Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna
Donald MacDonald | |
---|---|
Native name | Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna |
Born | Claddach Baleshare, An Eala Bhàn | 9 July 1887
Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna (Red Donald of Coruna; 9 July 1887 – 13 August 1967), legally Donald MacDonald or Dòmhnall MacDhòmhnaill, was a
He wrote
Family background
When the poet was young, he was often told stories about the experiences of his maternal great-grandparents during the Napoleonic Wars.
According to the family's oral tradition, the bard's great-grandmother, Mór Chaimbeul ("Marion Campbell") of
Marion lost her first husband a member of Clan MacLeod of Dunvegan, at the Battle of Corunna as well.[3] She then began living with another soldier who had fought in the Battle named Domhnall mac Mhurchaidh 'ic Iain 'ic Mhurchaidh ("Donald Ferguson") (1780–1845), moved with him to North Uist, and married him there.[4][5]
In later years, a Gaelic rhyme about Marion became popular in North Uist:
- "Blàr mòr Chorùna, 1809 –
- Chaidh Mòr mhòr Chorùna
- A-null dhan an Fhraing"[6]
- "The big Battle of Corunna, 1809 –
- Big Marion of Corunna
- Went over to France."[7]
According to Bill Lawson, the Fergusons of
After they arrived in North Uist, the local
Dòmhnall Ruadh later said of Donald Ferguson, "He was the only soldier on the island except for one other over
In commenting on the Bard's family history, Ronald Black has written, "As Fred Macauley points out, the poet's background thus contained a certain glorification of war which was to expire forever in the mud of France."[11]
Early life
Dòmhnall Ruadh Corùna was born in the house built by his maternal great-grandfather on 9 July 1887. There were three other children in his family, two boys and a girl.[12]
His mother, Flòraidh Fhionnghuala Dhòmhnaill 'ic Mhurchaidh 'ic Iain 'ic Mhurchaidh, worked as a domestic servant. Her father, Dòmhnall mac Ailein 'ic Chaluim, is known to have been both a
The poet's father, Dòmhnall MacDhòmhnaill, worked as a
Unlike the population of the nearby islands of
Dòmhnall briefly attended a district school at Carinish, which also contains the ruins of a 13th-century Augustinian convent and "college of learning" called Teampull na Trionaid.[16]
However, due to the 1872 Education Act, only English was taught or tolerated in the schools of the Highlands and Islands. Although Dòmhnall would later describe his school days in the poem Òran Nan Sgoilearan ("The Schoolchildren's Song") and how all the students were "hungry, deprived, barefoot, bareheaded,"[17] the Bard would never say whether he experienced what Ronald Black calls the, "familiar Scottish experience of being thrashed for speaking his native language."[18]
The Bard's education was very similar to that of fellow Gaelic language
As a result of his education, the bard would never learn to read or write in Scottish Gaelic, and always had to compose letters in English.[20] However, he began composing Gaelic poetry at the age of 13. His mother was reportedly impressed with his abilities and made him promise never to compose scurrilous or satirical verse. Dòmhnall had a very deep respect for his mother and it was a promise he always honored. This, and the introspection caused by his experiences in World War I, sets him apart from other Scottish Gaelic poets.[21]
As he later recalled in his war poem Che b' e Gunna mo Nàmhaid ("It Was Not My Enemy's Gun"), a young Dòmhnall was fond of roaming the countryside of North Uist with a muzzle-loading musket, which he used for
In the same poem, however, Dòmhnall recalled,
- "Is beag a shaoilinn an uair ud
- Gu robh 'n cruas seo gam ionnsaigh.
- 'S e gaol na mosgaid a dh'fhàg
- Fo ghlas-làmh aig a' Chrùn mi,
- An gaol a thug mi nam òige
- A bhith 'n còmhnaidh ga stiùreadh."[24]
- "Little did I guess then
- That this hardship was ahead.
- It was my love for the musket
- That left me fettered to the Crown,
- The fascination from my youth
- Of aiming it."[25]
World War I
Like many other young men of his time, Dòmhnall Ruadh joined the
Active service
Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna's Battalion first saw combat on September 25, 1915; the first day of the
On the first day, the 15th (Scottish) Division captured the village of Loos-en-Gohelle and Hill 70. Theirs was the furthest advance by any of the six British divisions involved in the first day of the battle, but it could not be exploited by the Allied forces.
Meanwhile, unlike more famous
For example, during his baptism of fire at the
Unbeknownst to Dòmhnall, he was actually describing the first use of
In his poem Tha Mi Duilich, Cianail, Duilich ("I am Sad, Lamenting, and Full of Sorrow") Dòmhnall expresses grief for his friends who have fallen. He recalls their
In the poem Dh'fhalbh na Gillean Grinn ("Off Went the Handsome Lads"), Dòmhnall describes both the exhilaration and the rage of going on a Highland charge against German trenches, the hatred he would feel for the enemy when seeing his friends fall, and the extreme satisfaction he would feel only moments later, while overrunning the enemy's trench and killing many German soldiers in close combat. The poem ends, however, with Dòmhnall and his fellow soldiers being awakened to grief, as their officers as for and then take down the name of the enormous number of Cameron Highlanders who were killed during the same attack.[36]
Meanwhile, the devastating effectiveness of
In his poem
In the late autumn of 1916, while serving at the Battle of the Somme, Dòmhnall Ruadh received orders from his Captain to take up a position in no man's land, fifty yards forward of the Cameron Highlanders' trench and twenty yards from a bridge, which was being worked on by a bomb squad commanded by an Irish NCO named Corporal Donnelly.[41]
Soon after taking his place in a shell hole, Dòmhnall found himself in the midst of an artillery barrage. The first shell hit the parapet of the bridge and exploded. The next two shells landed much closer to Dòmhnall's position, blew him up into the air, and knocked him unconscious. One of Dòmhnall's closest friends, Ruairidh MacLeòid from Howmore in South Uist, volunteered to go out in no man's land to look for him, but soon returned in tears, saying that Dòmhnall had been killed in the barrage.[42]
Dòmhnall Ruadh remained unconscious in the shell hole for three hours before he began coming to. Then, as his eyesight began to return, he saw the ruins of the bridge and remembered where he was. He then crawled out of the shell hole and sat down on the edge of it. At that moment, a German sniper opened fire on Dòmhnall from close range.[43]
The sniper's second shot hit its mark and Dòmhnall slid feet first back into the shell hole. As he examined his injuries, Dòmhnall realized that he had been wounded in the side by
Dòmhnall waited inside the shell hole until he was certain that the sniper had stopped watching him. By then, the sun had risen high.[45]
He later recalled, "Anyway, I was able to crawl, to swim along the ground very cautiously all the way until I came in sight of the boys. And then they then began to shout to me to take it easy and keep down, until I tumbled into the trench where they were, and I was there until they got ahold of stretcher-bearers. My condition improved then and I was reasonably comfortable. I spent a fortnight back at base before they risked sending me back to England, I was so ill."[46]
Dòmhnall would later recall that, soon after his removal from the firing line, his close friend Ruairidh MacLeòid was killed in action.[47]
An Eala Bhàn
While recovering from his injuries, Dòmhnall composed the love song An Eala Bhàn ("The White Swan")[48] which he addressed to Magaidh NicLeòid, who was also called Magaidh Raghnaill Shaighdear ("Maggie, the Daughter of Ranald the Soldier"),[49] of Lochmaddy in North Uist, the woman whom he hoped to marry. It is the best known of Dòmhnall's songs and poems,[50] defined as a cianalas-style lament for his lover and homeland.[51]
According to Fred Macauley, "As happens to many other songs in the oral tradition, it is seldom sung as the Bard composed it. The words have changed over the years, the name is no longer Maggie and even the air is not original. 'They've spoiled it in
Like other Scottish Gaelic and Welsh poetry from World War I, the song expresses the futility and human destruction inherent in war.[54]
Return to duty
Despite recovering from his injuries, Dòmhnall Ruadh was ruled unfit to return to
Later life
Changed Days
According to John A. Macpherson, "After the war, Dòmhnall Ruadh returned home to Corùna, but although he was thankful to be alive, he was, like most other returning soldiers, disillusioned. The land which they had been promised was as securely held by the landlords as it had ever been, and so were the hunting and fishing rights."[56]
According to Bill Lawson, in some parts of North Uist,
According to Fred Macauley, "despite the love," that Dòmhnall and Magaidh NicLeòid, "had for each other, they never married. He himself never mentioned what came between them, but there is a tradition that Maggie's father disapproved and actually forbade the marriage."[58]
In 1922, Dòmhnall married Annie MacDonald (Anna Ruairidh 'ic Nèill, 1890–1971).[59]
He later recalled, "I was quite as happy and never regretted it. I got Ann MacDonald instead. We have been together for almost 40 years and we are as happy together today as we were the first day, in a lovely little warm home, clean and tidy, needing nothing but what we cannot have – health and youth."[60]
Dòmhnall and Annie had two children, Mary and Calum, both of whom died in 1965.[61]
According to John A. Macpherson, "He took up the craft of a stone-mason, as many crofters were building new houses, and he was a diligent worker and good walker, often walking twenty miles to the site of a new house. Between the two world wars he built more than thirty houses, and there is hardly a township in Uist without evidence of his skills."[62]
Despite this, the years after the Great War were very empty and there was very little work.[63] As a result, the memory of those who emigrated to Canada or the United States is still very present on North Uist.[64]
Many years later, Dòmhnall would express his feelings about those years in the poem, Caochladh Suigheachadh na Duthcha ("Changed Days"). He recalled the poverty of his youth and how he and his fellow Scottish Gaels went to war and frustrated
Dòmhnall used to often say of those years, "If it weren't for the gun and what I poached, it would have been dire poverty."[66]
In his poem Dhan Gàidhlig ("For Gaelic"), Dòmhnall urged his fellow
Second World War
Upon the outbreak of the
On 16 November 1939 the British merchant ship S.S. Arlington Court was torpedoed and sunk on the Atlantic Ocean by the crew of the German submarine U-43.[69] In the poem Calum Moireasdan an Arlington Court ("Calum Morrison of the Arlington Court"), Dòmhnall paid tribute to the courage shown by one of the survivors, a seventeen year old merchant seaman from Calbost in the Isle of Lewis. Morrison had been the only survivor in his lifeboat who had known how to sail and managed to pilot the lifeboat eastwards for five days, until he and his fellow survivors were rescued at the mouth of the English Channel.[70]
Also during the Second World War, Dòmhnall served in the Home Guard, about which he composed the song Òran a' Home Guard ("The Song of the Home Guard"), which pokes fun at an exercise in which a platoon from North Uist was ordered to simulate retaking Benbecula Airport from the invading Germans.[71]
At the same time, Dòmhnall's son Calum MacDonald served in the Merchant navy, and regularly sailed within sight of North Uist on his travels between the port of Glasgow and the United States. With this in mind, the Bard composed the poem Am Fianais Uibhist ("In Sight of Uist").[72]
Cold War era
According to Ronald Black, "Experiencing a degree of prosperity for the first time in his life after the
On 1 November 1952 the United States successfully detonated "
In his poem Òran an H-Bomb ("The Song of the H-Bomb"), Dòmhnall criticized the resulting threat of global
On 28 March 1956, when
In one of his last poems, Chuala Mi 'n Damh Donn sa Mhòintich ("I Heard the Brown Stag on the Moor"), Dòmhnall relates how, old and blind, he heard the cry of a red deer stag. The Bard then looked back on his past hunting exploits and struggled to accept both his present inability to hunt and the fact that his final departure from his beloved island was going to be very soon.[76]
As he grew ever closer to the end, Dòmhnall Ruadh also composed many poems in which he expressed contrition for his sins, expressed the hope for God's forgiveness, and prepared to face the Divine judgment seat. He often expressed hope in these poems that, instead of being consigned to Hell, he would be received into Heaven and reunited with his deceased friends and loved ones.[77]
When Dòmhnall was dying in the hospital in
- "Bu phrionnsa measg nam bàrd thu
- Bha iomraiteach bad chuairt;
- Do ghibtean bha neo-àbhaisteach,
- 'S neo-bhàsmhor bidh do dhuain.
- Am feadh 's a bhios a' Ghàidhlig
- Mar chànan aig an t-sluagh
- An Uibhist, eilean d'àraich,
- Bidh cuimhn' ort, a Dhòmhnall Ruaidh."[78]
- "You were a prince among the bards,
- Renowned in your lifetime,
- Unusually gifted,
- And your poetry will ensure.
- While Gaelic remains
- The language of the people
- In Uist, your native island,
- You, Dòmhnall Ruaidh, will always be remembered."[79]
According to Fred Macauley, "He not only had an artist's eye for detail but he had an understanding and sympathy for his fellow man which attracted people to his poetry and moved them in harmony with his themes. He was proud of his heritage as a Gael, he loved his language, and his roots were deep in the miracle of creation. His was a life of much sorrow, yet it ended in happiness and contentment without a trace of fear."[80]
Death
Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna died at Lochmaddy on 13 August 1967.[81]
Like the 18th century North Uist Bard
- "'Chan eil sinn uileadh ach air chuairt
- Mar dhíthein buaile fás
- Bheir siantannan na bliadhna síos
- 'S nach tog a' ghrian an áird."[84]
- "We are all of us on a brief journey,
- Like the field flower that grows
- And succumbs to the changing season,
- The sun no longer able to revive it."[85]
Legacy
According to Ronald Black, "Fortunately, at the instigation of Fred MacAuley of the BBC, most of Dòmhnall Ruadh's poems and songs had been written down from his dictation shortly before his death by John Alick MacPherson, who was at that time a teacher at Paible. They were first published by Gairm Publications in 1969 in an all-Gaelic edition prepared by MacPherson, Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna. This edition contains 12 poems and songs from 1914–1920, 17 from 1920–1945, and 28 from 1945–1966, 57 items in all, although the later poems are, on average, much shorter than the earlier ones."[86]
When it was first published in 1969, Dòmhnall Ruadh's verse proved very popular and all copies sold out in a very short time. Also, in a sign of how much things had changed since the Bard's childhood, his poetry collection was adopted as a
Also according to Ronald Black, "[The first edition] was followed in 1995 by an illustrated
Since its author's death, An Eala Bhàn has been overwhelmingly voted as the greatest Gaelic song of all time in a poll by the BBC.[89] It has also been both sung and recorded by artists as diverse as Calum Kennedy, Donnie Munro, and Capercaillie.
As of 1999, the poet's heirs and the guardians of his copyrights were Mary Campbell, Neil Campbell, and Mrs. Fay Buesnel of Jersey in the Channel Islands, all of whom are the children of Mrs. Maggie Campbell, the niece of Dòmhnall's wife.[90]
On 1 July 2016, following a brief introduction by actress
The South Uist poet Dòmhnall Iain Dhonnchaidh, who was a cousin of Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna, wrote the following eulogy for him:
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References
- ^ An Tuil, page 740.
- ^ Dòmhnall Ruadh Choruna Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath, 1995. Pages 18–19.
- ^ Ronald Black (1999), An Tuil: Anthology of 20th Century Scottish Gaelic Verse, page 740.
- ^ Ronald Black (1999), An Tuil: Anthology of 20th Century Scottish Gaelic Verse, page 740.
- ^ Bill Lawson (2011), North Uist in History and Legend, page 75.
- ^ Dòmhnall Ruadh Choruna Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath, 1995. Page xxv.
- ^ Dòmhnall Ruadh Choruna Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath, 1995. Page xxxiv.
- ^ Bill Lawson (2011), North Uist in History and Legend, page 80.
- ^ Dòmhnall Ruadh Choruna Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath, 1995. Pages 18–19.
- ^ Dòmhnall Ruadh Choruna Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath, 1995. Pages 18–19.
- ^ Ronald Black (1999), An Tuil: Anthology of 20th Century Scottish Gaelic Verse, page 740.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, (1995), page xvi.
- ^ Ronald Black (1999), An Tuil: Anthology of 20th Century Scottish Gaelic Verse, page 739.
- ^ Ronald Black (1999), An Tuil: Anthology of 20th Century Scottish Gaelic Verse, page 739.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), pages 184–185.
- ^ Lawson (2011), North Uist in History and Legend, pages 77–80.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, (1995), pages 144–147.
- ^ Ronald Black (1999), An Tuil: Anthology of 20th Century Scottish Gaelic Verse, page 787.
- ^ Ronald Black (1999), An Tuil: Anthology of 20th century Scottish Gaelic Verse, pp. 757–759.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, (1995), page xlv.
- ^ Ronald Black (1999), An Tuil: Anthology of 20th Century Scottish Gaelic Verse, page 740.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), pages 12–17.
- ^ Bill Lawson (2011), North Uist in History and Legend, Birlinn. Pages 207–208.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), page 16.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), page 17.
- ^ An Tuil, page 740.
- ISBN 0-95759-782-7.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna (1995), page 40-41.
- ^ Heller, Charles E (September 1984). Chemical Warfare in World War I: The American Experience, 1917–1918 (Report). Leavenworth Papers. US Army Command and General Staff College.
- ^ "Gas". Weaponry. First World War.
- ISBN 1-84022-229-8.
- ^ [1] Listverse article, "8 worst cases of friendly fire.
- ISBN 0-316-83400-9.
- ISBN 0-295-98296-9.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna (1995), page 24-27.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Chorùna (1995), page 36-39.
- OCLC 1907457,
It was perhaps seven or eight hundred yards from our trenches to the German line, nearly half a mile, and over this space went the Ladies from Hell, as the Germans call the Scottishers.
- ^ Riguidel, Lt., Donna (7 July 2010). Queens' Own Camerons History Made With History Book Presentation. Department of National Defence (Canada).
"Ladies from Hell" was a nickname given to kilted regiments during the First World War, by the Germans that faced them in the trenches (Die Damen aus der Hölle).
{{cite book}}
:|work=
ignored (help) - ^ Clive Cussler (1996),The Sea Hunters: True Adventures with Famous Shipwrecks, pp. 274–275.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna (1995), page 42-43.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna (1995), page 34.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna (1995), page 32-34.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna (1995), page 34.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna (1995), page 34-35.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna (1995), page 34.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna (1995), page 34.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna (1995), page 32-34.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna (1995), page 58-63.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna (1995), page 59.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna (1995), page xxxiii.
- ISBN 978-90-04-31745-1.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna (1995), page xxxiii.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna (1995), pages 58–59.
- ISBN 978-1-107-01823-5.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), pages 44–49.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), page xvi.
- ^ Bill Lawson (2011), North Uist in History and Legend, Birlinn Press.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), page xxxiii.
- ^ An Tuil, page 740.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), page xxxiii.
- ^ An Tuil, page 740.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), page xvii.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), page xxxv.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), pages 174–175.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna (1995), page 174-177.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), page xxxv.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), pages 88–91.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), pages 100–101.
- ^ S.S. Arlington Court
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), pages 106–109.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), pages 102–105.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), pages 96–99.
- ^ An Tuil, page 740.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), pages 154–155.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), pages 142–143.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), page 188-189.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), pages 178–185, 190–193.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), page 199.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), page 199.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), page xli.
- ^ An Tuil, page 740.
- ^ Bill Lawson (2011), North Uist in History and Legend, page 32.
- ^ Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), pages 196–197.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), page 198.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), page 58-59.
- ^ An Tuil, page 740.
- ^ Domhnall Ruadh Choruna, Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), pages x–xi.
- ^ An Tuil, page 740.
- ISBN 978-1-4438-5567-9.
- ^ Ronald Black (1999), An Tuil: Anthology of 20th Century Scottish Gaelic Verse, page 741.
- ^ Julie Honoured to Perform at the Somme Centenary Commemoration Service
- ^ An Tuil, page 740.
- ^ Chì Mi / I See: Bàrdachd Dhòmhnaill Iain Dhonnchaidh / The Poetry of Donald John MacDonald, edited by Bill Innes. Acair, Stornoway, 2021. Pages 288-291.
Further reading
- Ronald Black, An Tuil: Anthology of 20th Century Scottish Gaelic Verse, Polygon Press, 1999.
- Edited by Jo MacDonald (2015), Cuimhneachan: Bàrdachd a' Chiad Chogaidh/Remembrance: Gaelic Poetry of World War One, Acair Books, Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay
- Fred MacAulay (editor), Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna, Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath, 1995.
External links
- BBC RADIO NAN GÀIDHEAL The bard Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna in conversation with Fred Macaulay about his early life and poetry in 1962 (30 minutes, in Scottish Gaelic)
- An interview with retired North Uist teacher Willie MacDonald, who reads and discusses the poetry of Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna in both English and Gaelic, as well as the lasting effects of the Great War upon the people of North Uist