An Comunn Gàidhealach Publications > Gaidheal > Volumes 44--45, January 1949--December 1950

Fio* o*ii Ifimiaire
TULE Ayr Branch of An
Comunn closed its winter
session with a grand concert
in the Masonic Hall on Friday,
5th May. Mrs. J. M. Banner-
man, Convener of the War
Memorial and Thanksgiving Fund
'Committee, presided and in the
■course of an interesting address
made reference to the Grand
Feill to be held in Glasgow on
17th - 20th May. The Ayr
Branch has given splendid sup¬
port to this major effort, and
Mrs. Bannerman was handed an
envelope containing £2 contri¬
buted by members of the Junior
Gaelic Choir. This contribution
was earmarked for the Comunn
na h-Oigridh Stall.
Mrs. Bannerman was intro¬
duced by Mr. Alasdair Mac-
Kechnie, President, and other
speakers included the Rev.
Archibald Beaton and Mr. Neil
Shaw, General Secretary.
The programme was of a very
high standard and the Ayr
Gaelic Choir, conducted by Mr.
Donald Maclsaac, gave pleasing
renderings of Gaelic songs. Others
who contributed were : Miss
Chris MacPherson (violinist),
and Messrs. Alex. Carmichael.
Alex. MacKenzie, Donald Mac-
Isaac, and Angus Whyte. A
male voice quartette added to
the success of the evening.
EDINBURGH LOCAL MOD
THE Edinburgh Local Mod,
under the auspices of the
Edinburgh Branch of An
Comunn, was held in the Central
Halls on Friday, 29th April.
The number /of entries was
disappointing but the general
standard was very satisfactory.
Mr. John MacKay, President
of the Branch, was Chairman of
the proceedings, and Mr. Donald
Cameron, Secretary, was in
charge of the arrangements. The
General Secretary represented
Headquarters.
The adjudicators were : for
Gaelic, Mr. Murdo MacLeod.
JJaddiingtdn, and Rev. Angus
Duncan, Ladvbank; for Music,
Mr. J. B. S. Whitfield: for
Piping, Messrs. J. Hector Ross.
J. A. Gill, and Colin Strelly.
The evening concert was fairly
well attended, and, in addition to
the first-prize winners, the
following guest artistes took
oart : Miss Ina MacLellan, and
Messrs. Archie Grant. Neil Mac-
Lean, and Iain Robertson.
NOTES
The first-prize winners were :—
Junior Section
Recitation—Adrian Mackintosh,
Fort William. Reading at sight
—Christine MacBride. Reading
at sight (learners)—Margaret
Mackinnon.
Solo-singing (girls)—Christine
MacBride. Solo-singing (girls,
learners)—Jessie Cameron. Solo-
singing (boys)—Adrian Mackin¬
tosh. Solo-singing (boys, learners)
— \drian Mackintosh.
Piping (March, Strathspey,
and Reel)—James Fairley, Edin¬
burgh.
Senior Section
Solo-singing : Ladies. Pre¬
scribed solo—Mrs Margaret
Boyd, Edinburgh. Solo (own
choice)—Nina Robertson, Edin¬
burgh. Solo (unaccompanied)—
Oighrig MacNeil. Special prize
for highest aggregate—Oighrig
MacNeil.
Male and female voices (con¬
fined, learners) (Tir nam Beann
Trophy for song of own choice
preceded by Gaelic conversation)
THIS is the title of a newly
published book (Albyn
Press, Edinburgh, 6/-) by
the late Rev. Dr. Neil Ross,
formerly minister of Laggan,
President of An Comunn
Gaidhealach, and for thirteen
years Editor ot An Gaidheat.
The book consists of a long
Gaelic poem, running to well over
a thousand lines, with an
English verse translation opposite
the Gaelic text. The theme is
the recent war, and the poem is
an epic in praise of the valour
of onr nation against almost over¬
whelming might. Its first line is
reminiscent of Vergil’s opening
line in the Aeneid—“ Mosgail,
a chl&rsach nan dan, gu luaidh
air gniomharan gaisgeil.” It is
also reminiscent of Vergil and
other great epics in that the
poet writes in hexameters, which,
although foreign to Gaelic poetry,
carry their stately, majestic
sweep even into the Gaelic. The
poem, which is only a fragment
of what was meant to be a
longer work, describes the events
of the early years of the war
(Dr. Robs died in 1943)—the
events leading up to the Nazi
ascendancy in Europe, the out¬
break of war, the Graf Spee en-
—Mrs. Margaret Boyd. Duet
(open)—Ann M. Gillies and
Mary MacColl, Glasgow. Puirt-
a-beul—Mary MacColl.
Pianoforte solo (March, Strath¬
spey, and Reel)—Oighrig
MacNeil.
Piping — Piobaireachd—John
Slattery, Edinburgh.
THE LATE
MRS. A. L. MACDONALD
WE regret to record the
death at Firth view.
Nairn, on 17th May
of Mrs. Catherine Mac¬
Donald, wife of Mr. Angus
L. MacDonald, late H.M.I.S.
Mrs. MacDonald had been a
member of An Comunn for many
years and, like her husband, was
keenly interested in its efforts to
preserve the language of her
race. Mrs. MacDonald was of a
kindly disposition, and a visit to
her hospitable home was always
a pleasure. In Gaelic conversa¬
tion she had a fine command of
Lewis idiom and she had a wide
knowledge of Gaelic lore and
literature.
We extend deep sympathy to
Mr. MacDonald and his two
daughters iris their bereavement.
gagement, the overrunning of the
Low Countries and France, and
the concentrated air attack on
Britain. It is a remarkable piece
of work, and, as Dr. D. J. Mac¬
Leod says in a Foreword, “ It is
thoroughly characteristic of Dr.
Ross’s best work, of his erudition
as a Celtic scholar, and of his
unrivalled command of his native
language.” (A Gaelic review of
the book will be found on p. 85).
THE MORVEN MEMORIAL
THE cottage with a garden
and a boat by the shore,”
which the Glasgow Morven
Association decided upon as their
War Memorial, have now been
built and equipped for use, and
the formal opening of the Holiday
Home will take place on 10th
June. Mrs. M\. L. Cameron.
Glasgow, who rwas mainly re¬
sponsible for initiating the
scheme and carrying it through
to success, deserves the highest
praise, although she herself
would be the first to include in
any credit given the many who
responded to her enthusiastic
leadership.
ARMAGEDDON
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