fh àilte ?
Is a p ractical impossibility; one
h a d to know th e m an, s h a re his An e bàfi no b e a th ’ as ù t e,
th o u g h ts an d feelings, hi* kind* ’N gabh an dio m h aireach d a
"ness of h e a r t and h is t r u l y resg ru d a d h ,
ih a r k a b ie sense of hum our. He Cha tig fios le fre a g a irt m*
sailed
th ro u g h th e
ills and fheòrach
crosses of th is life, u n p e rtu rb e d T ro im h ’n a ’ chùirtein.
b y adversities, like h e sailed the
bceanft o f th e World in c a lm and Thaom sinn sios o r t ù ir Aird*
tro u b le d times.
When th e in*
Mhichell,
\ fe rn a 1 m ight of H itler's deadly ‘S beartacH i le sùgh do shlnnsrU -boat^ w e re c o n ce n tra ted ofl
eadh :
read in g B rita in 's N o rth Atlantic T h e ir do dhusd's an tu ille ad l
ife-line. h e sailed
on the&4
luach dhi
perilous convoys, playing his own Setìdh, trl-fillte.
f m a i l b u t m ost essential p a r t in
k e e p in g th e n a tio n ’s pulse b eat­ Stuaghari c h u m h a b h a ig a ’ crònar.
ing. h is ow n essential p a r t in T àladh dùsail d h u t gu ceòlmhol
,the final victory t h a t fbllowed.
(X oaich idnrtdrarnn *s a» chuafl
It is h a rd to reconcile onesgjf
sh »ttr
to th e fa c t th a t never again shall Air
m inig na shedl thu.
V e witness h is h e a rty welcome,
his Jovial m a n n e r and th e sincere M aduinn eile, grian a’ d e àrrsa d h .
w a rm th o f his greeting. He died Maduirih eile *s gun th u là th a ir.
as he h ad lived, a friend to all, D ealachadh. ach air son greis
* n enem y to none. To his brother
an d sister, in Uist' an d elsewhere, tìus n teich na s«àn*ah.
we extend o u r deepest sym pathy
in th eir irrep arab le loss.
■
•
A a trib u te to h is memory, I
h a v e w ritten th e following, lines
i n Gaelic, his own c r a d le langu*
T hird Programme. *These were the self-accompanied singers (self­
accompanied on guitar, harp, or piano), those who could do a varied
programme on their ow n; or the actors and actresses who could people
the little stages around them with partners of their own imagination.
Eventually these artists were all grouped together under the title
Oddments ”, and I suggest that the “ Oddments ” are the last link
with those harpers of ancient legend, of those better-class jongleurs of
medieval Europe; of the musicians in history, who wandered from place
to place disseminating news as well as entertainment. The troubadours
and trouveres of France were the composer-poets, usually nobly born,
who left it mainly to their jongleurs to perform and disseminate their
music. A jongleur could become a troubadour, and some troubadours
were known to have become jongleurs. The essential difference seems
to have been that, while the troubadour, if he performed, performed
only his own work, the jongleur usually performed other people’s. It
must have been a charming association, between composer and inter­
pretative artist, exemplified in a certain troubadour’s instructions to his
jongleur: “ M y son, on your honour I charge you to take good care that
you understand the work and
do not deface it ”
T he jongleur was expected
to make the instrumental
“ arrangement ” or accom­
paniment to the song; those
songs that have come down
to us have only the melodic
line written out, though from
THE LISTENER
pictures it is obvious that they
were accompanied. The music
historians seem to be of the
opinion, as a general rule,
that the songs were accom­
panied on an instrument in
unison with the voice, but I
SEPTEMBER
22
1955
cannot imagine anyone lay­
ing hands, for instance, on a
harp, and not realising the
concord of several strings
plucked at once. In a book
on Irish music, edited by
Aloys Fleischmann, there is
this remark about long
poems: “ It is possible that
the main verse was chanted
in a monotone, punctuated
with cadential melodic in­
flexions in the manner of
Psalmody and supported by chords on the harp
Such a method of
performance is described as surviving in Mayo in the eighteenth century.
‘ The jongleurs must have been very good musicians indeed, probably
receiving a grounding from their fathers and mothers in early youth
— because “ jongleury ” was more like a family profession, the art being
passed on to the children just as the stone masons passed on the pillars
they were carving to their sons. Surely it cannot be
entirely coincidental that surnames like Player, Singer,
Fiddler, and Harper have come to us along with the
Arrowsmiths, the Armourers, and the Ferriers? The
jongleurs were well rewarded, too, as witness thel
jongleuse to William the Conqueror, Adeline, to whom]
he gave an estate.
1They earned their horses, their rich clothing, and
gifts which were heaped upon them by their audiences,
for a great deal was expected of them. Here, for
instance, is Geoffrey de Calanson’s famous advice to
his jo n g leu rs : “ Learn to act well, to speak well, and
to extemporise well. Learn to invent clever and
amusing games. Learn to play on the Tabor, the
Cymbals and the Bagpipe. Learn to throw and catch
little apples on the point of knives. Learn to imitate
the song of the birds with your voices; to jump through
four hoops; to play on the Cital and Mandore, to per­
form on the Cloncorde and the Guitar, for they are
delightful to all. Learn how to string the Viol with
seventeen chords. To sound the Bells, to play the Harp,
and to compose a jig that shall enliven the sound of the
Psaltery yy j
Similarly No. 628 is not,
In the case of No. 92, “ An 1m
y
mind, improved by th*
uaisle an aghaidh na h-eirbhe,” further comment offered. ‘Guir'
two
possible
meanings
are ean ar mas" “ A pimple on s
given, that people should not , buttock" “ i.e. an insignificant
feel ashamed of poverty, or, ! matter.”
Tongue in cheek 1
that pride is opposed to poverty. ; would suggest that anyone whq
Part 1
| Surely a sim plier explanation, 1thinks a “ guirean'’ on the
and one which at the same time
"m as” an insignificant matter
On 1st April 1927 the Rev. Dr. tells us more about human
has never had a “ guirean" on
Duncan M. Campbell gave his nature, would be, that a com­ his “ mas” . An alternative com*
m anuscript collection of Gaelic mendable degree of pride is ment might be “ A small thing
proverbs to the Gaelic Society required to withstand the handi­ causing
disproportionate
an^
of Inverness, and the hope was caps imposed by poverty.
noyance.”
, then expressed that it would
i
I also wonder whether the e x-‘
I
would
question
the
interpre­
appear as a special volume of
1planation offered for No. 546 is
tation
suggested
for
No.
112,
; the Society’s Transactions. This
“ Aoidheachd Thormoid M h o ir; the most probable. “ Is ann fo n
hope has now beep fulfilled
innean
a theicheas
cu
a'
Fuirjch,
fuirich,
tha
a'
phearc
’s.
PMbliPStion, over
Ghobha.”
“ The smith's dog
a’
chliabh
’s
a’
bhean
’s
a*
fifty years later, of the Collec­
flees under the anvil.” “ i.e. for
chladach”
—
“
A
diet
of
egg
tion, bearing the above title and
protection from the sparks.” My
and
shellfish,
soon
cooked
for
edited by Mr Donald E. Meek of
understanding of this proverb is
an
unwelcome
guest.”
Surely
the Department of Celtic gf
that the sm ith's dog is so
the
suggestion
here
is
that
there
Glasgow University.
Mr Meek
fam iliar with sparks (whereas
will
be
an
indefinite
delay
besums up the significance qi the ;
his pursuers, not beings smiths'
j fore any food can be provided
Campbell Collection by saying j
dogs, are afraid of them) that
I
—
enough
to
send
any
unwel­
that, in its. range of material, it I
under the anvil (under an
come guest on his way !
greatly supplements, but does
, "um brella” of sparks) is the
not *go beyond, the range of
Again, while one would not ‘ safest possible place in which
other collections from the same quarrel with the interpretation
to evade pursuit.
period. “ Its distinguishing feat­ offered for No. 14, I think it
Likewise I would take issue
ure is the way in which Camp- has a much more pointed appli­
with the interpretation of No.
bell tries to elucidate the back­ cation than that suggested. “ Aon
575, “ Is e an taillear a ni an
ground to his examples.
Fpr eun aig a’ chorr 's e gu doithduine.” “ The tailor makes the
this reason, his work provides eamh, doirbh : Da eun deug aig
m an'’.” . “ (Doubtless sarcastic,
an im portant insight into the an dreolan is iad gu soitheamh,
as tailors were despised for
role of seanfhacail (proverbs)
:
their
physical
im
pedim
ents)"
I
( “ Often said to child­
w ithin the Gaelic area.” While soirbh."
s
would prefer to treat this say­
an assessment in depth into the ren who are cross and fretful-"
ing “ straight” , taking it at its
Surely
this
i§
a
saying
in
significance of this publication
face value and comparing it
is beyond the scope of this re­ praise of large families, pointwith the other well-known sayview it may be stated that it is ji ing to the popularly accepted i ing, “ Cha duine an t-aodach
an im portant contribution to the idea that large families are more
ach cha duin e as aonais." How
contented
and
easier
to
rear
j corpus
of Gaelic folk-sayings
one
appears
as
a
man
depends
i hitherto noted. Perhaps one of than the single child.
greatly on what one wears.
. the most important effects of ; No. 122 could still set the
An intriguing one is No. 625
such a publication is that it jogs cat among the pigepps in High­
“ Is mairg a chanadh a bhraththe memory of Gaelic speakers land Presbyterianism I For one
air ri mac na mnatha coim hich,’*
, who have sim ilar sayings stored thing (and this occurs in other
another Uist saying fo r which
‘ and sometimes forgotten in their cases also) the Disruption of
both the Collector and the Editor
own mental cupboards. Would 1843 is referred to as the
offer explanations neither of
that more people yyere to. "Sucession” ; while I would
which sounds completely con­
practice the same diligence in wonder whether Mr Meek's own
vincing.
My understanding of
preserving and recording them comment
is fully
accurate^
this saying has been (though
as the author and editor of the Certainly in my boyhood recg(4
this
is perhaps
putting
it
present Collection. The pub­ lections the term "Minister^*
c ru d e ly !)
“ Hard lines if your
lishers are The Gaelic Society Maide seems to have been r * i
j mother is a whore."
of Inverness
served mainly for stipend-drayiH
No.
636
offers
no
fewer
than
iftg ministers of empty Estab­
! The present rfyiew er
I three explanations fo r a simple
lished
Kirks.
(Perhaps
this
born in Uist and thus foun^J this
Statement regarding a ship sail­
betrays
in
tgrn
my
“
denomina­
Collection, largely originating »n
ing.
(One is tempted to sug*
tional
stance”
I
The
quoted
that island, particularly interest­
gest that the further she sails
proyerb
is
"B
’annsa
team
ing.
Several
sayings
rethe more does she go oft
mimstear-maide
na
madadh
awakened chords of boyhood re­
course). “ Is math an long a
m
inistejr.'’
In
short,
I
would
collections,
while
others,
I ;
i bbeir a rrtach an caladh o’n
:
take
this
saying
to
be
a
guarded
must confess, I do not racold’fhalbh i.” I cannot here find
defence
of
the
“
Ministeir-maide"
i lect ever haying heardThis
any reference to be discarded
—
after
all,
bad
as
he
may
bc^
may be partly explained by the
opinions nor to what is generhe
could
be
worse
I
lapse of time, partly also no
{ ally meant by “ old haunts.*
I wonder if No. 155 points the { Surely it is a simple statement
doubt by the fact that Uist is, ,
or used to be, at least two {' solution to a problem which has
commending the ship which has
i islands, each with its own dis* ! flpated in my mind for years and
behind it a completed voyage
which I have always meant to
i tinctive begl-aithris.
and is now back in its home
consult an expert. It is simply
port.
! May I start my review with a given as “ Biadh is Aodacn,
What has been said of High*
Crib ? — partly because page With no comment at all. and
land Presbyterianism with refer*
1 of the book provides a few understandably so, for no com?
ence to No. 122 could be said
examples of the subject of the ment seems to be required. But
of Highland Catholicism with re­
Crib. If we take proverbs No. on visits to the Island of Berneference to No. 763, ” Ni gtagag
2 i feel sure it is presented to ray I have often heard an ex­
bun-dochais
de
na
croiseani
us in a form which even today pression which sounded like “A
rouire ’ In other words, th is
would not be commonly heard bhios aodach,” expressing sur­
saying has a sectarian over*
in Uist, “ A ’ buain slat gu e prise, ( “ You don’t mean i t ! " ) ,
tone reflecting not only on silly
fhein a dhochainn."
If “ slat" ; and I now wonder whether this
, is singular surely the genitive i was origin^My “ Biadh is aod-i Glacag but by imputation on
any
who
pin
their
faith
on
the
i should be "s la it,” and if plural ’; ach” and whether there is a
Virgin-Crosses.
j" S h la t.” And I wonder how story behind it. (I think of the
One of the most fam iliar say*
! the “ i” crept ipto "dhqchainn” . starving iepers who in the
ing quoted is No. 842 “ Cualach
.i If these are the forms found in Bible story wakened one morn­
ithe original I feel they tell us ing to find themselyes the pos­ a' Ghille L e i s g a n d it is rather
quite a lot about Campbell.
sessors of incredible treasure! remarkable that it is understood
; -rrincfyding
‘’Biadh"
and} by Mr Meek in exactly the
I
I would also like to question
opposite sense to the sense in
-A
odaciyM
)
I
j some of the “ interpretations'*
which I have always heard it
In the case P* No
I (hinkl used. The lazy lad's burden
: offered fo r some of the pro­
verbs. For example in the case it would have b§en fe tte r if
in my experience is not “ a very
of No. 5, “ A' cheud bhean a Meek had contented him aeifi light burden" but rather a heavy
Qampbell’f
tra n s la tio n ! or cumbersome one, as the lad f
muigh, ’s an dara bean a stigh, , with
gu
freagair
na
h-aona “Cha phaigh am tea^anadh ami is too lazy to make repeated £
T h e manure wiHJ trips and so tries to take every-,
bhrogan dhaibh le cheile," the ii feurach1'
pay for the o ra zjn e sM “ (i e I thing at the one time. Shov^fc"4
|suggested meaning is “ Though ,j: not
cattle» i how interpretations can vary
j the wives change, the nature of ‘ the manuring done
ì while grazing.)
M
is
not
th
e
j
the husband and the wife's i
from one district to a n o thi e r!
duties do not.” This may be a 'case that “ Feamanadh” refers|
As my allocation of space for
normally
to
seaweed-manuring^
j subjective judgm ent but I feel ,
this review has run out and as I
;
while,
if
dung
manure
were
in**
! th is is re a d in g m o re , and a j
have so many appreciative com -1
j
tended,
the
word
used
WQUidl
I m o re s u b tle , m e a n in g in to th e j
ments to make, \ prave the
|
be
‘
Ineireadh’’
?
If
I
were
asketfi
’ p ro v e rb th a n is ju s tifie d . B eing
Editor's dispensation to allow!
for
an
alternative
comment
1!
I an A b e rd o n ia n by a d o p tio n I
me to continue in a later issued
would
suggest
that
this
i
f
I
w o u ld g iv e it an “ A b e rd o n ia n ,,
In te rp re ta tio n .
The
c a n n y simply a reference to the labour*1 RUAIRIDH MACDHOMHNAILL.
w id o w e r h a s c h o s e n as h is barter system by which neigh'
s e c o n d w ife o n e fo r w h o m he bours often paid each other If
d o e s n o t h ave to b u y a n o th e r ■ Kind, in this case FeamanadW
j p e ir o f shoes !
1
The Campbell
; Collection of Gaelic
I
Proverbs and
Proverbial Sayings
a
p
a
A nccjt
oi C o~ip ic n
M ac k e t i z tg . I ? ^
I
.
would like to see the house where
my father had dined every Sunday
with the Provost. He took me along
and there by the River Irvine was
a fine solid house in which, in about
1873, my father’s 19-year-old appe­
tite had been catered for every Sun­
day by a kindly Provost.
It will be a great pleasure for me,
just on 80 years after my father’s
last appearance, to greet Dumfries
in the spirit of the Compton Comedy
Company long ago.
And now I suppose 1 should ex­
plain why I am Compton Mackenzie
and not just Compton.
My grandfather, Henry Compton^
was the outstanding comedian of thif
Victorian age and in his last illness
in 1877 received the largest benefil
at Drury Lane ever given to t
British actor. Queen Victoria her
self took six boxes, though of course
in those days she no longer went to
the theatre in person.
My grandfather came from a
double line of Puritans (his. own
father wrote a life of Calving He
was Mackenzie on one side and
Symonds on his maternal side. He
,
's
j
“ I was christened Edward Montague
Compton Mackenzie.**
was a first cousin of the father of
John Addington Symonds.
One of his mother’s brothers had
a big wool business in London into
which he had taken my grandfather
in some junior capacity. He
suddenly decided to go on the stage.
He may have inherited this notion
from a maternal ancestress who was
a sister of the popular eighteenthcentury actor David Ross. David
Ross, who himself had been cut off
with a shilling by his father, an
Edinburgh W.S., was the first
patentee of an Edinburgh theatre.
My grandfather heard of a pos­
sible engagement in a Leicester
theatre and walked out of his
uncle’s wool business to apply for
it. As he had to walk all the way
to Leicester, he arrived too late to
get the engagement. To console him­
self he asked for a seat in the front
of the house and on his way out
t W K ! * *>***»<I,
\
✓
A
<
s
ì w L X fe u m h '’.
-
‘
•:
j “ This box I shall fill with snuff and
'
pass round a Leeds table.**
after the performance a friend of
fois uncle’s accosted him as
Mackenzie.
“ My name is not Mackenzie,” he
said quickly, “ Isn’t it? ” his uncle’s
friend exclaimed. “ Then what is
your name, young man? ” The first
name he could think of was his
grandmothers maiden name. “ My
name is Compton,” he said. And on
his tombstone in Brompton cemet­
ery you will see “ Here lies Henry
Compton (Charles Mackenzie).”
He never changed his name
legally and Compton was merely
iused as a stage pseudonym, first by
him and then by my father when he
went on the stage and m ort recently
by my sister, Fay, when she went
on the stage. We were all brought
up, however, as Mackenzies — not
Comptons. I myself was christened
Edward
Montague
Compton
Mackenzie—the Montague being my
grandmother’s maiden name.
After I leave Dumfries I am going
down to Leeds, where I am to be
the guest of the Glasgow medical
graduates in Yorkshire. I shall take
wit me a silver snuff box on which
is the following inscription: “ Pre­
sented by the Frequenters of the
Theatre Royal, Leeds, to Mr Henry
Compton in Testimony of their
admiration of his professional Excel­
lence as a Comedian. Leeds, Novr.
1st, 1836. Seventy-eight Sub­
scribers.” This box I shall fill with
snuff and pass round a Leeds table
as it must have been passed round
124 years ago.
j
ij {ofcc
Jay, September 10, 1977
4*
f.
Married at the Free Presbyterian Church, Mia vaig, Uig by Rev. D. A. Maciennan, were Christine
M. Matheson, eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs Kenneth Matheson, Ardroii, Uig, and Donald Calum
Mackenzie, younger son of Mr and Mrs Donald Mackenzie, Kneep, Uig.
| -j -j
d o lt/* ?
*
ST. FRANCIS Xavier Uni­
versity in Antigonish has re­
ceived a $35,000 federal gov­
ernment grant that will be
used to support the first
phase of a research project
on oaelic language and folk­
lore to be carried out at the
university over the next five
years. Left to right. Privy
Council president and MP for
Cape Breton Highlands Canso, Allan MacEachenjg
who presented the cheque;
Sister M argaret MacDonnell, d irector of G aelic
studies at the university; and
university president. R ev.
Malcolm MacDonnell.
Chronicler of Gaelic song
IN
DECEMBER
1911
the
" J o u r n a l of the
Folk-Song
S o c ie ty " published in London
a collection by a certain Miss
F rances Tolm ie of Skye, con­
sisting of 105 songs of occupa­
tion irom the W estern Isles of
Scotland. T he editor, Miss Lucy
Broadwood, in h e r introduc­
tion, confidently claim ed that
th e collection opened " a mine
of in terest and delight to musi­
cians, poets, folk-lorists and
historians, and
undoubtedly
form s one of th e most im por­
ta n t contributions yet made
tow ards th e preservation of the
p urely trad itio n al m usic and
poetry of our B ritish Isles in
general and of Scotland in par­
tic u la r/'
This claim has shown itself
to be amply justified, and yet
even now, over 50 years since
h e r death. Miss Tolmie herself
has h ard ly received h e r due.
W ho was she and how did she
come to produce this, h e r life's
work?
Frances Tolmie — " Fanny "
to h e r friends and relations —
was b o m on October 13, 1840,
as the eighth child of a family
of nine, at Uiginish Farm not
far from Dunvegan, in country
with which h e r k ind red had
been associated for generations.
H er father, a tacksman, died in
May 1841; many years later
Miss Tolmie recalled the occa­
sion:
MMv
mother
was
undressing me, and speaking
in a whisper, as my F a th e r
was lying asleep, and dying,
behind th e curtain on which
was a gay p attern of b irds in
a tree, m uch adm ired by me.
It was a g reat up lift to m e to
h e a r th a t I was now to kneel,
at h e r knee, and to repeat a
Prayer. I was in real earnest,
and am not wiser or better
today th a n I was a t th a t
m o m e n t/'
On th e death of Fanny's
father, Mrs Tolmie and the
younger children made th e ir
hom e
with
Mrs
Tolm ie's
brother, Hugh MacAskill, first
in Minginish, th en a t Rubha an
Dunain.
Hugh,
like
Jo h n
Tolmie a tacksman, was a m an
of wide culture, and he and his
fam ily played an active p a r t in
th e social life of Skye.
Always th ere was an in te r­
lacing of Gaelic and E nglish in
th e ir
lives.
Gaelic
predo­
m inated
in
th e
nursery,
kitchen, stable, the fields and
in church; in Uncle Hugh's
office e ith e r language would be
used, while in the diningroom,
drawingroom and schoolroom
English prevailed. Music- kept
on coming into it all: yOung
F an n y would listen intently to
th e singing of M argaret MacNeill as she s-at spinning in the
evening or dance to the fid d ­
ling of Ian
P ortear,
Che
*'tunesraan." Dom hnull C ibeir
A w iulkinj on Sky®.
(Donald the Shepherd*, m ar­
ried to Fanny's nurse, Kate
McSwein. would delight the
company with his gay " puirt. a
b e u l " (m outh-m usic), or the
women,
assembled
for
a
w aulking of the home-woven
cloth, would break into singing
on a larg er, louder, more
im pressive scale. A ltogether
F rances Tolmie enjoyed a rich
childhood; out of it was to
come forth m uch sweetness.
In 1854 F anny's u n m arried
brother, the Rev. John, became
m inister
of
S trontian
in
A rdnam urchan, and his m other
accompanied h im there, taking
with h er Mary, F an n y and
Allan, aged 16, 14 and 12. Two
years la te r the family returned
to Skye, to Jo h n 's new parish
of Bracadale. By now Fanny
had grown into a fine spe­
cimen of the " bi'g Tolmies,"
tall and erect of carriage, blueeyed and with beautiful redgold hair.
Then a Miss Matilda W rench,
an en terp risin g m em ber of the
philanthropic 'L a d ie s ’ High­
land Association," came on a
visit to Bracadale and. im­
pressed with Fanny, invited
h er to spend the w inter of 1857
with h er in E dinburgh. T here
F anny attended English classes,
received music lessons and
took in the life of the capital.
It was, however, only after her
re tu rn to the manse at Braca­
dale th a t an assignm ent came
h er way which affected the
whole course of h e r life.
Miss Emily
MacLeod
of
MacLeod, siste r of th e chief,
had obtained a contract for one
thousand pairs of socks to be
knitted by Skye people for a
Highland i^gim ent. This would
involve distribution of the
wool, collection of the finished
work and paym ent of th e knit­
ters. Young F anny Tofrnie, a
reliable in telligent girl with
tim e on h e r hands, was surely
ju s t the person to do it.
F an n y agreed. She would,
however, req u ire an escort for
h e r long walks across the
moors, arod chose Oighrig Ross,
an elderly woman, " r a t h e r
feeble-m inded in practical life,
b u t w ith a poetical soul . . . a
kind creature, but wild-looking,
and apt to tu rn crazy if unduly
provoked; she had immense
front teeth, tawny locks of h air
strayed from beneath h er cap
over a high and peaked fore­
head. and her old skirts hung
in fn n g e d tatters over h er hare
feet.”
And yet she was the best
companion possible, for as they
walked the moors together,
Oighrig held young Fanny
spell-bound with h er fund of
old local lore. Talk led to song,
son? to story: now the " Gruagach " the jealous guardian of
th e cattle, now " La Millegar-
aidh," the fierce Battle of the
Spoilt
Dyke
at
Trumpan.
W aternish, rose up as real as
the bent or rushes growing
round about them.
The thoughtless appreciation
of childhood long over by now,
Miss Tolmie was accustoming
herself to w rite down the
words of the songs th a t she
fancied, especially those that
appeared to be older and little
known, putting down th e tunes
in tonic sol-fa or staff notation.
She was fo rtu n ate to m eet a
young Inland Revenue officer,
A lexander Carm ichael (of later
" C a rm in a
Gadelica ” fame),
and he encouraged h e r in her
efforts. From th a t tim e on she
became a conscious collector,
noting in 1861 as many as 20
songs, 11 of them nursery
songs
Fanny continued h e r knitting
rounds, h e r escort now being
M argaret
Gillies,
another
elderly woman, living alone,
who also sang and taught her
songs to Fanny, including three
originally composed by the
seventeenth-century
poetess,
Mary MacLeod. So that Fanny
might get one of them, " An
Cronan ” ( ’’ The C ro o n ” ), from
the best
source,
Margaret
brought to the manse Rory
MacLeod, a very old man:
" . . . Rory said he would sit
near ‘ am p i a n a ’ — and I
would sound each note after
him, and it was with much
effort that he produced the
last low notes, owing to the
weakness of old
age.
I
adm ired this song very much
— and thanked old Rory and
Little M argaret n ig h ’n Domhnuill 'ic R uaraidh fo r their
kindness."
Miss W rench retu rn ed to
Skye in 1862 and F anny accom­
panied h e r a second tim e to
E d in b u r g h "
...
suffering
much m entally . . . the music
was in dire confusion — the
religtious opinions of the time
difficult to adjust."
Mrs Thomas Constable, how­
ever, of 34 Royal Terrace,
asked h e r to come and stay
with h e r and h e r family to act
as governess to two of th e ir
daughters, Maimie and Katie,
and:
" it was while with this dear
family," Miss Tolm ie writes,
" th a t some kind of order
came into my conflicting
ideas regarding the Ancient
and Modern times. It was an
an illum inating atmosphere,
from rare sympathy, social
intercourse.
and varied
reading."
Sometimes she would he
asked to entertain the company
by singing a Gaelic song, when
she would usually choose the
" Lament for young Raasay,” (
the song about th e G ruagaih, o r " Ailein, Ailein."
DEREK BOW M AN has been editing the late
Ethel Bassin’s book about Frances Tolmie,
who wrote down many of the traditional
Gaelic songs of Skye.
Routledge & Kegan
Paul publish “ The Old Songs of Skye :
Frances Tolmie and Her Circle M on Thursday
at £5.95
Miss W rench died in 1866,
and Fanny re tu rn e d to Skye, to
join h e r m other and h er sister
Mary. Between then and 1873
sne lived in P ortree, N airn and
Contin, crossing to U ist m ore
than once to m eet ’’ those nice
elderly women," as she puts it,
" who chose tra m am ong th e ir
ancestral recollections some of
th e songs of th e Ossianic tim e
as th e m ost select and ra re to
sing."
W h e re v e r she hiajppened to
be, F ann y now noted down
songs, w h e th e r " Colann gun
c h e a n n 1’
(th e
'‘ Headless
Body ’) from Mary MacDonald
(Mairi M hor n a n O ran ), later
Mrs M acPherson, the highly
esteem ed Skye bardess, who
came one n ig h t in 1870 to th e
Tolmie Manse in Contin " in
g reat tro u b le to be com forted,”
o r " Oran do D om hnall Gorm "
( " A Song to D onald G o rm " )
from H a rrie t McVicar, spinner,
who sang th e song “ with great
reverence as about a sacred
subject,"
th e
two
women
having w ithdraw n to a quiet
g a rre t away from the bustle of
a busy farm in Newton, N orth
Uist.
F rances Tolm ie was coming
to realise m ore and m ore that
a song was a hum an occasion
of inestim able value. Like the
fair w hite linen cloth set apart
from common use fo r the cele­
bration of Holy C o m m u n an , it
hallowed a frag m ent of ex p eri­
ence. Rich with the h ere and
now of perform ance, it tra n s ­
ported both singer and listener
behind the present day, out of
th e drag of tim e in to the
freedom of etern ity , blending
th ro u g h trad itio n the unique
Individual w ith his common
forbears, d eep en in g our sense
of ourselves in pride in our
race, filling us w ith w onder­
m en t a t th e m ystery of our
hum an lives.
Song was, to F ran cis Tolmie,
a p rod u ct and a producer of
b eau ty and fear, those twin
lodestars of th e poetic firma*
m ent. It fostered awe, m a n ’s
highest faculty, th e salt of
experience,
the
dim ension
in which we are most aware
of o u r trem ulous selves by
being most aw are of th e tr e ­
m endous other.
E ven now, in th e early 1870s
th e re was still little Fanny
could do w ith h e r songs except
preserve h er notes, but she felt
th a t som e day she m ig h t meet
a sym pathetic m usician who
would u n d erstan d th e ir value.
F an n y 's life now took a new
turn. She decided to go to Cam*
bridge to study, enlisting f o r ’*
two term s as one of th e first
women stu d en ts at Merton
-Hall, th en she accepted an in­
vitation to live as companion
with a Miss H arriette Rigbye, \*
with whom she was to stay very À
happily fo r over 20 years in ;
Coniston, as a m em ber of th e ±
circle round Ruskin.
J
She re tu rn e d to Scotland.
Now a t la s t in a ro u n d ab o u t i
fashion providence saw to it ->
th a t F an n y 's
patien t work .4
came before th e public. F irs t ì
on a visit in 1900 to th e Carm i­
chaels a t T aynuilt from Oban
where siie was now living, \
F an n y m et a young m inister,
already a noted Celtic scholar,
the Rev. D r George Henderson,
and, encouraged by him, set in
o rd er and copied out h e r ver­
sions of songs, noted over
several decades.
E ventually she completed
fo u r notebooks, made up of two
exercise
books
with
the
words, and two six-stave MS
books containing the tunes
(all now safely housed in th e
National L ibrary of Scotland),
and dispatched them to him.
,
A
•
I •
Continued on Page Two
—
,
F ra n c e s Tolm ie with h er
grand-niece in 1921.
,
IKY «1, 1898.
H*r
CLAN MACLEAN ASSOCIATION.
L bctvrb
on MaoL ian £ ard9, by Ma
M acL kan , M .A., G lasoow .
Maonus
A m y largely attended meeting of this clan
was held in the Assembly Rooms, Bath Street,,
Glasgow, last Friday evening, tttta inst. Mr
Donald MacLean was in the obair, and a contin­
gent from the Greenook branoh of the clan,
headed by Mr Archibald MacLean, local presi­
dent, was also present. Mr Magnus MacLean,,
M.A., read an exhaustive and researching paper
on “ MacLean Bacds." He referred briefly to the
life and published songs of the following
Hector M «eLeai, An Chiceach Beac, Coll IW ,
Hector MouLeau, Raqfcuua Bacach, Mall 1651
Kn°0lt’ AC',dla M« “
C“ 5 S X £ b o r T i ^ ^ r nl,b0“
EoKhlto mh'°
“ ‘w L eao, Lachaun mao mhio I*in, Coll, 1687.
John MacLcan, Iain m*e AUeio, Mull, 1665 to 1760
uouald lian MaoLean Mail, 1715
Marearet IJUoLean, Maireread nighean Lacbuinn, m bit
XAUlt li00*i |90«
Rev. John Mac Lean, Mall, died 1766.
A uT-aireaeh Muiie*oh (see Gaello Bards by MacLean
SlBClatr, page 169),
“ ^0 T b o^ ja eb Oig, Uveraoadel, 1746.
Boghain Mac-Uhiileaiu am Birrs.
FORMED THE “ MACLEAN
24/ i:iHIGHLANDERS ”
T he d e a th a t St. J o h n , New B runsw ick, is
a n n o u n c e d in L on d o n to -d a y or M ajor-General
th e
H on.
Hugh
H av elo ck M 'L ean, of
R o th e sa y , New B runsw ick, C an ada, a form er
L ie u te n a n t-G o v e rn o r of New B runsw ick, atred
84.
F o r 50 ye^rs h e w as activ ely associated with
th e m ilitia, a n d raised th e ‘J tìth New B runsw ick
DraKoons in 1 9 1 L On th e o u tb re a k of th e
G re a t W a r he v o lu n teered for ac tiv e service
and to form a regim ent, a n d assisted in raising
th e Maclean H ighlanders.
H e c o m m a n d e d th e 7th I u f n n tr y Brigade ol
th e O verseas C anadian E x p e d itio n a ry Force,
a n d a*i th e conclusion of hostilities w as placed
on th e retired list w ith th e r a n k of MajorGeneral.
A p a r t from his m ilita ry activ ities he Was
a K.C. a n d also p re sid e n t a n d d irecto r of
severa.1 railw ay a n d powor com panies.
He
was in charge of th e C anadian m ilitary
c o n tin g e n t of 750 officers a n d inen who
a tte n d e d th e C oronation of K in g George V.
in 1911.
H is son, Colonel C. W. W . MVLean, of
L ow nd es S quare, L ondon, w as C onservative
M.P. for th e Brigg D ivisiono of L in d s e y ,
(L incolnshire) from J918 to 1 \ m .
»
shlS d lw rn M ’ ° &iam * a k iln iie’ Ki lochewe, Boss-
City man
claims
Keppoch
Archibald MacL*an GilUasbaig, Laldir, Tiroe, died 1830
Alexander MaoLean, An Uubair Golaeh, went to
Rev. Duncan MacLean, Glenorohy, boro 1796, died 1871.
John MacLean, Am Bard MacGhWeaia, Tiree and
Oanaia, 17t>7 lo 1818
D
° n f
ì i t M
lT w
t o
n ÌM
8 m
h , l l l 0 a b f t k ‘
b r o t h e r t o
J o h n
C hatlet MacLean, eon oI John th* Poet, 1318 to 1830.
Liacalan M Adjean.Luchano n*m Mogao, Colt *nd Oise*
g o * , 18ST>
Joha MacLsan, Waternish, Skye, died 1878.
Kev. Alex. Thomsou MaoLean, Baillieeton, 1832 to 1892.
William MaoLean o l Plantation, 1806 to 1893.
J. U, MacLean, 1843.
Lachlan MacLtan iL.xchunn Bit), Mall, died 1882
Charles MacLean. Atrd Meadhonach, MulL died 1890.
Janet MacLean (Blog). Coll.
LIVING POSTS.
John MaoLean, Ballym ariia, Tiree, Bard to the Aiaooia-
chiefship
A n E d in b u rg h business­
m an is p e titio n in g th e
L o rd L yo n K in g of A rm s
w ith a claim to th e d o r­
m a n t line of th e C lan D on­
ald — th e C h ie fsh ip of
K eppoch.
tlO Q ,
Andrew MaoLean, Renton, 1848-Breoklyn.
Dan can MacLean, Dunoon-and Manchester, born 1867.
Hugh Archd. MacLean, do.
do.,
born ÌU66.
Neil MacLaine, Tiree and Glasgow.
John MacLeaa, grand-nephew of Joha the Poet Tiree.
John MacLean (lain MacDhomhuill mhlo Kacoulnn).
Maggie MacLean, Danvegaa. bkye.
Neli MaoLean, Creig, Mall.
Lachlan MacLean (Lacbuan Neill) Mack and Oban.
Jam es MacLean. con to Lachlan, Milngavie.
“ **£_ Mac Lean, grand-daughter of John the P o e t
Fran kilo.
I t was unanimously agreed that the paper
should be printed by the association and circula­
ted among the members. Tbe clan bard, Mr
John MacLean, Tiree, sent the following song:—
ORAN DO CHLOINN G H IL L E AIN.
LI IAIK MAC OHZLLSAIN, TIRBADH, BARD A* CHOMTJIKH.
A IB fonm ;—Mo rùn g t a l dileas.
S i i s d —Ob, ’s ann an G lasohu nan stìob all àrda
T n a olann nan G àtdheal a n is ga l£ir,
A' en im ail co fm h o ’ air n a g a isg ich ch liù iteaoh ,
A gh leid h an dùthaioh d'an eliocbd n a’n ddigh,
F h n air m i litir ’o shàr d h ain ’-aaeal
A rinn m o gh laasad o'n àm so ’n
’S n a 'm biodh e ’làth air ’s m i chnireadh fàiU’ air
G a oridheil ciird eti air sgàth no s g e o l’.
M a ohlann G h illeain nan lan n ’s nan lù th ch leas.
B a deas a d hùisgeadh g a dol air gb len s
B h i crainn an G iaeobo (o’n ceaoD -àrm ailt’
N a trean laoich cb alm a ba gharbh am beam .
’S e fir nan clogaid nan sg ia lh ’s nan lùireach,
'S nan lan na rù isg te ’ba m hath ga streap,
An iolair’ gharg tn ih eaoh , fraoobar, feargaoh.
N am brataoh gnarbh air bhàrr ohrannaibh rèidh.
A ig Io n a rch litea n bha iom adh dearbhadb,
A ir {ail bhrae m heanm nach nam foar nach g£ill,
'N aair ’th eich an R eiseim aid each, le'n ceannard,
C6 sh eas 'san Am sin ach olann nan trean 1
Ar rìgh ’s ar dùtbaioh, ’se ohosg g a daor d hain n,
An àtream h laoch sin a th a n ’s*n strenp,
A n là ad “ G aoir nam ban M a ile a c b /' ohaalas,
'S bneir sin n e laaid h orra 'n dingh n a ’n dèigb.
T h a g eachdraidh sean aeh as mar chinneadh ainm eil
G ar trie a d h ’fhalbb iad le ooin air 4ill,
F o chrio8-bhn.il airgid ’as adharc fhùdair,
A ir feadh nan etùchd-bheann le gn n n ’ air gh leu s.
'8 air lochan g lan ’o sh ra th bras nam fnar bheann,
An eaT air aacbdar, 'as breao a lenm ,
L e sla it ag iasgach nam bradan tarra-gheal,
'S a siab h al garbhlaich g a sealg an ffcl.dh.
L e brogan fraoehain 'as osain bhalla-bhreac,
S gian dobh ’a i lan n a ghorm fo gbaztan tlid h ,
Sporan garbh bhraio m a gh lù n n an ghaisgeach ,
A ir f^ileadh snasm hor d’ am breaoan fèm .
L e eòta riom haoh ’us breaoan ^aaiile,
’S gach ni ba d aal dhaibh bhi air an i<£ir,
B o in eid ghorm a g s s itd ’n fhir-tbin,
’S le d ù tb ’obas s'uda m ar nrram bens.
Mr Magnns MaoLean intimated at the meeting
that he had received a manuscript from Rev. A.
MacLcan Sinolair, headed “ Points to be cleared
ap in the history of the MaoLeans,,> and as the
points considered were of great interest and
importance to them as an association, he woald
take an opportunity of reading that paper to
them a t an early date. Rev. Donald MacLean,
the Manse, Dnirimsb, Skye, w rote:—'* I can
nndertake to oolleot and edit the songs of John
MaoLean, the present bard of the Clan Society ;
will defray the expense of publication, and, to a
slight extent, the expense of oolleoting."
O T
= = = = =
THE KEPPOCH
t.
)
Mr R anald A. MacDonald,
who is a hearing specialist in
the city, is supported in his
claim by one of the clan's
noted historians, Rev. Norm an
MacDonald. Glenrothes, Fife.
And now the Clan Donald
have been asked in a letter
from him to support the claim
and ensure th a t Mr R anald A.
MacDonald is installed in his
“rightful patrim ony” . without
delay.
Rev. Norm an MacDonald,
himself a descendant of the
Chief Sir Jam es Macdonald of
Sleat who helped to avenge
the m urder of his kinsm an of
Keppoch, claims th a t a careful
study of the claim an t’s gene­
alogy reveals him to be in
direct descent from the 15th
Chief of Keppoch. The line of
R anald
A. MacDonald is
through the 15th Chief, Gilleasbuig na Ceapaich, through
A lasdair Raonuill MacDonald,
Brackleitir. who w as the third
son of R anald Mor MacDonald
of Tii^endrish and the g ra n d ­
son of the 15th Chief.
"From the first m om ent I
set eyes on him in W averley
Station, Edinburgh, I detected
the heroic stamp and aristo­
cratic bearing of his valiant
ancestors. Blood will out, as
the saying has it.” says Rev.
Norm an of the claimant.
He adds: "Ranald MacDon- .
aid bears a rem arkable r e ­
semblance to R anald Macdonell of Keppoch, whose p o r­
tr a it ap pears in Vol. 3 of
'Clan D onald’. His very sig­
n atu re has a striking resem ­
blance to those of the Clan
Donald chiefs. Of this he him ­
self w as absolutely uncon­
scious until I drew his atten ­
tion to it.”
In the view of Mr MacDon­
ald. a clan chief should be
given preference to one elec­
ted. An heir in direct descent
m ust have a m ore valid claim
to the title.
Members of the clan, who
are convinced of the validity
of the claim to the Chiefship
of Keppoch, can obtain peti­
tion forms from Mr MacDon­
ald a t 60 Home Street, Edin­
burgh. C *
Tc
SUCCESSION
To the Editor of “The Oban
Times”
Clachaig Inn.
Glen Coe.
Argyll.
April 9. 1976.
Sir.
Your very interesting
letters about a claim to be
chief of Keppoch seem to dis­
count certain links.
Failing an heir through Alastair who died at Keppoch
or his brothers, the next claim
would be through his uncle
Ranald Mor of Tirendrish. Of
his sons the eldest Archibald
m arried his cousin A lastair’s
sister and had a son. Did he
have children? He was. in his
turn, apparently married?
The second son Donald of
Tirendrish is accounted for.
The third son A lastair married
a Macpherson of Dallafair. The
fourth is said to have gone to
live in G lengarry but there is
confusion about this family
where, failing an heir to
Archibald the next claim must
be-
Going back a generation
Coll of th e Cows had two
other brothers besides Ranald.
Both were named and their
heirs if any, would rank be­
fore those of his uncle Donald
Gorm. Again we know from
his letters th a t one of fhese
brothers, vA lastair had a son.
Did th a t line die out?
Any claim must discount
these
possibilities
besides
standing good in its own rigiht.
Physical and other chance re­
semblances are not proof of
anything except a general
blood tie — we all share that.
I am etc..
Rory MacDonald.
CHIEFSHIP OF
KEPPOCH
To the Editor of "The Oban
Times”
60 Home Street,
Edinburgh EH3 9NA.
April 19. 1976.
Sir.— It i|S not my intention
to enter into a battle of wits
with your correspondent Mrs
A. MacDonell concerning mv
claim to above. No doubt the
lady would win.
Suffice to say that her open­
ing rem arks explains the rea­
son for her gross error in pro­
viding you with a caricature
of my genealogy. A genealo­
gical tree incidentally which
I did not give her permission
to print. As your readers will
see it is quite incomplete.
Whilst she is quite prepared to
claim that her husband’s
great grandfather Alexander
MacDonell was my great great
grandfather's ^elder brother,
which is quite incorrect, she
does not knòw my m other’s
name let alone her genealogy.
You may wonder why not.
The answer is quite simple
her information on my family j
is secondhand and dried up
when I decided to stop cor­
responding with her because
of the following statem ent she
made in her last letter to me
“I don’t know where you Mac­
Donalds come from. Check *
the records in Edinburgh and
see where families were moved
off the richer lands of Liar.achan to the poorer lands of
Brachleiter during the Clear­
ances end you might find vour
family th ere.” It is indeed re­
markable how her memory
khas improved since th a t short
p erio d of time. It would also
seem equally rem arkable that
"since the announcem ent in
your new spaper about my
claim to the Chiefship which
documented and in the
h a n d ’s of mv lawyer. Mrs MacDonell not only recognises who
I am but is even prepared to
show th a t I am connected to
her h u sb an d ’s g reat grand­
fa th e r providing of course that
this gentlem an is the eldest
son.
My ancestor A lasdair Raoul
— we are the A lasdair Raouls
of Keppoch. w as born in
B rachleiter in 1712 and had 3
m erklands of same and a lease
of the High Bridge Inn in
1746 vide Keppoch Rent Roll
of this date. A good am ateur
will know the date of the
Highland Clearances was well
after 1746 (Culloden).
My free advice to Mrs Mac­
Donell is continue h er good
work and allow the profes­
sionals to do the serious work.
Finally, anent the article
th a t you published in your
new spaper on March 25. It is
proper to point out th a t I did
not contribute the article see­
ing th a t it was a letter from
our noted Clan Historian and
Bard, the Rev. Norm an Mac­
Donald. direct descendant of
An Ciaran Mabach. the Skye
Bard, and brother of Sir Jam es
MacDonald of Sleat. addressed
to our Secretary of the Edin­
burgh Clan Donald Society
(1891 > to rally support for my
claim throughout the world.
When your Journalist in town
asked me about the m atter I
refused to m ake any state­
m ent since the m atter is su*iudice and the Lord Lyon will
decide on the validity of my
claim not Mrs MacDonell. or
"The Oban Times.”
I am etc..
R. A. MacDonald.
V
A Dh’ Aindeoin Maise Gach Eilein
A d h ’aindeoin maise gach ejlein
Tha 'nan iaigh’ anns na cuain
Thoir mo bheannachd gu Leòdhus
Tha e ’n còmhnuidh 'nam smuain;
Gu mo chiad àite còmhnuidh,
Tha mi ‘n dòchas bhith buan
Gus an till mi dha dh’ionnsuidh;
Tha mi ’g ionndrainn an t-sluasgh.
Tha mi ‘g ionndrainn mo chàirdean
A dh'fhàg mi ’s aT ghleann;
Fo fhasgadh nan àrd-bheann
Tha sàmhchair ac' ann;
Ged chaidh eadar sinn cuaintean
Tha mo smuain o rr’ gach am;
Tha iad cho trie 'na mo bhruadar
'S a tha mo chluasag fo ’m cheann.
Bheirinn oighreachd an dràsda
Mi bhith tòmh ann an sith
Le m’athair ’s mo mhàthair
A rinn m’àrach bho’n chich
Anns an dachaidh 's na dh'fhàs sinn
Gun tàir innt’ no dlth,
O, gur blàth bhiodh mo làm hs’
Do gach nàbaìdh san tir.
Fhuair sinn uairean neo-phriseil
Na’m biodh tide ’nam chòir
A chuirinns’ am briathran
Bheireadh cianalas ’s deòir
Gu gruaidhean mo fuaidh
Tha gun ghruaimein ’na dòigh,
'S ann an eilean an fhraoich
A thug mi gaol dhan an òigh.
CHIEFSHIP OF KEPPOCH
To the Editor of “The Oban Tim es”
Braevig, Spean Bridge, Inverness-shire.
March 29, 1976.
Sir.— As an am ateu r genealogist, but with the advantage
of being on home ground, I cannot see how Mr Ranald Mac­
Donald, present claim ant to the v acan t chiefship of Keppoch
can be other than as stated here.
Donald MacDonell = M a rv a re t Kennedy
b. 1750-55
Donald M acD onald
M a rg a re t Kennedy
b. 1750-55
S am e
people?
k
A lexan der. 1780-1867
C a th e rin e MacDonald
Lived in Inveroy
I R anald, 1780-1863
= M at. R om
lived in B rackieU er
p
r,.
s
b. 1826
Donald th e D rover
ChriA tina MacDonald
lfet eouaina, agreed
b. 1833
by both lines o f - L jtle x a n d e r
th e fam ily
= M g t , C am eron
1 Jam es,
A llan, fc. 1869
= In a Cam pbell
b 1872
= S a ra h MaeDoneM
Jo h n
(alive in Caol)
John
(m y huaband)
Collin, b. 1858
M gt. G ì IUm
Donald
T
R anald
(C la im a n t)
However according to local tradition and a family "sloinneadh he has only to un earth a g. g. g. g. g ran d father to be
a direct descendant of Donald Gorm, of Clianaig Cadets of
Keppoch, who was a step-brother of Archibald the 15th Chief
from whom he claims descent. The descendants of Donald
Oorm m ust be num erous and scattered all over the world.
an older brother of
the 15th chief, nam ely Allan Dearg, who disappeared after
the Keppoch M urder 1663, to be considered before Mr Ranald
MacDonald can claim the vacant chiefship through this line.
I am. etc.,
Ann MacDonell.
i
w
Nuair thug a' chaileag dhomh gealladh
Bha ’ghealach ’s na nèamh;
Bha 'cheò gheal 'na laighe
Anns a’ bhealach cho sèimh;
f Na reultan ri deàlradh
Gu h-àrd os ar cionn,
’S bha mo chluais greis ri claisdeachd
’G èisdeachd osnaich nan tonn.
t
Tha iomadh lus maiseach
Fàs air machair mo ghràidh;
Chi thu 'n ròs ann 's ant-seòbhrach,
Chi thu ’n lili gheal, bhàn;
Fàile cùbhraidh nam fluran
Fo dhriùchd feadh a’ bhlàir
Thigeadh orm 'san dubh anmoch
Mu’n ainmichinn càch.
’S mòr m’ fhadachd moch maduinn
Gach feasgar is oidhchr
Gus am bi e dhomh ceadaicht’
A dhol dhachaidh a chaoidh
Gu Eilean Leòdhuis nam mòr bheann
Nam mòinteach ’s nan glinn;
Cha leig m’ fhoighidinn dhomh seòladh,
Troimh nan neòil thèid mi null.
A dh’aindeoin maise gach eilein
Tha ’nan laighe anns na cuain
Thoir mo bheannachd gu Leòdhus
Tha e ’n còmhnuidh ’nam smuain;
Gu mo chiòd àite còmhnuidh,
Tha mi 'n dòchas bhith buan
Gus an till mi dha dh'ionnsuidh;
Tha ml ‘g ionndrainn an t-sluaigh.
A. G.
**
I
W hoever buys Eigg w ill be purchasing more
than three modern farms and an enchanting lodge
set in a tropical garden w ith a walk of dragon's
blood palm trees. For the islanders have enshrined
the tragedies and eccentricities of successive
proprietors and tacksmen in their oral histories
and folk-tales, w hich are told by crofters like
Hugh M acKinnon of Cleadale (pictured below).
Im m ortality, too, is up for sale.
0
f
call it th e “ very
beautiful island of
B ig g ” is no estate
agent’s
exaggera­
tion.
A pproaching
it in one of the
sm all boats th a t ru n
down the Sound of
Sleat from Maliaig it appears in
act, a fabulous island — a long,
lat
green
slope
suddenly
b ro k en by th e abru p t th ru st
o f th e m enacing Sgurr of Eigg,
a strange mass of polished
b a sa lt on a hill at th e island’s
so u th e rn tip. A nd always loom­
ing behind are the shadowy
b lu e m ountains of Rhum.
T h e island itself is a paradise
fo r wild flowers and birds.
Flocks of guillem ots and Manx
shearw aters skim across the
sandy bays while a pair of
eagles n est in the northern
cliffs. T h ere are 50 acres of
lu sh woodlands, predom inantly
larch and pine, while th e
p ro p rie to rs’ lodge stands in an
exotic tropicai garden with
m agnolias and a drive flanked
by dragon’s-blood palm-trees.
A nd apart from its breath­
taking beauty, Eigg is also the
capital of the Parish of the
Sm all Isles, the small group of
islands th a t nestle together
opposite the white sands of
jM orar between th e g reater land
^masses of Mull and Skye. The
o th e r th ree islands in th e
group are wholly-owned king­
doms, too— Canna by John
ij/o m e Campbell, the Gaelic
scholar, Muck by Cmdr. William
MacEwan, and Rhum by the
N a tu re Conservancy. However,
th e
m inister,
doctor
and
re g is tra r live on Eigg.
B ut even the glowing pro­
spectus missed out one com­
m odity for sale th a t is peculiar
to islands owned by absentee
landlords— immortality.
** If you go up to the top of
th e Sgurr, you’ll find copper
faails there. It was all the old
boats th a t were dragged up
th e r e fo r a bonfire to celebrate
th e victory of th e Japs over the
Russians at P o rt A rth u r in
1904.
“ And it was Thomson that
o rd ered the islanders to puJl
th e boats up.” Not " Mr Thom­
son.” No Christian name. Ju st
** Thom son.”
This is the stuff of im m orta­
lity. This is th e stuff th a t is
u p for sale for £100,000 now
th a t the present proprietors,
Viscount Runciman, the ship­
owner, and his brother Sir
Steven, the em inent scholar and
historian of the Crusades, have
decided to dispose of their
holiday home.
F or the proprietors who have
h a d the island since Ranald
George Macdonald of Clanran ald sold it in 1828 have had
th e ir eccentricities enshrined
Jn folk-tales th a t are told not
only by the crofters and estate
w orkers on Eigg itself, but by
boatm en and fisherm en up and
down the Sound of Sleat.
The island story-teller, 72year-old Hugh MacKinnon, who
■works a croft at Cieadale,
can tell of the coming of
th e
mysterious " Thomson
“ T h e first day he arrived in
Eigg was Ju n e 22, 1897, the
Very day of Queen V ictoria’s
jubilee. T here were two great
bonfires, one on top of the
S gurr, and one below Galmisdale House — one for Her
M ajesty's diamond jubilee, and
one for the arrival of the pro­
p rie to r on th e island.”
Thom son’s E astern connec*
tions fascinated the islanders,
as did the fact th a t he
apparently changed his name:
according to MacKinnon, he
Ihad been christened Robert
Lawrence Thomson MacEwan,
b u t had dropped the last name
a t some point in his life. Today
th e folk-tales say that he had
been involved in gun-running
in China or Japan, and th a t he
had had to change his name and
live on an island to escape
assassins sen t from th e East.
“ T here was a room where the
hall is now, known as the curio
room,” MacKinnon says. “ Some
q u eer curios and effigies were
to be seen th ere, as were two
wooden cases made by th e estate
joiner. And within these cases
w ere to be seen two beautiful
swords of Toledo steel, one
w ith a gold h ilt and the other
with a silver basket hilt.
“ One was for the Commanderin-Chief of the Japanese Land
Forces, and th e o ther was for
th e A dm iral Commanding the
Japanese Fleet. I ’m afraid I
don't know why these gifts had
never been dispatched.”
Thomson is buried on a high
mound on Castle Island, the
tiny islet th a t sh elters the Clanranald Pier, th e island’s slip­
way, from the storm s th a t blow
down the sound.
F rom this
eminence, according to the tales,
he can still see the th ree estates
he owned—Eigg, Muck and
S trath aird in Skye. According
to Big Archie Macdonald, who
was the Eigg estate boatm an
for 40 years, it took a week to
m ake the grave— and through­
out th a t week Thomson watched
th e work with ra p t attention
from a window in th e big house.
Because of his eccentricities
—he apparently never dined
w ithout an extra place being
set for an absent guest—Thom­
son is a favoured subject for
the Eigg story tellers.
But
th e island’s historical memory
goes back much fu rth e r than
Thomson of th e copper nails.
And by a little irony it was
th e son of the male nurse who
attended Thomson in th e year
before he died, in 1913, who
has now recorded m uch of that
history; for Donald Archie
MacDonald, of the School of
Scottish Studies at E dinburgh
University, retu rn ed to the
island in January, 1964, to
docum ent its annals from the
m em ory of Hugh MacKinnon.
And the School now has 12
tapes of these reminiscences.
MacKinnon, for instance, can
tell of the island's own patron
saint, Donnan, a contem porary
of S aint Columba’s, who was
massacred with his 52 monks
by Amazons sent from the
m ainland by the pagan Queen
of Eigg.
And th ere was another, more
recent, massacre, that of 1577,
when the Macleods of Skye
landed and suffocated nearly
400 Eigg men, women and
and children who had taken
refuge in a cave in the cliffs
of Galmisdale by firin g heaps
of brushwood at its entrance.
Eigg was ravaged again in
1746 when the Hanoverians
took Dr John MacDonald, Kinlochm oidart’s brother, in hiding
there. All those suspected of
having supported the Prince
w ere
m ade
prisoner
after
having been tricked into laying
down th e ir arms; th e young
men
w ere
tran spo rted
to
Jam aica, and th e shellfish beds
of Laig were ploughed up.
, SLAND m em ories are full
of the insecurities of these
days, of th e curse of evic-
I
I
tion th a t drove so many
of the crofters to America
— or to th e ir deaths.
Hugh MacKinnon rem em bers
th a t th e first Macdonald tacks­
man in Laig, the farm at the
west of the island, was Black
P oet (one of th e few Gaelic
bards to be m entioned in the
D.N.B.), who came th ere about
1775, and th a t he had a son
and a daughter, Angus and
Mary, who w ere destined to
m eet a te rrib le fate as the
resu lt of an eviction.
Angus m arried th e daughter
of th e m inister of Eigg, while
Mary m arried a Macdonald
from Knoydart. This Macdonald
from K noydart was not too well
off, and Angus th o ug h t it would
be a good idea to evict the
ten an ts of Cleadale to make
room for his brother-in-law.
He did this, and also built
Old Cleadale House for him
(the old house was still used
until 1910, p a rt of th e tim e as
a church). Most of the evicted
ten an ts from Cleadale w ent to
America. T he women w ere te a r­
ing th e ir h a ir and calling down
curses on Angus of Laig.
His brother-in-law did come
to Cleadale, but when he heard
he was th e re as a result of the
evictions and w hat had hap­
pened to th e people, he d id n ’t
stay b u t re tu rn e d to Knoydart.
T here he was taken ill. One
night when he was in pain his
wife w ent up to give him
medicine, but in th e dark she
gave him some dyestuff by mis­
take, and he died very shortly
afterw ards. It was said in Eigg
th a t this was p a rt of the result
of the curses called down by
th e evicted women.
His widow, Mary, th e sister
of Angus of Laig, came back to
live at Laig, and they lived in
the house w ith A ngus’s four
sons and d au g h ter (his wife
had died in th e m eantim e).
One night the young people
w ere all away at a gathering,
and d id n ’t get home till the
early hours of th e m orning
when they found no one there.
A search p arty was organised,
thought it was the devil,
wrestled with it, and eventu­
ally wrestled it over a cliff
He mentioned this when he
reached Laig. and in the mor­
ning there was no sign of the
bull; they found it at the foot
of the cliff.
Alan had only two of a family
—Angus and Mary. When he
died, Angus inherited the estate
under a burden of debt, as his
father had been rather profli­
gate. Young Angus found things
in such a baa way that he
decided to emigrate to America
when he was about 24, taking
with him his mother, sister and
cousin. They went out in 1853,
and took lands in Wisconsin.
Angus later distinguished him*
self in the American Civil War.
■sj N 1853 the Macdonalds
II gave up the tack of Laig.
1 But Clanranald had originill ally sold Eigg to a Dr
Macpherson, who had been
in the Indian Medical Service,
in 1828. Dr Macpherson was
succeeded by his son, Norman,
who was Professor of Scots Law
at Edinburgh University, and it
was this son who sold the island
to Thomson in 1896.
Until the Macdonalds left
Laig, the two townships of
U pper and Lower Grulin had
been included in the tack of
Laig and there were 14 families
there. But then Dr Macpherson
brought in a new tenant who
said he would gladly pay a
higher rent for the tack if the
people were cleared out of
Grulin, which he wanted to turn
into a sheep farm.
Macpherson was ready enough
to do this, and so the tenants
of Grulin were evicted in 1853
and had to go to America; only
two of the 14 families didn’t
emigrate. One of them was
Hugh MacKinnon’s own grand­
father, and he was saved by
••
♦ s
X*
r -
»
•is
*t
«• • V • !V
’I ,
*
s
HUCH MACKINNON
>
and they found Angus of Laig
lying shot dead, w ith his
m usket beside him , having
committed suicide at a place
called th e Fairy Mounds, within
200 yards of Laig House. They
searched on and found his
siste r in a cleft of rock at a
place called the Fox’s Rock.
She was in h e r n igh t attire,
and had gone completely out
of h er mind. This was also
reckoned to be p art of the
curse which had been called
down by the evicted women.
A ngus’s four sons were of
extraordinary strength.
Alan
succeeded him and took th e
tack after his death, while
Donald and N orm an went to
A ustralia, and Ronald w ent to
India with a shipping company.
Alan was an enormously
strong man and also very wild.
One night he was coming home
d ru n k from Kildonan or Gal­
misdale, and when coming over
th e hill, stum bled among his
own cattle, without realising it.
Som ething attacked him.
He
his father-in-law in Cleadaie
who had another vacant ™
beside his own, which he gave
to his son-in-law rattier than
see him emigrate. This is the
croft Hugh lives in today.
It seems that the land from
which the tenants were ewcted
was so good at the time that
in the first year that it was
given over to sheep eveo ew®
had twins.
The threat of insecurity
stayed
into the J ^ w tie tn
century.
One of Thomsons
successors, the Angl°*Danish
shipowner, Sir Willljan\ J ! S ; n
sen who bought the ls,1*JuL is
19lV, was renowned for ms
compulsive “ hire em and
’e m ” attitude.
, fa,Kinnon
According
to MacKinnon,
th ere was hardly a d « *
security on the esJ*^e ' Ar_in«
would go out in the morning,
and bv the evening you mign,
have got the sack. p ® ^ DeS.
Petersen, what a very tempes­
tuous temper.”
.
P e te rse n ’s funeral has P™-
MACDoNAl_t>5
m m
o -| I
i —
V ( U ^ )
A
k
of
uA>f r
| ^ \o i r y
v
I
^ Ml (L tiitjr)
Jf
w «j
H u e A 4 k '* H
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A H a v ( L~ \ j )
"DommA ^
o < vm» m
£ Au-itvcv K t t . )
A < A ttr«b (C a. )
VI 1
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cy( .
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m4
)
J
(^ f a v n X ' f t Cos. *)
*^
M A C D O N A l d S
O F= K ( V O c i < o w t .
f*
ft
James MacDonald o f
Knockow
ft ♦ A
C apt
11 a *
M a r g a r e t , dau o f M ajo r MacLeod o f
Balraeanoch
* e h i-B
J ame s
R oderick
J essie
Anae^, rog John MacKlnztA
Cl f t H
M a r g a r e t m#
Donald
MacDonald
Anne
Mary
Alex­
11 air.
Jli
i O ~7 J
F lora I
m.
Donald C a t t a n a c h I s a b e l
( b . L a g g a n , 1800?
ander
J a m 0 s
Duncan MacDonald
!
4
%
Ma rg
John B t
a r e t Anne
ikarion
Mary F l o r a
Duncan
Rod.
A lex ­
ander
* o u r b r a n c h i n Canada k e p t
them u n t i l t h e I 9 6 0 * .
>i
In t o u c h w i t h
•
i
Gharle 3
Jessie
F lora
ffi.
A r t h u r Ross
Anna Jane
in*
Edmund P e r r y
Mary Minna
m.
L eon ard
Panton
•* i
M a r g a r e t Anne
m.
Malcoti) MacLean
•*
Is- bel
vnm
•
— t*
Gordon
unra.
E t h e l Kate
un
Con t a n c e
LeRoy
Grant
C lu ny
C o n s t a n t m. Dr. R o b e r t G. D i c k s o n
W illiam
Shelagh
Jane
B eatrice
KCfì C o r b e t t
Vaughan
Constance
athe rin e
J amie
U-
THE CRAWFORDS OF
Gaelic In Quebec
NUNTON & CREAGORRY
Times!
7 High Calside, Paisley,
Renfrewshire.
Sir.— Could any af your readers
throw further light on the descendants
of the Crawfords of Nunton and Creagorry? In 1770, James and WilMam
Crawford were given a tack at Dun*
gannachy, Benbecula. No one seems
i sure where they came from, although it
Is believed tha>t they had been at the
construction of the Crin-an Canal, and
were possibly in Mull before they were
brought to Benbecula by the Clan­
ranald family as stone-masons. They
j built the sccond storey and attics of
Nunton House, and were responsible lor
the crection of part of the steadings
at the Square near Nunton House. Tt is
believed that they were mainly respon­
sible for the building of the main.roads
and bridges in Benbecula, and were at
the building of the first Protestant
Church at Buaile Mhor.
WiWiam Crawiford married Mary I
Macdonald, a natural daughter o-f Cap­
tain Hugh Macdonald of Armadale,
Skye, c. 1771. Mary’s mother was known
to an older generation as Mà-iri Mhòr, )
who was the wife of a Mr Macpherson,
tenant of Crea-gorry, before the Craw­
fords had it. According to the late Rev.
Angus Macdonald of Kileapnan, who
was a native of Benbecula, Hugh Mac­
donald and Flora's mother were living;
In Balivanich before the ’45, when this
scandal happened and the Benbecula
people became so indignant that Hugh
had to leave the island with his wife
and go to Armadale in Skye. It is said
that members of the Clanranald were
also responsible for some of Màiri
Mhòr’s offspring, but i-n any case Hugh
Macdonald was credited of being the
father o£ Mary Macdonald, who became
the husband of William Crawford. She
had by him, a»t least two sons — James
(Seumas Mhòr), born in 1772, who later
went to live at Sandiva'ig, Loch Carnatv where he had a family of five
daughters. His third daughter, Anne,
“m arried Donald MacLellan, a carpen­
ter, whose third or fourth child, Eliza,
was my paternal grandmother. James'
brother, Captain Hugh, born in 1776,
was named after his maternal grand­
father, Captain Hugh Macdonald
(Uisdean Cam mac Shomhairlc mhic
Sheumais mhòi.r). Young Hugh, while
©
Jiving at Nunton, got the name of being
the last person to raise the devil by a
-word of free masonry c. 1820.
: Hugh is said to hav<‘ been on the Isle
i of Ornish, at the mouth of Loch Skfp'port, and he had a sailing ship and
•traded all over the West Highlands.
Afterwards he settled down, at Creagorry where he kept an inn and a shop
or store, called “High Traisg". He was
old when married and bis wife was
very young. They had two daughters —
Mary and Catherine, and a son Hugh,
who was born posthumously. After his
death his ghost would appear every
night to the inn and his wi>fe was so
terrified that she would walk back­
wards in order not to fix her gaze on
him. Eventually she cal'led in Father
| James MacGregar, although she was
•not a Roman Catholic, in order that he
!might exercise the spirit. It is said that
from then onward she had no further
visitations from the wraith of Hugh
Crawford.
I wonder if any of your readers know
,lf Mary. Catherine, and Hugh left any
descendants or of any other descend­
ants of James, his brother, apart from
Anne’s descendants. There was a
Thomas Crawford living in Nunton
House around 1851. Perhaps some light
could be thrown on him and if he left
any offspring?
I am, etc..
SOMERLED MACMILLAN.
I
I t o t h e e d i t o r o f The Oban
CP
©
0
f/U
M A T H ?8 0 N .-P e a c e fu lly
his
home. 15 Valtos, Uig, on 2nd
February, 1964, P « er Matheson
M.B., C . l . B , , aged73 years, beloved
hoaband of Jean Mackay, vary dear
(•Him of Jaan and brother of Paggv-
M
Sir. — I thought you end your
readers would be interested In the
follow ing article which touches tha
remnant of the G aelic speaking ele ♦
ment here In Compton County In the
Province of Quebec.
A prayer service was held in the
■home
of
Mrs
Annie Macdonald,
formerly of 10 Lower Shader, and
was conducted by the Rev. Donald
J. G illies, a native of St. Kiida, now
retired in South Burnaly. B ritish Col­
umbia. Among those attending were
John
N. Mackenzie, whose father
Murdo 0. Mackenzie was born in
Gress-Back area where his father had
a grist m ill. Peter, Eva and Margaret
Matheson were of the Mackenzies in
the Back-Gress district. Mary Murray
Nicolson is a descendant of the Toista
Murrays, and Ruth Macdonald N icolson's people came from lo c h Roag.
My ancestors can be traced to Ness,
Back and the Uig parish. Others in
attendance trace their ancestry back
to the Isle of Lewis but they are
uncertain of the district.
The service, entirely in the Gaelic
consisted of precenting two verses
of the 23rd Psaim, the reading of tha
14th chapter of John's gospel on
which his sermon was based, a prayer
and the benediction.
Since 1969. we have carried on this
annual gathering where a service is
conducted in the Gaelic much as It
has bean done in this atsa since the
first Lewie people arrived here in
1838. Unfortunately, there w ill be no
memorial service this year at the
cemetery In Stornoway. Township of
Winslow, Quebec. A Communion ser­
vice has been conducted by Rev.
Oonald G illies in St. Paul's P re styterian Church, in Scotstown, Quebec.
Yours etc..
DUNCAN L. MACLEOD.
Quebec.
SG-Il+.| l O
|
1 «
I
I
5c
* b l * i
CD
^ a n d D w » Sadtv missed. 3 T T
/ ft/
/ £T3t
*H
M U R R A Y .—Tragically as the result ot
an accident on September 24, Nor­
man, aged 20 years, darling younger
son of Joan and the late Angus Mur­
ray, and beloved brother of Kenneth
an dD en a.
'fam,
S frl
Sorely missed.
I
*
.-J4 Eoinqje. Ness)
M A T H E S O N .- T h e sister* aim
brother of the late Donald Matheson
wish to express their sincere thanks to
neighbours, relatives and friends for all
the help and support so willingly exten d e^ o ^ ip Q ^ in their recent sad
(D
M A T H E S O N .- P a s s e d
away
peacefully at $ Upper Shader, on Qc*
tober 3, Mary Ann Saunders', aged 82
years, widow of the late Jet
Matheson, dearly loved mother and
grandmother.
s s - i■ “ • ^
*U «w .
«
ml
fboie?
Peaceful*” *
? * J ? u n ty H o sp ital. O b an , on
February 10. 1987,
J
*
f
MURRAY. — Passed away peacefully,
at 5 HeatherhfU. Barvas, on Tuesday,
31st March, 1981, Christina Morrison,
aged 64 years, last surviving mem­
ber of the femily of Roderick and
Henrietta Morrison, 4 Aird Dell.
Ness, beloved wife of William Mur­
ray (late of 15 South Dell and
Barvas Glebe), a much loved and
loving mother and grandmother.
S«rf'iy missed.
MATHt&uN. — Passed away peace­
fully. at the Lewis Hospital, on 20th
December.
1981.
Alexander
A.
Matheson, aged 74 years, dearly
beloved husband of Jane, a loving
and sorely missed father and grand*
father. — 3 Upper Shader.
(Canadian , oaoare. olease copy.)
M A T H E S O N . -S u d d e n ly on 4th
December. 1962. Dona'd eWer sonof
the late Mr and Mrs Donald Matheson,
7 Brue, aged 64 years.
^
r««dlv missed. >5* »«5
MUR'R a V“ - Suddenly on August 12,
Angus Murray, 4 Eoropie Port of
Ness beloved husband of Shonag,
to
? Angus Malheson wish to ex- ‘
impress their sincere thanks fo r
I* the symnathy and many kindUnesses received from friends,
*
lves aj>d neighbours In
■'•their recent sad bereavement
■^Special thanks to fam ily doctor/;
" R e v . Macdonald, Rev.
Mac^ fa rla n e, missionaries and elders
^ o f both churches. M r Macrae.
?v?iLai*
se who came to pay
inelr lastho-respects,
4
-.«£■
•
K Afe 1 1 ’ -------— Passed away peacefully,
MURRAY.
at her home, 21 South Dell, Ness,
on the 7th July, 19BQ, Etfie Murray,
aged 90 years, beloved sister of
Mary Bell.
Sorely missed.
Peacefully, at Heights of
Kinnehalrd, Contin (the home of
her daughter and son-in-law), on
6th July. 1980, Henrietta Matheson,
dearly beloved wife of the late
John Rosa, Culbule, Lairg. A very j i
dear mother.} grandmother and great-M
grandmother
(the
last surviving *
member of the family, of the late f
Mr and Mra Murdo Matheson, 5
Upper Shader, Stornoway).
(Canadian Papers. Please Copy).
M atheson. for-
A ven u e,
g h F u n e r a * p r iv a t e at
h e r o w n r e q u e s t.
p
S E k i?
We were also saddened to hear
that Donald John Matheson,
formerly of 9 Upper Shader
(DomhnuiH Iain Iain Chaluim)
and locally known as D. J. has
passed away at the age of 59 years.
•His sudden passing in apparently
good health shocked the
community.
His friends will miss his cheer­
fulness and helpfulness devoted to
the service of others, as he was a
friend to young &nd old alike.
To his sister and husband, Alex
Macdonald, 26 Borve and the
family who cared for him so well
and friends everywhere, we tender
our deeoest sympathy.
.
MATHESON. — Passed
away
peacefully after a lingerin
w illness patiently borne, at
-L. Upper Shader on 19th August,
to Angus Matheson. aged 77 years,
—•beloved husband o f M ary, and
0 dear father o f Chirsty Ann,
«* Murdo. Annus and Calum and
beloved brother o f Effie Ross. 4b
''m u c h loved
^gran dfath er.
m a th e so n
— In loving memory
of our deer brother. Ouncan MatWaon late of Grevlr. who died in a
New Zealand hospital on 30th June,,
1967 : also ell loved brothers g o r*(
before and after.
.
Thoughts drift beck to bygone
days.
.
Lite moves on but memories stay.
— (Fondly remembered by his loving
brother and" sisters, at home and
S lK ? 2 ? ^ Ann
Q
^
O
'S )
We send sympathy to Mr.
Allan Matheson, HeatherhiU,
sisters Annie now alone in the
house at 7 Brue, Johanna
(Mrs. Gilchrist) also Brue, and
relations in their sore bereavement sustained by the death in
very tragic circumstances, of
their elder brother Donald.