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Gaelic Literature
of the Traditional Prose: collections and
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This page is best viewed on a
desktop or laptop PC DOMHNALLACH,
Tormod (1904-1978) Part 1: An Gaidheal 1946-1967 Tormod Domhnallach, Norman MacDonald, was born at Valtos, Staffin, on 15th August
1904. He was educated at (Lamb 1961: 396; Tocher 30:406). The Rev. Domhnallach (Norman MacDonald) recorded a
considerable volume of material for the material may be accessed on the Tobar an Dualchais site. As far as the Rev. Domhnallach’s own literary
efforts are concerned, there can be little doubt that prose was his preferred
form of expression. The volume of his
published prose works is considerable, and whether he is telling a
traditional story or relating biographical anecdotes, the influence upon him
of the traditional Gaelic storytelling style is always obvious. As far as the material noted and discussed below is
concerned it is to be noted that much of it contains a wealth of information
on place-name lore. See also the Rev. Domhnallach’s entries in the
section for non-traditional
creative prose and journalism
and miscellaneous prose. ____________ Tormod
Domhnallach. ‘Ulaidhean’. An Gaidheal, 42 (1946-1947), 83-84 Among these tales of buried
treasure, there is one about a Stenscholl man who
was told in a waking dream of treasure buried at Bealach Ollasgairte. Another tells of the Laird of Lonfearn dreaming of treasure on the top of Crannag an Lòn Fheàrna. This second tale also includes mention of Dùn Hasgaill on Rubha nam Bràithrean
which is featured as ‘Dùn an Rubha’
in the Rev. Domhnallach’s ‘Sealladh o Mhullach Dùn Deirg’ (see below). ____________ Tormod
Domhnallach. ‘Caoilte
agus am Fuamhair’. An Gaidheal, 45 (1950), 24, 26, 42, 44. A Fenian
tale, set in Skye. The youth Caoilte is herdsman to the giant, Dearg
Mac Draidheann of Dùn
Deirg in Valtos.
Caoilte’s secret ambition is to join the Fiann, but a crippled foot makes this impossible. One day he helps a wounded goose who is
really the son of the King of Meangan. The king’s son cures Caoilte’s
foot, gives him a magic whistle, Fideag Bhuidhe na h-Eiginn, whose help
in battle against the giant Tosg is the means of Caoilte eventually joining the Fiann. ____________ Tormod
Domhnallach. ‘Sgeirean,
Bodhannan, agus Eileanan na Mara’.
An Gaidheal
Og, 7 (1955), 19-20. Discusses the place of skerries, tidal rocks and islands in Gaelic lore and
mythology. Includes a story heard in
the writer’s native Skye where a girl is murdered by her jealous stepmother
who lulls her to sleep on a tidal rock, then fastens the girl’s hair to the
seaweed growing there before leaving her to drown. This is very similar to the story told by
Kenneth MacLeod in his introduction to the song ‘Sea-Tangle’ (Kennedy-Fraser and MacLeod 1917:
55) which is a reworking of ‘A’ Bhean Eudach’. There is also a tale about the
‘wise fool’, Goiridh an Lòn-fheàrna,
who features in the Rev. Domhnallach’s ‘Ròlaistean’
(see below). ____________ Tormod
Domhnallach. ‘Sealladh
o Mhullach Dùn
Deirg’. An Gaidheal, 52 (1957), 45-47 Dùn Deirg is
said to have once been the abode of Dearg Mac Droigheann, one of
the Fiann.
This tale relates the rivalry between Dearg
and another hero of the Fiann, who dwelt in Dùn an Rubha on Rubha nam Bràithrean
by ____________ Tormod
Domhnallach. ‘Iain Dubh a’ Gharaidh-fhada’. An Gaidheal,
52 (1957), 120-121. Tale of a Trotternish
man comdemned to hang, who escapes with the help of
the Devil. In return he must promise
to go off with the Devil after a year and a day, but in the end he escapes by
tricking him into taking his shadow instead. ____________ Tormod
Domhnallach. ‘Murchadh a’ Churraic
Uaine’. An Gaidheal Og, 9 (1957), 1-2. A tale which the Rev. Domhnallach
heard when very young in Murchadh comes
upon a cottage with three old women in it.
He is treated hospitably and eventually falls asleep. He wakes up to see his hostesses don green
bonnets, utter the words ‘Is e Lunnainn mo cheann-uidhe an nochd’ ( J. N. M (John M. MacLeod?) has
written a version of this tale entitled ‘Lunnain a Ris’, which does not have the ‘dream’ tailpiece (Guth na Bliadhna,
4:249-252). For a discussion of the
‘cap for travelling’ motif, see Vol. 1 of More
West Highland Tales (MacKay
1940:205). ____________ Tormod
Domhnallach. ‘An Saor
agus a’ Mhaighdean-mhara’. An Gaidheal Og, 9 (1957), 23. Tale of a carpenter of Sanndaig in Glenelg and his
encounter with a mermaid. He has left
a newly-completed boat on the shore, but a plank is removed from it each
night by a mermaid. He lies in wait
with a copy of the Bible and seizes the mermaid as
she is about to remove the plank. In
return for her freedom she grants his wish that no one will be drowned in any
boat into which he or his descendants have driven a nail, provided that the
work begins and ends with a blessing. Another instance of the Bible
being used as a protection against otherworld creatures is related in Vol. 2
of Popular Tales of the West Highlands (Campbell 2, 1890: 62). ____________ Tormod
Domhnallach. ‘Eòin
Shealbhach agus Mhi-shealbhach ann an Saobh-chrabhadh nan Gaidheal’. An Gaidheal, 56 (1961), 48-51. A discussion of a variety of birds
of good and bad omen in traditional Gaelic belief. There are few specific geographical
references. A notable feature is the
emphasis placed upon the notion that birds know the Gaelic language, a notion
also expressed in J. G. MacKay’s ‘An Uair a bha Gàidhlig aig na h-Eòin’ (An Deò-Gréine, 15:11).
In Vol. 4 of Carmina Gadelica (Watson
1941:20-31) there are several items purporting to represent the largely
Gaelic speech of birds. See also
Kenneth MacLeod’s ‘Là is Bliadhna
leis na h-Eòin’ (MacLeod 1988: 39-49). ____________ Tormod
Domhnallach. ‘Bu Tearc
a Chaisgeadh Duaidh Gun Chasgradh’. An Gaidheal,
56 (1961), 91-92. Relates how the cattle raids which
the Lochaber men made into the south of Skye were finally stopped. Preceded by a discussion of linn nan Creach
(The Age of Cattle Raids). ____________ Tormod
Domhnallach. ‘Ulaidh
a’ Chùirn Mhóir’. An Gaidheal, 57 (1962), 6-7. Tale of how a poor widow found and
lost, in the space of a single night, a crock of gold at An Càrn Mór, a place between Valtos
and Port Earlish in Trotternish. Otta Swire has
related two more Skye stories with the ‘crock of gold’ motif (Swire 1967:60, 205). ____________ Tormod
Domhnallach. ‘An Tarbh-uisge’. An Gaidheal, 57 (1962), 20-21. Tales of three sightings in Skye
of the water bull, which species of monster is said to have been very common
on the island. Rev. Domhnallach also
tells of his own sighting of the Loch Ness Monster. Otta Swire has
recounted in English a tale of a Skye water bull (Swire 1967:46-48). J. F. Campbell also discusses this species
of monster (Campbell 1, 1890:
xci; Campbell
4, 1893:300-307). ____________ Tormod
Domhnallach. ‘Bodaich
Ghleusda nan Laithean a
dh’ Aom’. An Gaidheal,
57 (1962), 38-41, 50-52, 74. Tales of quick wit and
ingenuity. Material of specific Skye
interest includes an account of how the writer’s uncle outwitted pursuing
bailiffs during the land troubles in Skye (pp. 38-39); a brief account of
Alasdair MacLeòid, An Dotair Bàn,
of the family of Rigg (p. 39); Bonnie Prince
Charlie in Skye (pp. 51-52); and how the illicit distillers of Pabbay outwitted the gaugers
(p.74). For other tales similar to
this last mentioned one see: An
Cabairneach (An t-Og
Mhios 1945:16-17) and Hugh MacKinnon’s ‘Niall
Mac Lachlainn agus
an Geidseir’. ____________ Tormod
Domhnallach. ‘Taog
Mór MacCuinn’.
An Gaidheal,
57 (1962), 98-101. Taog Mór, of
the family of MacCuinn of Rigg,
lived near Portree at about the beginning of the 18th
Century and was famed for his wisdom and judgement in the settling of legal
disputes. The Rev. Domhnallach relates
two stories of how Taog was able to settle disputes
when all others had failed. The same
two stories are recounted in English in Alexander MacKenzie’s
History of the MacLeods
(MacKenzie 1889 :121-122),
where Taog Mór is referred to as ‘Aodh or Hugh Macqueen’.
In another Gaelic version of the stories, Alasdair MacNeacail’s ‘Comhairleach Sgiathanach’ the chief
involved in the first story is MacDonald, Domhnall a’ Chogaidh,
whereas in the MacKenzie and Domhnallach versions he is MacLeod of Dunvegan. The Rev. Domhnallach relates a
third story of Taog Mór, involving an unusual test
of nobility. He also gives accounts of
other well known MacCuinns of Rigg,
including several clergymen. He
mistakenly attributes a lament for the Rev. Domhnall MacCuinn
of Kilmuir to Iain Lom. The lament in question is composed upon the
air of Iain Lom’s ‘ for anonymous poetry and song. ____________ Tormod
Domhnallach. ‘’Na Seann
Mhinistearan Gaidhealach agus
na Bodaich’.
An Gaidheal,
58 (1963), 28-29, 38-40. In this collection of anecdotes
there are only two with a specific Skye connection; the first about Maighstir Iain, the first minister in Stenscholl
(p. 29) and the second about a Staffin schoolmaster
(p. 38). ____________ Tormod
Domhnallach. ‘A’ Mhuir
ann an Saobh-chrabhadh
nan Gaidheil’.
An Gaidheal,
58 (1963), 99-101, 112, 127, 140-141; 59 (1964), 2-3. Wide ranging lore and anecdote
concerning the place of the sea in Gaelic belief and custom. Only the first part (58:99-101) contains
specific references to Skye. There is
a short account of Aonghas na Gaoithe, said to be the progenitor of the
Martins of Bealach. There is a brief
notice of another famous seafaring son of Trotternish,
Domhnall Dubh MacRuairidh, who used a deep cleft in
Rudha nam Bràithrean as a safe deposit for his treasure. Finally, there is a tale told to the writer
by an old fisherman of Valtos about his encounter
with a supernatural being of the sea. ____________ Tormod
Domhnallach. ‘Luchd
Reubainn Math is Dona’. An Gaidheal, 59 (1964), 14-16, 26-28. Among these tales of Robin Hoods
and such like is one about ‘Amadan MhicLeòid’ (MacLeod’s Fool), in which the Fool manages to
bring a large sum of money for the chief safely from no one else had been able to do
so. I. F. Grant quotes another version
of this tale, and identifies the MacLeod chief in question as Iain Breac (Grant
1959:378). There is another Gaelic
version of the tale in An Cabairneach (An t-Og Mhios 1944: 9-10). ____________ Tormod
Domhnallach. ‘Ròlaistean’.
An Gaidheal,
60 (1965), 17, 20, 35-36, 50, 64, 78. About tall tales and their
tellers. On pp. 17, 20 there are
anecdotes of two noted tellers of tall tales in the writer’s native parish: Goiridh an Lòn Fheàrna and Pàdruig a’ Chùirn. Goiridh is also
featured in the writer’s ‘Sgeirean, Bodhannan agus Eileanan na Mara’ (see above). For another Skye tall tale, see Norman
MacDonald of Strath’s ‘An Trosg
a dh’ ith an amhag’. ____________ Tormod
Domhnallach. ‘Tha Sealladh aig a’ Mharbh air a’ Bheò’. An Gaidheal, 61 (1966), 21, 26-27. The first tale is from Skye and is
based upon the belief that the dead are upset by excessive mourning for
them. a mother’s grief is assuaged by
the spirit of her dead two-year old son.
The second tale tells of a dead man’s ghost returning to tell his
wife where she may find hidden money. ____________ Tormod
Domhnallach. ‘Taibhsean agus Samhlaidhean na Latha Ghil’. An Gaidheal, 62
(Jan. – Mar.1967), 2-3. Two stories of ghostly
apparitions in broad daylight, each involving people from the Staffin district.
In the first, a young man walking home over Bealach Ollasgairt is joined by a ghostly companion and in the
second, two women walking to Portree encounter a ghostly carriage near Creag nam Meann. ____________ Articles in: Gairm 1956-1980; Tocher 1978 |
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© Sabhal Mòr Ostaig 2018