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Gaelic Literature
of the Traditional Prose: collections and
collectors |
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This page is best viewed on a
desktop or laptop PC MACCUITHEIN,
Domhnall (19th Century) A cotter, of Fernilea in Skye ____________ Domhnall
MacCuithein. ‘Fionnladh Choinneachdain,
Mac na Bantraich’. TGSI, 5 (1875-1876), 19-37. Tale noted by Alexander Carmichael
from Domhnall’s recitation. It begins
with the hero’s sister plotting against him with a family of giants, and then
develops into a tale upon the theme of the jealous stepmother. Triadic motifs constantly occur: Fionnladh
has three dogs, he kills three giants, he marries three times, his three sons are turned into dogs by their jealous
stepmother. The opening parts of this tale are
very similar to Kenneth MacLeod’s version of ‘Na Trì Coin Uaine’. ____________ Domhnull
MacCuidhean. ‘Gruagach an Eilein
Uaine’. Edited by J. G. MacKay. Scottish
Gaelic Studies, 1 (1926), 156-187. From the MSS of J. F. Campbell of The King of Greece and his son,
when on a voyage, discover by chance an enchanted Green Isle. The prince falls in love with a beautiful
girl who lives there, and his attempts to win her involve him in a series of
voyages. One of these takes him to Eilean
na h-Oige, the Isle of Youth. He loses
the girl in the end, but falls in love with and marries an even more
beautiful girl. There is a parallel English
translation, with notes and a summary of the tale. In his notes J. G. MacKay writes that the
theme of a journey to the Celtic Otherworld is embodied in several ancient
Gaelic MS tales, but that this is the only orally preserved Scottish Gaelic
tale known to him in which such a journey is the main theme. For a discussion of the ancient Gaelic
voyage-tales to which J. G. MacKay refers, see Myles Dillon’s Early Irish Literature (Dillon 1948: 101-131). ____________ Donald
MacCuithein. ‘Tilg an
dearg air Tarmaid dubh’. Carmina Gadelica. Vol. 2.
Edited by Alexander Carmichael.
2nd. ed. Noted from Domhnall’s
recitation. Ten lines of rhythmical
incantation said to have been made by the fairies of Dun Gharsain in
Bracadale when their fairy fort was destroyed by a local man who took its
stones for building. There is an
English translation, as well as Domhnall MacCuithein’s account of the
destruction of the fort. For another
version of the tale, see Otta Swire’s Skye:
the Island and its Legends (Swire
1967: 163-164). ____________ Domhnall
MacCuithein. ‘Tàladh MhicLeòid’. Carmina
Gadelica. Vol. 5. Edited by Angus Matheson. An account of the origin of this
lullaby, noted by Alexander Carmichael from Domhnall’s recitation in
1860. The infant son of MacLeod of
Dunvegan is kidnapped by the fairies.
He is eventually found in a fairy mound from which a daughter of the
piper MacCrimmon hears the sound of this lullaby being sung. There is an English translation. |
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© Sabhal Mòr Ostaig 2018