An t-Og Mhios/An 2007

An

TeachdaireGaidhealach

Published by

Comunn Gàidhlig AstràiliaISSN 0727-6540

Aireamh 77 Issue 77An t-Ògmhios 2007 June 2007

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Committee membersNeach-cathrach: (Convenor)

Pamaladh Uí Néill* oneillp@unimelb.edu.au( 02 9792 7402 / 0438 726 532

Ionmhasair: (Treasurer)Ruaraidh MacAonghais* rod.mcinnes@optusnet.com.au

Buill Chumanta: (Members)Iain Clugston* mandaean@bigpond.com

Barabal Crighton* babaidh@netspace.net.au

Alasdair Shearer* alasdair@galharrington.com.au

Gaelic Editor: Ceiti Greumach

Comunn Gàidhlig website: www.ozgaelic.orgemail: fios@ozgaelic.org

Comunn Gàidhlig AstràiliaThe Gaelic Association of Australia (Comunn Gàidhlig Astràilia) is a non-profit organisation which supports thelanguage and culture of Scottish Gaels in Australia. Members include both native speakers and learners. Wewelcome contact from anyone with an interest in these subjects. A’ Ghàidhlig gu bràth !!Enquiries should be directed to the Secretary at PO Box A2259, Sydney South NSW 1235, or atfios@ozgaelic.org. Membership of the Gaelic Association of Australia costs $30 per year, and includessubscription to this journal, which is sent to all members.

Bhon chomataidh

’San iris seoSgoil Gheamhraidh ...............................................3A’ Ghàidhlig ann an Ghearmailt ............................619th-century Scottish view of the past .................8Sgeulachd Molly Wilson ..................................... 10Profile: Iain Clugston......................................... 11

The big news for this issue is the successful SgoilGheamhraidh which we held in Kensington, Sydney,on the June long weekend. There were some 25Scottish Gaelic enthusiasts in attendance, and wewere made very welcome by our Irish cousins. Wewere very fortunate to have Ceiti Greumach, AonghasMacLeòid and Bran MacEachaidh as teachers for theweekend. Reports and photos from the sgoil can befound on the following pages.

Our annual general meeting was held during the sgoil,and it was very encouraging to see considerableenthusiasm from members both old and new. Duringthe AGM and the sgoil we took the opportunity todiscuss the future of Comunn Gàidhlig and have setsome priorities for the coming year. These includethe re-establishment of Gaelic language classes inSydney, the development of some curriculumguidelines and milestones for various levels ofteaching and learning of the language, and thecontinuation of the sgoil in future years.

Our previous convenor, Pamaladh, treasurer,Ruaraidh, and one committee member, Barabal, werere-elected, and we welcome Alasdair Shearer back tothe committee, together with Iain Clugston (see theprofile of Iain on page 11 of this issue). Unfortunatelywe did not receive any nominations for the positionsof secretary or editor, but between the five of us weare confident that we can continue to keep theassociation on an even keel. We will be ably assistedin this by our long-serving Gaelic Editor CeitiGreumach and our new webmaster Kerry Taylor. Thisis a good time to record our thanks to outgoingcommittee members Seonaidh Mac Fhraing, RaghnallMac Aoidh and Cairistiona Van der Leeuw, who did agreat deal to assist the survival of the associationduring a very difficult period.

I will be editing An Teachdaire for the time being,with a lot of help from my fellow committee members,and hopefully some contributions from our readers.As always, we welcome suggestions and feedback frommembers, and particularly ideas for possible newactivities or projects. If you’d like to contribute, orto comment, you can reach us at fios@ozgaelic.org,or email me direct at oneillp@unimelb.edu.au - I lookforward to hearing from you.

Pamaladh Uí Néill

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Sgoil Gheamhraidh 2007

Alasdair Shearer writes:

’S e Máirtín Ó Fanaín, Tosgaire Èireannach adh’Astràilia, a bh’ ann an aoigh sònraichte. Tha efileanta leis a Ghaeilge. Bha sin a chiad tùras agam achuala mi Gaeilge a’ bruidhinn cho math ’s cho fad.Bha ceud daoine fichead sa coig aig an sgoil, ceudÈireannach agus fichead sa coig Albanach. Bha moranÈireannach fi leanta, leth dhiubh, tha mi asmaoineachadh. Bha cailìn ann, Gráinne. Tha Gráinneceithir bliadhna a dh’aois agus ’s urrainn dhi Gaeilgea bruidhinn le a n-athair, Olaindis le a mathair agusBeurla le duine eile. Tha sin sgoinneil, nach eil?

Chaidh sinn gu còmhlain beag, agus bha leasananagainn fad na laithean le daoine fileantach, CeitiGreumach agus Aonghas MacLeòid. ‘S e Leòdhaiseacha bh’annta, ’s mar sin, thuirt mo chàirdean thallthàrais gu bith trioblaid gam thuigsinn. (Tha iaddualchainnt Uibhist a Deas ionnsachadh).

Anns na feasgaran, ghabh sinn òraidean. Bha aonòraid gu h-àraidh glè innsinneach, gu dearbh. Thoirtle ar ard-Ollamh Pamaladh Uí Néill fhèin, bha sin mudheidhinn Seann-Ghaeilge agus a leasachadh guGaeilge ’s Gàidhlig.

Bha cèilidh ann gach oidhche cuideachd. Bha mi afuireach ann gus deich uair Dihaoine ‘s Disathuirne,ach Didomhnaich, bha mi a bruidhinn ri daoineÈireannach fad moran uairean a thide agus ràinig mian taigh-osda aig deich mionaid an dèidh ceithir uairsa mhadainn. Bha mi nam cadal ach dà uair gu leth athide, agus dhùisg mi a-rithist.

Chaidh mi air ais don mhanachainn ’s thuirt mi“soraidh leibh” le mo chàirdean agus chaidh midhachaidh air trèin. (Bha mi nam cadal a h-uiletùras!)

Máirtín Ó Fanaín, the Irish Ambassador to Australia,was the special guest at the School. He is a fluentIrish speaker and it was the first time I had heardIrish spoken so well and at such length. There wereabout one hundred and twenty-five people at theSchool, one hundred Irish and twenty-five Scots.Many of the Irish were fluent, about half of them Ithink. There was a young girl there, Gráinne. Gráinneis four years old and speaks Irish with her father,Dutch with her mother, and English with everyoneelse. Brilliant!

We split up into small groups and our group had KatieGraham and Angus MacLeod, both from Lewis. Myfriends overseas say they will no longer be able tounderstand me. (They are learning the South Uistdialect.)

In the evenings we had various lectures. One inparticular was very interesting by our own Dr PamelaO’Neill about Old Irish and its development into themodern languages.

There was a cèilidh every evening. I didn’t stay verylate Friday and Saturday, but Sunday evening I wastalking with a group of Irish and didn’t get back to thehotel until ten past four in the morning. I only sleptfor about two hours and after breakfast we returnedto the monastery to say our goodbyes. (I slept wellon the train home that day!)

It was an excellent and worthwhile weekend and Ihope it will be repeated next year.

The advanced class at work at the sgoil

Here are some comments on the Winter School which was held on the June long weekend.

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Here are Barabal Crighton’s thoughts on the WinterSchool:

I thought the sgoil was very stimulating, especiallybeing with the Irish, who are so enthusiastic andwelcoming to the Scots as “family”. Talking to newlearners was interesting and helpful, because itshowed up some (a lot of) missing links in my ownknowledge. The concert and other cultural activitiesadd to the enjoyment of the whole weekend. There isnothing like real hands-on learning and practice.

The beginners’ class puzzling over an exercise.Most of these students had never spoken a wordof Gaelic before, but were able to have a basicconversation by the end of the weekend.

Sgoil Gheamhraidh 2007

Some of the students in the intermediate class,taught by Bran MacEachaidh.

Pamela O’Neill comments:

I had been a student at the Irish language ScoilGeimhridh in 2006, so I had a bit of an idea what toexpect. I knew there would be plenty of late nights,great music, friendly people and chances to practisethe language. What I wasn’t prepared for was howhard I worked!

This was part ly because, being a sucker forpunishment, I volunteered to make up the shortageof teachers and teach the beginners’ class. Quite ascary prospect, since the cobwebs on my Gaelic goback ten years or so. Fortunately, I’m an experiencedteacher and love teaching, so I fished out my booksand tapes and made the best of it, hoping to make upfor the deficiencies in my language proficiency bymy teaching ability. But it was a hard slog keepingahead of the class, particularly given what a talentedbunch of beginners they were. (Needless to say, itdid my Gaelic the world of good!)

And then, of course, I agreed to teach an electiveclass in Old Irish (the ancestor language of bothScottish Gaelic and modern Irish). I had taught it atthe Irish language Daonscoil (summer folk school),

where it was popular, so I decided to do it again. Myclass was enormous and very interested - I wasdelighted, but running from the Gaelic class to theOld Irish one (up several flights of stairs too!) was asure recipe for exhaustion!

But what I found hardest was standing up in front ofthe whole school (about 125 people) in the eveningswhen speeches were being made, knowing that,withmo Ghàidhlig bocht , I was the face of ComunnGàidhlig.

After each day’s work was over, there were socialisingand singing to be done - my bed and I were virtualstrangers!

So, I was exhausted. But I was delighted. It is a dreamof mine to see the Irish and Scott ish Gaeliccommunities work more closely together, and thisseemed to me to be a fantastic start. Planning for thesgoil, we had decided that we would go ahead even ifwe only got half a dozen people, so to find about 25enthusiastic learners of Gaelic together in one placewas incredibly heartening. It took me a good fewweeks to recover - but I would do it again tomorrowif the opportunity arose!

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Spanning the generations: teacher and nativespeaker Aonghas MacLeòid chatting withbeginner Sarah Arnold.

Seonaid Baker, Sally McPhee, Cairistiona Van derLeeuw and Iain Clugston enjoying a coffee break.

As well as teaching a language class, Bran MacEachaidh taught a class in Gaelic singing, pictured hereperforming at the Sunday night concert, to great acclaim.

The musiccontinued untilthe small hours,with the Irish andScottishcontingentssharing much-loved songs ... andan occasional weedrop!

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Alasdair: Math dh’fhaoidte nach aithne dhuibh gubheil moran daoine a tha Gàidhlig ionnsachadh a-mach air na h-Alba agus a-mach air na h-àiteachanèile far deach na Gaidheal. Gu dearbh, chan eil ceangalsam bith aig moran dhuibh ri Alba idir, ach gaol airan cànan Gàidhlig.

Tha luchd-ionnsachaidh ann an moran àiteachan afalbh bhon àiteachan thraidiseanta le Albanaichannta; Khazakstan, An Ruis, An Fhraing, Israel, Iapan’s mar sin air adhart. Ach the a’ Ghearmailt a th’ annan àite far a bheil an aireamh as airde den luchd-ionnsachaidh Gaidhealach.

O chionn ghoirid, bha tlachd agam a dhèanamhagallamh air aon de na luchd-ionnsachaidhGhearmailteach, Caitrìona Kuhlmann.

A Chaitrìona, caithe a bheil thu a fuireach?

Caitrìona: Tha mi a fuireach ann an Essen, ri taobhna h-Abhainn Ruhr.

A: Cuine thoisich an ùidh agad ris a’ Ghàidhlig?

C: Bha ùidh agam air Alba airson bliadhnichean, aguschuala mi ceòl Gaidhealach dà no tri bliadhna air aisagus dh’fhàs an ùidh agam nas motha.

A: Dè cho fad a tha thu air a bhith Gàidhligionnsachadh?

C: Bliadhna gu leth.

A: Caite a bheil an sgoil agad?

C: Draibh mi gu Bonn, a tha Bhaile Mhòr ceudkilometre a falbh bho Esen, mu aon uair a thide.

A: Cia mheud daoine a th’ anns a clàs agad?

C: Ceathrar agus mi-fhin.

A: A bheil daoine sam bith fileanta fhathast?

C: Seadh. Tha aon boireannach gu math fileanta,agus tha mi a fàs fileanta beag air bheag. (Obh, agusan tidsear againn cuideachd.)

A: Cò tha an tidsear agaibh?

C: ’S e Michael Klevenhaus a th’ anns an tidsearagainn. Tha e gu math anmeil ann an Alba. Tha e agobair aig an BhBC air Rèidio nan Gaidheal. Tha e ateagaisg cùrsaichean aig a cholaisde Sabhal Mòrcuideachd.

A’ Ghàidhlig ann an Ghearmailt

Alasdair: Perhaps you didn’t know that there aremany learners of Gaelic outside Scotland, and evenoutside the places where the Gaels have traditionallygone.

There are learners in Khazakstan, Russia, France,Israel, Japan and so on. But the country withprobably the highest number of Gaelic learnersoutside of the usual countries is Germany.

Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing a learnerfrom Germany, Caitriona Kuhlmann.

Caitriona, where do you live?

Caitriona: I live in Essen, which is by the Ruhr River.

A: When did you become interested in Gaelic?

C: I have been interested in Scotland for years, andwhen I heard some Gaelic music a couple of yearsago, my interest grew stonger.

A: How long have you been learning Gaelic?

C: Eighteen months.

A: Where are your lessons held?

C: I drive to Bonn, a large city about one hundredkilometres from Essen: about an hour’s drive.

A: How many in your class?

C: Four and myself.

A: Are any fluent yet?

C: One woman is pretty fluent, and I am becomingfluent bit by bit. Oh, and our teacher also.

A: Who is your teacher?

C: Michael Klevenhaus is our teacher. He is wellknown in Scotland on Rèidio nan Gaidheal and heteaches classes at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig as well.

Alasdair Shearer interviews a learner of Gaelic from Germany.

n

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A: A bheil bòrd-brath aig luchd-ionnsachaidhGhearmailteach?

C: Oh, tha. Tha bòrd-brath aig an làrach-linwww.schottisch-gaelisch.de

A: Cia mheud daoine a cleachdadh am bòrd-brath?

C: A bharrachd air seachd ceud!

A: Mo chreach! A bheil a h-uile daoine a sgriobhadhgu tric?

C: Uill, ‘s docha fichead no deichnar air fhichead asgriobhadh gu tric, agus tha iad gu math fileanta.

A: An dùil agad gu bhith a dol a dh’Alba airsonclàsaichean èile?

C: Bithidh mi a dol, gu dearbh. Tha dùil agam a dholan ath-bliadhna do Sabhal Mòr airson cùrsa goirid.

A: Glè mhath. Moran taing, a Chaitrìona.

A: Are there any message forums in Germany?

C: Oh, yes. There is a message forum atwww.schottisch-gaelisch.de

A: How may people are in it?

C: More than seven hundred!

A: My goodness! Do they write often?

C: About twenty or thirty write often, and they areall quite fluent.

A: Do you expect to go to Scotland for further study?

C: Yes, indeed. I hope to attend a short course atSabhal Mòr next year.

A: Very good. Many thanks Caitriona.

Some views of Catriona’s home town, Essen.

Catriona Kuhlmann

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The nineteenth-century Scottish view of the pastPamela O’Neill describes some of the activity thataccompanied a growing recognit ion in thenineteenth century of Scotland’s rich history.

In the British Isles, the nineteenth century saw anurge to discover and preserve the past. This wasoften linked, particularly in the later nineteenthcentury, to national pride and the quest for nationaltreasures. It was increasingly believed that the pastof one’s own nation was of greater importance thanthose of other nations, and that patriotism andnational pride were at stake in the discovery of relicsof the past.

In 1844, the first volume of the ArchaeologicalJournal was published in London in response to a‘general impulse which, of late years, throughoutalmost all countries of western Europe, has causedan increasing attention to be paid to ancientmemorials of a national and medieval character, inplace of the exclusive admiration of objects of moreremote antiquity, and more pure and classical taste,but of foreign origin.’

The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland set out toprovide for their fellow-countrymen ‘a museum ...closely connected with their past history and mostpatriotic feelings’. Secretary of the Society, DanielWilson, wrote that ‘In Dublin ... as in Copenhagen, akeen spirit of nationality and patriotic sympathy hasbeen enlisted in the cause of Archaeological science’.

In 1879, Joseph Anderson, co-author of whatremains to this day the authoritative catalogue of theearly Christian monuments of Scotland, proclaimedthat ‘the history of Scotland is not the history of anyother nation on earth, and that if her records weredestroyed, it would matter nothing to us that all therecords of all other nations were preserved. Theycould neither tell the story of our ancestors, norrestore the lost links in the development of ourculture and civilisation ... Can we possibly be moreinterested in the ancient history of other nations thanin the ancient history of our own people? Are thesculptured stones of Nineveh real ly of moreimportance to us than the sculptured stones ofScotland?’

Against this background, increasing activity to find,record and preserve the monuments and artefacts ofthe national past took place. Ministers of religion,scholars and gentlemen (together with the veryoccasional lady) exerted themselves in the cause ofnational pride and antiquarian knowledge. InScotland as elsewhere, landscape features wereexcavated, often with a view only to the major prizesof rich jewellery or elaborate artefacts, resulting inthe irretr ievable loss of what would today beconsidered valuable evidence for everyday life and

death. Sculptured stones were cleaned up andresurrected in churches and museums, where theywere visited by large numbers of tourists andantiquaries. In other countries, manuscripts wereread and translated, sometimes with more of a viewto the establishment of a national mythology thanlinguistic or historical accuracy. This didn’t reallyhappen in Scotland, primarily because of Scotland’slack of surviving early manuscripts. An importanttool in these processes was the recent innovation ofphotography.

Unti l the late nineteenth century, reports ofantiquarian research or discovery published inlearned and gentlemanly journals l ike theProceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotlandhad been traditionally accompanied by line drawingsor watercolours. These were generally extremely fineand detailed, but had the undoubted and increasinglyrecognised disadvantage of being subject to thewhims and imagination, as well as the technicalability, of the artist. As the second half of thenineteenth century unfolded, the drawings wereincreasingly supplemented, and in some casesreplaced, by photographs. Because of the relativelyundeveloped state of photographic and lightingtechniques, many of these technical photographswere ‘touched up’ by hand in order to make detailsclearer, although the claims to realism and accuracyof the photograph as opposed to the drawing werestill proclaimed loudly.

By contrast, the photographs for the ‘picturesque’market, where detail is subordinate to mood, tendedto be left as the photographic process made them.However, although the process of photography wasleft to make its own impression, a great deal of workfrequently went into the production of the subjectmatter. Apparently casual scenes, where a rusticpeasant or rural gentleman appears as if by accident,were generally carefully posed, and additional propspainstakingly placed.

The equivalent of this approach can be seen in thecollections of drawings which remained populararound the same time. In particular, books ofdrawings of the antiquities of Ireland were in heavycirculation in Ireland, England, Scotland andAustralia in the later nineteenth century, the mostbeautiful being Henry O’Neill’s Illustrations of Someof the Most Interesting of the Sculptured Stones ofIreland. O’Neill’s drawings of Irish high crosses aremostly placed into landscape scenes, with a fewancient gravemarkers disposed gracefully aroundtheir bases, and often with country folk gazing uponthem. These scenes are entirely fantastical, bearinglittle or no relation to the actual contexts of thecrosses at any point in their history.

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When it came to photography, the fact that it wasreality that was being captured was no barrier to thiscreativity. Rustic peasants could be had at a smallprice, and even outfitted as the photographer’s fancydictated. Objects could be moved about, andadditional objects brought in if doing so wouldenhance the effect. This willingness to ‘improve’ onnature and history was perhaps a natural extensionof the practice of photographic studios whereextravagant scenes from Gothic or Celtic revivalliterature were photographed and offered for sale.Probably the most popular of these were Arthurianscenes, where a character like Guinevere might beelaborately costumed, set afloat in a boat on asuitably picturesque pond with a few ‘ancient’artefacts strewn about, and photographed.

We are fortunate that many of the photographs takenin this era survive, and they provide a valuablehistorical record in several ways. They show inliterally graphic detail precisely the mindset andpreoccupations of their nineteenth-centuryaudience. They also show the condition of theartefacts at the time, which can be important wherethey have s ince deter iorated or disappeared.Amongst the popular photographic subjects were theearly carved stones of Scotland. These featured inboth the popular tourist market, and the emergingscholarly pursuit of antiquarianism.

In The Early Christian Monuments of Scotland, thereis the following description of a sculptured stone atSt Vigeans, near Arbroath: ‘... No. 1, the “Drosten”Stone, used to form part of the pavement at thebottom of the stairway in the church; afterwards, atthe time when Dr J. Stuart’s Sculptured Stones ofScotland (vol. i.) was published in 1856, it wasstanding in the churchyard; and it is now placedupright in the W. porch of the church on the S. side ofthe entrance doorway, against the steps leading intothe church ... No. 1a, the upper part of the “Drosten”Stone, was found during the restoration of the churchin 1872, and is now placed on the top of No. 1 andjoined to it by cement ...’

This descript ion is accompanied by c learphotographs of the top and bottom pieces of thestone. No 1 stands vertically in the churchyard, its1856 location, and not the location described inECMS. The schedule attached to the AncientMonuments Protection Act of 1882 lists ‘the crossslab, with inscription, in the churchyard of St.Vigeans’, suggesting that the stone was still in thatlocation in 1882. It was apparently still there in 1884,when General Pitt Rivers, the first Inspector ofAncient Monuments, visited the site.

William Duke’s report in the Proceedings of theSociety of Antiquaries of Scotland of restoration workcarried out at St Vigeans in 1871 comments that No 1‘is intended to occupy a position within the churchwhich will admit of its easy examination’. The same

The four faces of the stone at St Vigeans (drawnby Julianna Grigg). For the nineteenth-centuryphotographs of the monument, see page 11.

report notes that another fragment of sculpturedstone, which had been used as a ‘footstep’ for No 1,had now been built into the church fabric. Theremoval of the footstep would suggest that No 1 mayhave been removed from its churchyard locationbefore this report in 1872. Duke’s text also suggests,however, that No 1 had not yet been erected withinthe church.

Stuart’s work of 1856 was illustrated by drawings,not photographs. The photograph in Early ChristianMonuments of Scotland shows No 1’s base embeddedin a rectangular stone, and although the photographshows little detail of this, it seems likely that it is thefootstep. The photograph, then, presumably datesfrom some time after 1856 but before the removal ofthe footstep, claimed by Duke as having occurred in1871. It is possible that the photograph was taken in1871.

The ECMS photograph of No 1a has been trimmed ofits background, and is perhaps a studio photograph.This photograph is clearly the basis of the illustrationthat accompanies Duke’s report of 1872. As early as1848, Patrick Chalmers had reported that ‘anotherpiece of [No 1], but defaced, is said to be built intothe staircase wall’. Duke reports, with disturbingvagueness, that No 1a was found in ‘the east gable ofthe church, or the adjoining stair’. Apparently, Dukewas satisfied that his find was the piece alluded to byChalmers.

By following these commentaries, drawings, and mostimportantly photographs, it is possible to trace thehistory of this interesting sculptured stone. The factthat there is no recorded evidence for the two piecesbeing conjoined before the late nineteenth centuryallows the possibility that perhaps they do not belongto the same original monument after al l . Thenineteenth-century antiquaries who saved thesemonuments from obscurity, neglect or destructionhave left us a fascinating and rich record.

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Beagan a-roimh Nollaig sa chaidh, bha mi a siubhaltron eadar-lion gan adhbhar agus thachair mi airlàrach-lion leis an t-ainm “Hebridean Connections”.Bha ùidh mòr agam agus deach mi ann.

Rinn an làrach sin leis an Comainn EachdraidhBernara, Ceannloch, Pairc agus Uig anns an EileanLeòdhais. Fhuair mi moran deabhan le moshinnsearan anta. Mo shinn-sheanmhair agus moshinn-sheanair, a bhrathairean aig mo shinn-sheanmhair agus as inntinneach air a h-uile, caileagleis an t-ainm Molly Wilson. Chan e ainm Leòdhais ath’ innte, gu dearbh, ach b’ aithne dhomh ris an t-ainm. Bha Molly co-ogha le m’athair.

Rugadh Molly ann an Inbhir Air, da fhichead sa deugkilometre gu deas bho Glaschu anns a bhliadhna naoiceud deug fichead sa naoi deug. Nuair a bha Mollyach tri bliadhna a dh’ aois, chaidh a mathair gu bàs.Cha b’ urrainn do an athair aig Molly ga chuideachail,’s mar sin, chuir e Molly gu teaghlach aig an seanmhairaice.

Bha iad a fuireach anns an Eilean Leòdhais, anns abhaile bheag Aird Uig, air taobh siar Leòdhais. BhaMolly ann an sin fad tri no ceithir bliadhna, gus anaois sgoile. Dh’fhuireach i aig an taigh IainMhicCoinnich, brathair aig a seanmhair.

Nuair a thilleas i air ais do Inbhir Air aig an deireadhden Darna Cogadh, bha iongnadh mòr aig a h-uile.Bha diochuimhne le Molly a h-uile Beurla aice! Dèthachair? Uill, cha chuala Molly aon facal Beurla bhonaois tri gun aois seachd. Bha a h-uile daoine anns abhaile Gàidhlig a bruidhinn a-mhain aig an taigh, aguscha robh Beurla sam bith aig moran anns a bhaile.

Cha robh e cho fad mus dh’ ionnsaich Molly a Bheurlaa-rithist, agus cha do labhair Molly Gàidhlig a-rithist.’S e banaltrum a bh’ innte a h-uile beò-obrach aice.Chan eil Gàidhlig sam bith aice a-nis.

Sgeulachd Molly Wilson:a chaileag a chaill aBheurla aice

p

The story of MollyWilson: the girl wholost her English

Just before last Christmas, I was wandering aimlesslythrough the internet when I came across a websitecal led “Hebridean Connect ions” . I was veryinterested and so in I went.

The site was made by the Historical Associations ofBernera, Kinloch, Parc and Uig on the Isle of Lewis.In it I found many photos of my ancestors from Uig.My great-grandmother and great-grandfather werethere along with my great-grandmother’s brothers,and most interesting of all, a girl named Moly Wilson.This isn’t a Lewis name of course, but I recognisedthe name immediately. Molly was my father’s cousin.

Molly was born in Ayr, a town about fifty kilometressouth of Glasgow, in 1939. When Molly was just threeyears old her mother died. Her father wasn’t able tolook after her, so she was sent to live with hergrandmother’s family.

They lived in the village of Aird Uig on the west sideof Lewis. Molly lived there for three or four yearsuntil she was old enough to start school. She lived inthe house of John MacKenzie, her grandmother’sbrother.

When she returned to Ayr at the end of the SecondWorld War, a big surprise awaited everyone. Mollyhad forgotten all her English! What happened? Well,Molly hadn’t heard one word of English from the ageof three till six or seven. Everyone in the village spokeonly Gaelic in the home and many had no English atall.

After her return, it wasn’t long until Molly learnedEnglish again and she never spoke Gaelic again. Shewas a nurse all her working life, lives in Glasgow andshe has no Gaelic now.

Alasdair Shearer shares the story of his father’s cousin.

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Iain ClugstonWe introduce here our new committee member, JohnClugston. Look out for profiles of other committeemembers in future issues.

Iain is a retired lawyer and trade unionist. For manyyears he worked as a solicitor for the AustralianGovernment Solicitor’s Office, and was on theexecutive of the Professional Officers’ Association.Since his retirement, he has been an active advocateand spokesperson for the rights of asylum seekers.

Iain has a longstanding interest in the early medievalhistory of the British Isles, and some years ago hecompleted a Master of Arts by research, in which heinvestigated the writings of the sixth-century Welshauthor Gildas as an historical source. He is proficientin several languages, which has given him access to alot of scholarly literature written in languages otherthan English. He is amazingly well-read, and has afascinating collection of old books.

Iain’s Gaelic is self-taught. He taught himself to readGaelic by reading the Bible, and then taught himselfthe pronunciations of the words. His accent issomewhat unusual because of this - it doesn’t belongto any specific island or region, like most people’s!

Iain’s research has led him to the conclusion that hisancestors were among the small pocket of Gaelicspeakers in south-western Scotland, and he has aparticular interest in the regions around Dumfriesand Galloway.

Iain lives in the Blue Mountains, and travels a gooddistance to attend committee meetings - for whichwe are all very grateful.

Nineteenth-century photographs of the stone at St Vigeans (see pages 8-9).

Activities for Gaelic speakers and learnersCearcall Còmhraidh

A Gaelic conversation circle is held in Sydney on thesecond Saturday of every month from February toNovember, f rom 2pm to 4pm, at the Granvi l leNeighbourhood Centre, 2 Carlton Street, Granville.The Centre is right near Granville train station, andthere’s plentiful parking.

The idea of talking and listening in Gaelic for two hoursmight sound quite frightening, but actually the cearcalli s a very pleasant experience for learners andexperienced speakers alike. We all relax over a cup ofcoffee - and there are often chocolate biscuits too!

We spend an hour t ry ing our bes t to have aconversation in Gaelic - about what we’ve been doingover the past month, about what’s been in the news,anything at all. We often can’t find the words and oursentences break down, but our native speaker Aonghasis very kind and patient, and ever ready to supply themissing words to enable us to carry on. And what agreat feeling of achievement when you manage to saysomething in Gaelic that you thought was beyond yourability! Of course, some people prefer to just sit andlisten, and that’s fine too.

For the second hour, we read and translate a piece inGaelic. Often we use the Litir Gàidhlig from the BBCwebsite. We all take it in turns to have a try at readinga sentence or two, and all pitch in to help with thetranslation. It’s great practice, and the stories arereally interesting as well.

So why not come along on a Saturday afternoon? Justshow up at the neighbourhood centre any time fromabout a quarter to two onwards. It’s an old house that’sbeen remodelled, and if the front door isn’t open, justring the bell. If you’re feeling a little shy, you couldalways email one of the committee members andarrange to meet up beforehand, so you can arrivetogether. Or feel free to phone Pamela on 0438 726532 to get more information about the cearcall o rorganise to meet beforehand. We’d love to see youthere!

Coisir Ghàidhlig Astràilianach

The Australian Gaelic Singers are based in Sydney andmeet every Thursday night for rehearsals. The groupis small and very friendly - more like a family really.They always welcome new members. If you’re a singer,you’ll love the Gaelic music - there’s nothing quite likeit in the world. And if you’re a Gaelic enthusiast (youprobably are, if you’re reading this!) then you’ll enjoythe satisfaction of singing in our beautiful language.

On the first Thursday of each month, the choir has a‘Gaelic on the Go’ session, where all comers arewelcome to join in the singing of Gaelic songs. It startsat 7.30pm, in the Presbyterian Church, CampbellStreet, Balmain, and is followed by a friendly cuppa.Just show up on any first Thursday of the month, andyou’ll be sure of a warm welcome.

As we go to press, the choir is preparing for its 25thbirthday party, featuring several outstanding Scottishand Celtic performers, dancing and general merriment.A remarkable achievement, and a tribute to founderRobin MacKenzie-Hunter and his successor BranMacEachaidh. Look out for pictures and a report ofthe ceilidh in our next issue.

More details of the choir’s activities can be found ontheir excellent website, at www.gaelicsingers.org.au,or by contacting Judy on (02) 9498 8209 or Bran on0422 218 461.

Gobaireachd

Bidh buidheann bheag againn a’ tighinn cruinn uair ‘a’ mhìos ann an Sydney airson beagan gobaireachdgu tur ‘s a’ Ghàidhlig. Bidh sinn a’ coinneachadh airan dara oidhche Chiadain den mhìos aig City ExtraCafe - sin aig Circular Quay, eadar Cidhe a Trì agus aCeithir - aig cairteal gu sia. Tha sinn an dùil a bhithnar suidhe a-muigh. Leanaibh fuaim na Gàidhlig aguslorgaidh sibh sinn! Bhiodh sinn toilichte ur faicinnuair sam bith. Airson a bhith cinnteach fònaibh guPòl air (02) 94949 4993.

Scottish Gaelic Society of Victoria

The SGSV hold regular events, including languageclasses on Wednesday nights at the Celtic Club,Melbourne, and the Scottish Gaelic Choir of Victoria isassociated with the SGSV. More details are on theirwebsite at www.scottish-gaelic.org.au, or emailsgsvic@vicnet.net.au.

An Teachdaire Gaidhealach

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