|
Gaelic Literature of the Traditional poets and songmakers: MacLeòid: I - Z |
|
|
This page is
best viewed on a desktop or laptop PC MACLEOID,
Iain (1843 - 1901) Iain MacLeòid, Iain Dubh, was born in Apparently Iain Dubh, unlike his father and brother,
did not attempt to commit any of his poetry to writing. The Rev. Donald MacCallum
collected what he could of it, with the intention of having it published, but
apparently he never succeeded in doing this (MacLeod 1980:130). (1) Iain
MacLeòid. ‘Anna Nic Leòid’. An Gaidheal, 33
(1937-1938), 197 A love song to a girl who lived in
Rudh’ an Dùnain, Skye. The
words were sent by Calum Mac-a-Phi of . There are six eight-line stanzas,
beginning ‘Soraidh uam le
beannachd / Gu Anna Nic Leòid’, in an amhran metre. (2) ‘Aoir Dhomhnuill Ghrannda’ i An Deò-Gréine, 17 (1921-1922), 43-44 ii Gairm, 82 (An t-Earrach 1973), 115-117 The first version is entitled ‘Rann Chille-Chomghain’ and has
eleven eight-line stanzas beginning with ‘ ‘N uair bha Domhnull
‘ga phianadh’. The second version, which is from the Rev.
Iain MacAonghais’ article ‘Bàrdachd Iain Duibh Mac
Dhomhnaill nan Oran’ (Gairm,
82:113-121), shows several textual variations from the first. It has three eight-line stanzas,
beginning ‘Nuair bha
Domhnall Grannda air a phianadh’,
followed by sixty-seven lines arranged in stanzas of varying length. The subject of the song had
removed some branches from a tree growing over the grave of a long dead Norse
prince in the graveyard of Kilchoan. Upon hearing of this, Iain Dubh composed
his song in which the hapless Domhnall Grannd is visited by the prince’s
ghost. In the radio programme to which
I have alluded in my introductory notes above, James Ross said that Domhnall’s sister Catriona was very upset by the slight
upon her brother and Iain Dubh composed a love song, ‘Oran Catriona Ghrannda’ to her as a peace offering. Iain Dubh appears to have composed
‘Aoir Dhomhnuill Ghrannda’ upon the model of a poem by his father Domhnall
nan Oran (MacLeòid 1811:186-194),
in which the poet encounters the ghost of a long dead Norseman in the same
graveyard. The father’s poem is much
more solemn and didactic in tone than the son’s. (3) Iain
MacLeòid. ‘An
gamhainn a bha aig mo mhàthair’. Gairm, 82 (An t-Earrach 1973),
120-121. Amusing song about a calf with a
voracious appetite. From the Rev. Iain
MacAonghais’s article ‘Bàrdachd Iain Duibh Mac Dhomhnaill nan (4) ‘Gillean òga tapaidh’ i An
Deò-Gréine, 17 (1921-1922), 52 ii Gairm, 82 (An t-Earrach 1973), 114-115 iii Orain an
Eilein. Cairistiona
Mhàrtainn. An t-Eilean Sgiatheanach: Taigh na Teud, 2001, p.18 Probably the most popular of Iain Dubh’s songs, this is also known as ‘Gillean
Ghleanndail’.
The second version is from the Rev. Iain MacAonghais’ ‘Bàrdachd Iain Duibh Mac Dhomhnaill nan The first version has ten
eight-line stanzas and the second has eight.
The metre is amhran. The
third version is printed as five four-line stanzas and has the music in staff
notation. (5) Iain
MacLeòid (Iain Dubh). ‘Mo Mhàthair an Airnicreap’. Orain an
Eilein. Cairistiona
Mhàrtainn. An
t-Eilean Sgiatheanach: Taigh na Teud,
2001, p.19. A moving song of the sailor
leaving behind people and places he loves.
Six four-line stanzas with the music in staff notation. From the singing of George Clavey. While
perhaps lacking the technical polish of his brother’s Niall’s poetry, this
song conveys a depth of emotion which I cannot find in the latter’s work. (6) ‘ i An Deò-Gréine, 16 (1920-1921), 183 ii Gairm, 82 (An t-Earrach 1973), 118-119 The Cennaich
is a high, steep rock by the shore near Gob na h-Eiste,
well known to the fishermen of The first version is printed as
sixteen short four-line stanzas beginning ‘ ‘N uair a chuir mi fàilt air an Aigeach / ‘S cha
d’ aithnich e mi’.
The second version is from the Rev. Iain MacAonghais’ ‘Bàrdachd Iain Duibh Mac Dhomhnaill nan (7) ‘ i An Deò-Gréine, 17 (1921-1922), 6 ii Gairm, 82 (An t-Earrach 1973), 119-120 The Aigeich
is a dangerous rock near Gob n h-Eiste and four
miles from Iain Dubh’s old home at Poloskin. In this
song he sees it as a symbol of permanence and a reminder of his vanished
youth. There are six four-line stanzas,
beginning ‘O, fàilte dhuit,
Aigeich, tha riamh far an d’ fhàs thu’ in the first version. The metre is similar to that of Donnchadh Bàn’s ‘Cumha Coire a’ Cheathaich’. (8) ‘ i Mac-Talla
(8th January 1904), p. 112 ii Old
Skye Tales. William
MacKenzie. Composed in praise of Captain Nicol Martin, on whose estate Iain Dubh’s
family lived and who had shown them many kindnesses. It is a good example of a modern praise
poem, with enthusiastic praise of the subject expressed in an easy, pleasant
style. Interestingly, it includes one
of the most distinctive features of the older type of praise poem, a hunting
episode. The first version of the poem has
nine eight-line stanzas, beginning ‘Cha ‘n eil mo chainnt ach gann leam’ The second version has five
eight-line stanzas beginning ‘Tha moit am measg nam bàrd orm’. There are considerable textual variations
between the two versions. The metre is
amhran. Postscript: Eventually, all of Iain Dubh's
identifiable poems, many of them previously unpublished, were collected and
edited by Meg Bateman in this anthology of works by Iain Dubh, his father
Domhnall nan Meg Bateman
and Anne Loughran (eds).
Bàird Ghleann Dail: the This work brought together the
work of Domhnall nan ____________ MACLEOID,
Iain (19th/20th
Century) This poet belonged to Tormore,
Sleat, Skye. Iain
MacLeòid. ‘ Praise of the soldiers from Skye
who went to fight in the First World War.
A pleasant, lilting song which, while mentioning death and
bereavement, does not dwell much upon them. There are eight four-line stanzas
and a refrain, beginning ‘Seinnibh cliù nam fear ùr’. Composed upon
the tune ‘Cruachan Beann’. ____________ MACLEOID,
Mrs. Madsair
(obit. 1834) Annie, a daughter of Flora MacDonald and her husband
Allan MacDonald of Kingsburgh, married Major
Alexander MacLeod of Lochbay, Skye and of Mrs. Madsair MacLeòid. ‘ Sir John MacPherson,
1744-1821, was the son of the Rev. Dr. John MacPherson
of Sleat. A
noted benefactor of his native parish, he was Governor-General of India from
1785 to 1786 (Nicolson 1930:336-337; Grant 1959:520). This praise poem appears to have
been composed during Sir John’s absence from Skye and at a time when life was
proving difficult for Mrs. MacLeod.
There are twelve stanzas in a strophic metre, beginning ‘Chunnig mis ann
am chodail’. ____________ MACLEOID, Murchadh (19th
Century) Murchadh MacLeòid, ‘An Saighdear Sgiathanach’, may have been a brother of
another Skye poet, Major
Neil MacLeod of Waternish (q.v.). Magnus MacLean discusses two brothers of
Major MacLeod, Murdo and Roderick, who were also
poets (Highland Monthly,
5:99). There appears to be some
confusion concerning the identity of the composer of the song noted and discussed
below. The fourth version is entitled
‘ ‘ ‘S ann air Feasgar Di-Ciadain’ i An t-Oranaiche. Edited by Gilleasbuig
Mac-na-Ceardadh. ii The
Celtic Monthly, 16 (1907-1908), 160. iii Gaelic
Songs in iv Tocher, 22
(Summer 1976), 212-215. v From
the Farthest The first version is attributed to
‘Murchadh MacLeòid, an Saighdear Sgiathanach’; this attribution being repeated
in English with the second version. A
note to the third version states that Dr. Farquhar Macrae
of Ross-shire attributes the song to a John MacLeod of Scalpay,
Harris. The attribution of the fourth
version has been noted above, and a note to the fifth version repeats the An t-Oranaiche
attribution. The texts of the first and second
versions are similar. The text of the
third version, apart from an extra eleventh stanza contributed by Dr. Farquahar Macrae, has been
transcribed from the singing of Frank MacNeil of to that in An t-Oranaiche
that I have no doubt that it is their source.
The fourth version is a transcription of a recording of the Harris
singer Margaret MacKay in the The song’s theme,
that of young lovers kept apart by disapproving parents, and one of them
dying for love, is not an uncommon one in the poetry and song of many
countries. The treatment of the theme
in this particular song owes little, if anything, to the Gaelic tradition,
and it most resembles a type of English sentimental ballad popular in
Victorian and Edwardian
times. In versions one, two, three and
five there are ten four-line stanzas, Beginning with ‘Ni mi innse le fìrinn, an nì, an nì
rinn mo chràdh’. As already stated, the third version has an
eleventh stanza. The fourth version
has fourteen stanzas, beginning with ‘Moch maduinn
Di-Ciadain. ‘nuair
bha ‘ghrian a’s na neòil. ____________ MACLEOID,
Niall (1825 – 1898) Am Maidsear Niall
MacLeòid, Major Neil MacLeod, was born in Waternish,
Skye. Both his parents were noted for
their piety and the family was deeply influenced by the Disruption. Major MacLeod was a first cousin of the
poet Niall MacLeòid (see below), son of Domhnall MacLeòid (Domhnall nan Oran). Neil joined the Royal Artillery in 1850 and had a
distinguished military career, serving in the Crimea, the Indian Mutiny and
in He was very involved in the affairs of the Free
Church. After his death at Dalkeith in November 1898 he was buried in the churchyard
of Trumpan, Waternish. (Information from Lt. Col. John
MacInnes’ The Brave Sons of Skye (MacInnes 1899: 197-201; Gordon MacLeod’s ‘The MacLeods
of Trumpan Reconsidered’ (MacLeod 2011), In his ‘Skye Bards’, Magnus MacLean writes that
Major MacLeod had two brothers, Roderick and Murdo
(Highland Monthly 5:99). It is possible that Murdo
is the poet Murchadh MacLeòid, ‘An Saighdear Sgiathanach’.
In Major Neil MacLeod’s obituary in An Fhianuis (Ianuaraidh
1899:546) only one brother, Ruairidh (Roderick) is mentioned. (1) Maidsear
MacLeòid. ‘Air pilltean
o na blàraibh’.
An Gaidheal,
39 (1943-1944), 82. A variation on the ‘returning
exile’ theme. The soldier returns from
the wars to find that the scenes of his youth are changed and desolate. Similar in theme and in metre to Major
MacLeod’s more famous namesake’s ‘An gleann ‘s an robh mi òg’. It would be interesting to know which song
was composed first. I suspect that it
may have been the Major’s, which I find the more emotionally convincing of
the two. The final stanza appears to be
about Norman MacLeod, Tormod Saighdear, the
evangelical poet of Waternish who died in 1858. There are four eight-line stanzas,
and the tune is given in tonic sol-fa notation. This version was collected by Catriona Dhughlas and was the song’s first appearance in print. (2) Neil
MacLeod. ‘ No. 105 in Miss Tolmie’s collection.
It was sung by Patrick MacLeod, a young shepherd, at Rudh’ an Dùnain
in 1853. Miss Tolmie writes that the
song was composed by Major MacLeod in his youth. She erroneously gives the Major’s date of death
as 1879. There is only one stanza,
beginning ‘ ‘N uair bhios mo chàirdean nan cadal’. There is
an English translation and the tune is in staff notation. This song has been reproduced in Orain an Eilein (Mhàrtainn 2001:20). (3) Major
MacLeod. ‘ A long and rather tedious poem in
praise of the Sutherland Highlanders.
There are twenty-eight four-line stanzas, beginning with ‘Ag éirigh tha m’ aigne mar reulta na maidne’.
Metrically similar to Murdo MacKenzie’s popular song ‘bu chaomh leam bhi
mireadh’. ____________ MACLEOID,
Niall (1843-1913) Niall MacLeòid was born in popularity as a poet and in 1883 the
first edition of an anthology of his work, Clàrsach an Doire was published.
He lived to see the fourth edition of this work in 1909. No other Scottish Gaelic secular author saw
a fourth edition of his work during his lifetime. The popularity of Clàrsach an Doire endured: a sixth edition appearing in 1975. (Information from Professor
MacKinnon’s ‘Neil MacLeod’, Celtic Review,
9 (1913), 151-156) ) In trying to arrive at a critical assessment of the
work of Niall MacLeòid it is useful to consider two highly contrasting views
of it. The first, written shortly
after the poet’s death, is that of Professor Donald MacKinnon (CelticReview,
9: 151-156) and the second, that of Professor Derick Thomson, is more recent
(Thomson 1977:223-233). Professor MacKinnon knew Niall MacLeòid
personally and speaks of his “equable temper and gentle disposition” and he
also clearly shared Niall MacLeòid’s romantic and idealised view of the
Gaelic homeland. Professor Thomson takes a much more
critical view of Niall as a poet, expressing the view that some of his work
casts doubts on his artistic integrity. Sorley MacLean has examined the work of Niall
MacLeòid within the context of nineteenth century Gaelic political poetry in
his article ‘Poetry of the Clearances’ (TGSI,
38:293-324). Professor Donald Meek has
done the same in his article ‘Gaelic Poets of the Land Agitation’ (TGSI, 49:309-376). This article gives what is probably the
most penetrating and useful overall view of the poet’s work and his influence
on Gaelic literature. In style and metre Niall MacLeòid’s verse was
strongly influenced by popular English verse of the period. The majority of the eighty-eight poems in Clàrsach an Doire demonstrate this
influence and it may be of some interest to note here that MacLeòid published
an epic poem on William Wallace in English (MacLeod 1896). As far as theme is concerned, his work
could be divided into five categories: homeland, love, religious and
didactic, political, humorous; with the first two categories frequently
overlapping. It is reasonable to assume that Niall MacLeòid was
possessed of a good store of oral literature, having been born and brought up
in Skye when the oral tradition was still strong, and it is a matter of
regret that he committed so little of this material to print. For details of what he did commit to print,
see here the Niall MacLeòid
Collection. It is also a
matter of regret that Niall apparently took so little interest in his father
Domhnall nan (1) Editions
of Clàrsach an Doire: i Neil Macleod. Clàrsach an
Doire: Gaelic Poems and Songs. Niall
MacLeòid. Clàrsach an Doire: Dàin
agus Orain. Duneideann: MacLachlainn
agus an Stiubhartach; Inbhirnis:
A. agus U. MacCoinnich,
1883. viii,
180d. Reproduced by BiblioBazaar
( ii Neil
Macleod. Clàrsach an Doire: Gaelic Songs, Poems and Niall
MacLeòid. Clàrsach an Doire: Dàin,
Orain agus Sgialachdan. An dara
clò-bhualadh.
Le dealbh an ùghdair. Glaschu:
Gilleasbuig Mac-na-Ceardadh; Duneideann: Tormaid MacLeòid, 1893.
ix, 278d. iii Neil
Macleod. Clàrsach an Doire: Gaelic Poems, Songs and
Tales. Third edition,
revised and enlarged. With portrait of
the author. Niall
MacLeòid. Clàrsach an Doire: Dàin,
Orain, is Sgeulachdan. An treas
clò-bhualadh.
Le dealbh an ùghdair. Duneideann: Tormaid MacLeòid, 1902.
xii, 268d. iv Neil
Macleod. Clàrsach an Doire: Gaelic Poems, Songs and
Tales. Fourth edition,
revised and enlarged. With portrait of
the author. Niall
MacLeòid. Clàrsach an Doire: Dàin,
Orain, is Sgeulachdan. An ceathramh
clò-bhualadh.
Le dealbh an ùghdair. Duneideann: Tormaid MacLeòid, 1909.
xii, 267d v Neil
Macleod. Clàrsach an Doire: Gaelic Poems, Songs and
Tales. Fifth edition. With portrait of the author. Niall
MacLeòid. Clàrsach an Doire: Dàin,
Orain, is Sgeulachdan. An coigeamh
clò-bhualadh.
Le dealbh an ùghdair. Glascho: Alasdair
MacLabhruinn ‘s a Mhic, 1924. xiv, 274p. vi Niall
MacLeòid. Clàrsach an Doire: Dàin,
Orain, is Sgeulachdan. An treas clò-bhualadh. Le dealbh an ùghdair. Glaschu: Gairm, 1975. xiii, 274d. Niall MacLeòid was forty years old
when the first edition of Clàrsach an
Doire with its sixty poems was published.
For the second edition, thirteen more poems were added; for the third
nine; and for the fourth, the last edition published during Niall’s lifetime,
six. From this we can see that at a
comparatively early age the greater part of Niall MacLeòid’s published work
had already appeared. In the sixth edition there are no
pages 193-228; the gap being caused by the omission of the English rendering
of some of the poems which appear in the second and later editions. Otherwise the pagination of the verse and
prose sections is identical with that of the fifth edition. The prose tales are noted and
discussed in the sections for creative and traditional prose in
this bibliography. (2) Published
tunes of songs appearing in Clàrsach an
Doire: The following is not a comprehensive list of all
published sources of the tunes for songs in this book. It is on the whole confined to those songs
for which Niall MacLeòid has not named a specific tune, or songs for which
tunes different to those specified by Niall have been published. It should be noted that not all editions of
Clàrsach an Doire include the full
range of named tunes. i ‘A’ Bhean
agam fhìn’. Celtic Monthly, 20 (1912), 239. ii ‘Am faigh a’
Ghàidhlig bàs?’.
Songs of the iii ‘Am fear a chaill
a leannan’. Celtic Monthly, 25 (1917), 60. iv ‘An gaol a thug mi og’. Orain an
Eilein. Cairistiona
Mhàrtainn. An
t-Eilean Sgiatheanach: Taigh nan Teud, 2001, p. 22. v ‘An Gleann ‘s an robh
mi òg’. MacLaren’s vi ‘An téid thu leam, a rìghinn
òg’. MacLaren’s vii ‘Choille Chaoil’. MacLaren’s viii ‘Duanag an t-Seòladair’. An Gaidheal, 35 (1939-1940), 175. ix ‘Dùghall na Sròine’. Celtic Monthly, 21 (1913), 140. x ‘Fàilte do
‘n Bhliadhn-ùir’. An Deò-Gréine, 4 (1908-1909), 87. xi ‘Fàilte do ‘n
Eilean Sgitheanach’. An Deò-Gréine, 2 (1906-1907), 54. xii ‘Far an robh mi
‘n raoir’. MacLaren’s xiii ‘Màiri Bhaile-chrò’. An Deò-Gréine, 5 (1909-1910), 59. xiv ‘Mi-fhìn is Anna’. Celtic
Monthly, 20 (1912), 80. xv ‘Mo Dhòmhnullan
fhéin’. Songs of the xvi ‘Mo Leannan’. Orain an
Eilein. Cairistiona
Mhàrtainn. An
t-Eilean Sgiatheanach: Taigh nan Teud, 2001, p. 20. xvii ‘Na Croitearan
Sgiatheanach’. An Sgeulaiche, 1 (1909), 26-29. xviii ‘Na Gàidheil’. An Deò-Gréine, 1 (1905-1906), 183. xix ‘ xx 'Tigh a’ Mhisgeir’. May be sung to the same tune as
the poet’s brother Iain Dubh’s ‘Gillean
òga tapaidh’, Màiri Mhór nan (3) Neil
MacLeod. ‘Còmhradh
eadar Oganach agus Oisean’. Gailig (An Deò-Gréine),
18 (1922-1923), 58-59, 77-78. First publication of a poem
composed in March 1868 when the poet was twenty-five. A prefatory note remarks that it is ‘marked
by force and energy, some part of which may have been exchanged for ease and
polish in the bard’s later work’ – a fair comment. The formula is a well-used one, in which Oisean appears to the poet and converses with him. Here Oisean
laments the decline of Gaelic, the language of his youth and of There are twenty-three eight-line
stanzas, beginning with ‘Feasgar dhomh ‘s
mi air an t-sliabh’. The metre is amhran. (4) Niall
MacLeòid. ‘Am Bàt
Uaine’. Celtic Annual: Yearbook of the Dundee
Highland Society, (1914), 31. Light-hearted praise of a
boat. There is a reference to the
Americas Cup yacht race, when the poet speaks of the ‘ There are sixteen quatrains,
beginning ‘Tha mi ‘g ràdh,
‘s bidh mi ‘g
ràdh’, composed upon the tune of ‘Mali Dhonn ‘s i ruith
dhachaidh’. ____________ MACLEOID,
Pol. See POL CRUBACH ____________ MACLEOID, Tormaid. See MACLEOD, Norman (1745-1824) |
|
|
A-C D-Domhnall Domhnallach-Dz E–G H–L M–MacA MacB–MacC MacD MacE-MacK, MacLa-MacLeod MacLeòid A-H MacLeòid I-Z MacM-MacN MacO-MacZ M N O-Q R-Z Annie Arnott An Cabairneach Carmina Gadelica
Catriona
Dhùghlas Tormod Domhnallach Marjory Kennedy-Fraser Angus Lamont K. N. MacDonald Johan MacInnes Hugh MacKinnon Calum I. MacLean Sorley MacLean Kenneth MacLeod Niall MacLeòid Màiri
Nighean Alasdair Cairistiona
Mhàrtainn Alexander Morison Kenneth Morrison Angus Nicolson Portree
HS Magazine Lachlann
Robertson Frances Tolmie I Frances Tolmie II Somhairle
MacGill-Eain The New Poetry Books
etc: A-L Books etc: MacA-MacL Books etc: MacM-Z Periodicals, MSS, AV |
|
© Sabhal Mòr Ostaig 2018