Fògradh, Fàisneachd, Filidheachd Read online

  Fògradh, Fàisneachd, Filidheachd

  An t-Urr. Donnchadh Blàrach (1815-1893)

  ann am Mac-Talla

  Parting, Prophecy, Poetry

  Rev. Duncan B. Blair (1815-1893)

  in Mac-Talla

  Fògradh, Fàisneachd, Filidheachd

  An t-Urr. Donnchadh Blàrach (1815-1893)

  ann am Mac-Talla

  Parting, Prophecy, Poetry

  Rev. Duncan B. Blair (1815-1893)

  in Mac-Talla

  Deasaichte le Seonaidh Ailig Mac a’ Phearsain

  agus Mìcheal Linkletter

  Edited and Translated

  by John A. Macpherson and Michael Linkletter

  Cape Breton University Press

  Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada

  Copyright 2013 Cape Breton University Press

  All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Responsibility for the research and the permissions obtained for this publication rests with the editors. CBU Press recognizes fair dealing uses under the Copyright Act (Canada).

  Cape Breton University Press recognizes the support of the Province of Nova Scotia, through the Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage and the support received for its publishing program from the Canada Council for the Arts Block Grants Program. We are pleased to work in partnership with these bodies to develop and promote our cultural resources.

  Cover design: Cathy MacLean Design, Chéticamp, NS

  Cover Images: Mac-Talla scans courtesy the Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University; Photo of Gualachaolish, Isle of Mull, by Mike Hunter

  Layout: Mike Hunter, Port Hawkesbury and Sydney, NS

  eBook development: WildElement.ca

  First printed in Canada

  Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

  Blair, Duncan B., 1815-1893

  Fògradh, fàisneachd, filidheachd an t-urr. Donnchadh Blàrach (1815-1893)

  ann am Mac-Talla / deasaichte le Seonaidh Ailig Mac a’ Phearsain agus

  Mìcheal Linkletter = Parting, prophecy, poetry, Rev. Duncan B. Blair

  (1815-1893) in Mac-Talla / edited and translated by John A. MacPherson and

  Michael Linkletter.

  Includes bibliographical references.

  Text in Scots Gaelic and English.

  ISBN 978-1-927492-43-7 (pbk.)

  ISBN 978-1-927492-44-4 (web pdf.)

  ISBN 978-1-927492-45-1 (epub.)

  ISBN 978-1-927492-46-8 (mobi.)

  I. MacPherson, John A., 1937-, editor of compilation, translator

  II. Linkletter, Michael, 1971- editor of compilation, translator

  III. Title. IV. Title: Parting, prophecy, poetry, Rev. Duncan B. Blair

  (1815-1893) in Mac-Talla. V. Title: Mac-Talla (Sydney, Nova Scotia).

  PS8453.L35F67 2013 C814’.4 C2013-903766-7

  Cape Breton University Press

  PO Box 5300, Sydney, Nova Scotia B1P 6L2 Canada

  CLÀR-INNSE/CONTENTS

  Ro-ràdh / Foreword

  An t-Urr. Donnchadh Blàrach / Rev. Duncan B. Blair

  Fògradh nan Gàidheal / The Highland Clearances

  Athall / Atholl

  Srath-ghlais agus Gleann Urchadain / Strathglass and Glenurquhart

  Gleanna-Garraidh / Glengarry

  Cnòideart / Knoydart

  Eilean Rùim / Isle of Rum

  Uibhist a Deas agus Barraidh / South Uist and Barra

  Uibhist a Tuath / North Uist

  Ceann t-Sàile / Kintail

  Muile, Ulbha, Ì, Tiridhe, Colla / Mull, Ulva, Iona, Tiree, Coll

  Cataibh / Sutherland

  Sgrìobhaidhean Eile / Other Articles

  Coinneach Odhar / The Brahan Seer

  Turas-Fairge do Aimeireaga 1846 / Sea-Voyage to America 1846

  Tursan air feadh Nuadh Albainn, Eilean Prionnsa Eideard agus Eilean Cheap Breatainn 1846-1847 / Travels in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton 1846-1847

  Turas do Chanada Uachdarach 1847 / Trip to Upper Canada 1847

  Uamhagan a’ Bhuntàta / The Potato Bugs

  Na Seann Ghàidheil / The Old Gaels

  Inntreachdain an t-Soisgeil / The Coming of Christianity

  Dàin Oisein / The Poems of Ossian

  Bàrdachd / Poems

  Aiseirigh na Gàidhealtachd / Resurrection of the Highlands

  Ruaig nan Tighearnan / Persecution by the Landlords

  Triall nan Croitearan / The Crofters’ Journey

  Bràigh Abhainn Bhàrnaidh / Upper Barney’s River

  Och is mise tha fo leòn / I am stricken with grief

  Màiri Lurach / Lovely Mary

  Oran Pòsaidh / Wedding Song

  Triall nan Creidmheach / The Believers’ Pilgrimage

  Eas Niagara / Niagara Falls

  FOREWORD

  In June 1892, on the front page of the third issue of the newspaper Mac-Talla, Rev. Duncan Blair extended this welcome to the paper:

  I am delighted to see a new Gaelic newspaper called Mac-Talla (Echo). I hope it will be supported by the Gaels in this new country, so that it will respond to the Gaelic on the other side of the vast ocean that separates us from the land of the bens, where our ancestors lived of old and where some of us were also reared.

  I am sorry to see the foreign word “subscriber” at the front of the paper, as if the Gaelic was so poor and lacking in vocabulary that it needs to borrow words from the language of the Lowlanders. I would say gabhaltaiche, or gabhaltaichean, for the person or persons who buy the paper. The words mean those who rent a piece of land. Isn’t it also appropriate for those who subscribe to Mac-Talla? Isn’t the yearly rent requested for it half a dollar? It is not a big rent and it will not bankrupt any Gael who pays it, no matter how limited the purse is. I hope therefore that it will not be difficult to find five hundred subscribers to Mac-Talla.”

  For a whole year following this letter Blair enthusiastically supplied the publisher with prose and poetry. But at the beginning of June 1893 he wrote another letter to the editor saying: “I have been ill for a fortnight. I am weak, weak, and I cannot put writing or ideas together. Consequently I cannot write anything for Mac-Talla until I feel better. I am glad that it looks as if Mac-Talla will expand this year.”

  Before the letter reached its destination Blair was interred in his grave and in the next issue of the paper the editor, Jonathan MacKinnon, paid him this tribute:

  The Rev. D. B. Blair was born in the County of Argyll in 1815, on the first day of the last month of summer. He first went to school when he was eight years old and within a year he was able to read the Bible in both English and Gaelic. When he was still quite young, his father moved to Laggan in Badenoch, and when he was twenty years old he went to Edinburgh University.

  He was licensed to preach in 1844, and two years later he came to Nova Scotia. He preached at Barney’s River for the first time on September 22nd, 1846, and a month later he was installed in that parish, where he stayed until the time of his death. He preached more than 5,000 sermons, and his achievements were deemed formidable. He was an excellent scholar with expertise in Hebrew, Greek, Latin and English, but he was particularly dedicated to writing in Gaelic. He left behind him a large collection of writings, including a Gaelic Grammar and the Psalms of David in Gaelic. We hope they will all be looked after with care
and that they will be published before long.

  Mac-Talla had no friend who gave it a more hearty welcome, or did more to keep it alive, than Dr. Blair. When we look over the issues of the past year, we see that that there is hardly any without a contribution from his pen. The “Highland Clearances,” “The Brahan Seer,” and his other historical accounts appealed greatly to those who read them.

  Two weeks after Blair welcomed Mac-Talla he wrote a column under the heading “Gaelic self-sustainability.” Here is part of that column:

  Gaelic does not need borrowed words, as does English, which is made up of words borrowed from every language on earth, from Latin, Greek, Gaelic and many other languages. It is easy to devise new Gaelic words from roots within the language itself. It doesn’t need to depend on seeking loans from any other language.

  Except for Greek and German there is no other language to be found in which it is easier to develop new words than Gaelic, from its own internal roots. That can be seen if one observes the words that were used by the ancient Greeks, when the gospel first came to them, and when they had to create new vocabulary to explain the gospel’s mysteries; and particularly the mystery of the Saviour’s humanity. It is easy enough to put these words into Gaelic that will be understandable to everyone who has a proper knowledge of the language and knows its rules.

  The Greeks used many words, which they considered appropriate, to explain this great mystery that the son of God was made man. The words that they used most frequently were Sarcosis and Ensarcosis. In Gaelic that is Feòil-ghabhail or Feòilneachadh, which is Incarnation in English, from the Latin Incarnatio.

  ...We see from this how self-sustaining Gaelic is, how extensive in vocabulary, adroit and versatile and how easy it is to create new and pertinent expressions in accordance with the sense and nature of the language.

  When Mac-Talla first appeared in 1892 the four-page paper was published every week. It eventually became an eight-page paper, but in its final year it was published only every two weeks. The income from advertising had decreased, as had readers and contributors, and printing costs had escalated. It wasn’t self-sustaining, as Blair would say.

  Jonathan MacKinnon (1869-1944) created Mac-Talla and nurtured it as its editor for twelve years. He was born in Whycocomagh, Cape Breton, and was of Skye descent. When he was young his health was fragile and he was not able to attend school regularly. While confined to the house he spent a lot of time seeking information about his ancestors and this prompted him to take a special interest in their language.

  When his health improved he went to high-school in the town of Sydney. That is where he got his first taste of publishing, as editor of the school magazine. With that experience and his love for the language of his people he was determined to create a Gaelic newspaper, and he did so when he was 22 years of age.

  While Mac-Talla lasted MacKinnon was tireless in seeking readership. In 1898 he put this message in the paper:

  On this side of the Atlantic there is only one Gaelic paper, Mac-Talla. That is not all; it is the only weekly Gaelic paper in the world. Therefore, shouldn’t every person who reads Gaelic subscribe to this paper? If you have respect for the language of your ancestors, and if you want it to survive, you will send for Mac-Talla with the first money you have to spare.

  Mac-Talla is published every Saturday. Community news and news of the world at large are told intelligently, in few words, and as truthfully as you will find in any paper. Mac-Talla takes no sides in “Politics.” It doesn’t wish to impose its own opinions on anyone. It will not begin to criticize anybody. It leaves wisdom and folly of that kind to other papers.

  We see from this message that skepticism of newspapers is not a new phenomenon. And we also see how Gaelic terminology and spelling have changed. Today we have GOC (Gaelic Orthographic Conventions). But we do not have a Gaelic newspaper.

  Despite lobbying of readers and supporters MacKinnon was not able to keep the paper afloat. In the last issue, on June 24, 1904, he bade farewell to them and to Mac-Talla:

  To publish Mac-Talla every two weeks would require at least 2,000 subscribers. It could have that number even if its readership was limited to the number of Gaelic readers in the island of Cape Breton; but when one cannot find that number in the whole world, the only possible conclusion is that the Gaels do not want a Gaelic paper; and that they are satisfied to be identified as the only Christian race on earth that will not pay to maintain a paper in their own language.”

  In preparing this book we have been conscious of the changes in Gaelic speech and writing over the years, and of the difference between today’s orthography and that of a century ago. We adhered as closely as possible to the terminology of Blair and the conventions of Mac-Talla, but since the sustainability and structure of Gaelic have changed, we have given much of the spelling a contemporary style in order to make the overall content more intelligible and appealing to today’s readers.

  We are indebted to all those who have supported us in preparing this book, especially Mike Hunter of Cape Breton University Press, the Beaton Institute, and Jane Arnold and Mary Campbell. We are also grateful to Sabhal Mòr Òstaig for putting Mac-Talla on a website which made it more accessible to us.

  Note from the Editors: Readers should note that we have privileged the original Gaelic in a number of ways. First, we chose to place the Gaelic on the recto page, facing the reader with the turn of the page. Second, and especially important for Gaelic learners to note, as with all such proj­ects, translation is not word-for-word, but an interpretation to afford the contemporary reader the spirit of the original.

  Finally, it is important to emphasize, as Mr. MacPherson explains in his preface, the choices made with respect to orthography. Mr. MacPherson and Prof. Linkletter’s texts follow the contemporary Gaelic orthographic convention (GOC), whereas Rev. Blair’s writings remain as close to the original as possible.

  RO-RÀDH

  Anns an Ògmhios 1892, air a’ chiad duilleig den treas àireamh den phàipear-naidheachd Mac-Talla, chuir an t-Urr. Donnchadh Blàrach an fhàilte seo air a’ phàipear:

  Is taitneach leam a bhi faicinn pàipeir ùr ann an Gàidhlig da ’n ainm Mac-Talla. Tha mi an dòchas gun cumar suas e leis na Gàidheil anns an dùthaich ùir so, a chum ’s gum bi e da rìreadh ’na mhac-talla a’ co-fhreagairt do’n Ghàidhlig a ta air taobh thall a’ chuain mhòir a tha eadar sinn fhèin agus tìr nam beann, far an do ghabh ar sinnsear còmhnaidh bho shean, agus far an d’ àraicheadh cuid dinn fèin mar an ceudna.

  Tha mi duilich a bhi faicinn an fhacail Ghallda “subscriber” ann an toiseach a’ phàipeir mar gum biodh a’ Ghàidhlig cho bochd, gann-bhriathrach agus gum feumadh i facail iasaid a ghabhail bho chainnt nan Gall. Theirinn-sa gabhaltaiche, no gabhaltaichean, ris an fhear, no ris an dream a tha a’ gabhail a’ phàipeir. Tha gabhaltaiche a’ ciallachadh fear a ghabhas mìr fearainn air mhàl, agus nach ’eil an t-ainm freagarrach dhaibhsan a ghabhas am Mac-Talla? Nach e am màl bliadhnail a tha air iarraidh air a shon Leth-Dolair? Cha mhòr am màl e agus cha chreach e Gàidheal sam bith a phàigheadh, air cho gann ’s gum bi a sporan. Tha mi an dòchas uime sin nach bi e na nì deacair còig ceud gabhaltaiche fhaotainn a ghabhas am Mac-Talla?”

  Fad bliadhna an dèidh na litreach seo bha am Blàrach gu dealasach a’ cur rosg is bàrdachd chun a’ phàipeir. Ach aig toiseach an Ògmhios 1893 sgrìobh e litir eile chun an fhir-deasachaidh ag ràdh: “Tha mi gu tinn fad ceithir-là-deug. Tha mi lag, lag, agus chan urrainn mi sgrìobhadh no smuaintean a chur ri chèile. Uime sin cha’n urrainn mi nì a sgrìobhadh airson Mac-Talla gus am fàs mi nas feàrr. Tha mi toilichte gu bheil a choltas air Mac-Talla fàs nas motha air a’ bhliadhna so.”

  Mus do ràinig an litir seo a ceann-uidhe bha am Blàrach air a chàradh anns an ùir agus anns an ath àireamh den phàipear thug am fear-deasachaidh, Eòin MacFhionghain, dhà an teisteanas seo:

  Rugadh an t-Urr. D. B. Blair ann an Siorr
amachd Earraghàidheal sa bhliadhna 1815, air a’ cheud latha de mhìos deireannach an t-samhraidh. Chaidh e do’n sgoil an toiseach nuair a bha e ochd bliadhna dh’aois agus an ceann bliadhna bha e comasach air am Bìoball a leughadh araon am Beurla ’s an Gàidhlig. An uair a bha e fhathast glè òg, chaidh athair air imrich do’n Lagan am Bàideanach, agus nuair a bha e fichead bliadhna dh’aois chaidh e do dh’Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann.

  Fhuair e cead searmonachaidh an 1844, agus an ceann dà bhliadhna thàinig e gu Nobha Scotia. Shearmonaich e aig Abhainn Bhàrnaidh a’ chiad uair air an 20mh là de September, 1846, agus mìos na dhèidh sin bha e air a shuidheachadh ’sa sgìreachd sin, far an d’fhan e gu àm a bhàis. Shearmonaich e còrr us còig mìle searmon, agus bha soirbheachadh mòr ri fhaicinn na lorg. Bha e na shàr sgoilear aig an robh mion eòlas air Eabhra, Grèigis, Laidinn us Beurla, ach bha meas sònraichte aige air a bhi sgrìobhadh na Gàidhlig. Dh’fhàg e na dhèidh àireamh mhòr de sgrìobhaidhean am measg an robh Gràmair Gàidhlig agus Sailm Dhaibhidh an Gàidhlig. Tha sinn an dòchas gum bi cùram air a ghabhail dhiubh uile agus gun tèid an cur an clò an ùine gun bhi fada.

  Cha robh caraide aig a’ Mhac-Talla a chuir fàilte na bu chridheile air, no bu mhotha a rinn air son a chumail beò, na Dr. Blair. Nuair a sheallas sinn thairis air àireamhan na bliadhna dh’fhalbh, chì sinn nach mòr gu bheil aon dhiubh gun ni-eigin ann a thàinig bho ’pheann. Bha “Fògradh nan Gàidheal,” “Coinneach Odhar,” agus na h-eachdraidhean eile ’sgrìobh e glè thaitneach leis gach neach a bha ’gan leughadh.”

  Cola-deug an dèidh don Bhlàrach fàilte a chur air Mac-Talla sgrìobh e colbh fon an tiotal “Fèin-chumailteachd na Gàidhlig.” Seo pàirt den a’ cholbh sin:

  Chan eil feum aig a’ Ghàidhlig air facail iasaid mar a ta aig a’ Bheurla, a tha air a cur ri chèile le facail iasaid bho gach cànain air thalamh, bho’n Laidinn, bho’n Ghrèigis, bho’n Ghàidhlig agus bho iomadh cainnt eile. Is furasta facail ùra Ghàidhlig a dheilbh bho fhriamhaichean an taobh a stigh de’n chànain fhèin; cha leig i leas mar sin a bhith an eiseamail dol a dh’iarraidh coinghill air cànain sam bith.