{"id":38731,"date":"2013-12-06T19:43:15","date_gmt":"2013-12-06T19:43:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bletherskite.net\/?p=5653"},"modified":"2013-12-06T19:43:15","modified_gmt":"2013-12-06T19:43:15","slug":"griogal-cridhe-beloved-gregor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/?p=38731","title":{"rendered":"Griogal Cridhe – Beloved Gregor"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"griogal\"<\/a>On a Wednesday evening in Edinburgh, direct your ears upwards while wandering up Victoria Street from the Grassmarket and you might just hear a bit of Gaelic tune floating out onto the street below.<\/p>\n

C\u00f2isir Dh\u00f9n \u00c8ideann<\/a> (Edinburgh Gaelic Choir) meet once a week in the Quaker Meeting House, just a few streets away from the Royal Mile. My interest in Gaelic became piqued earlier this year when I attended a Gaelic harmony workshop, and have been attending choir rehearsals since. In the last few weeks I have noticed that I am becoming more familiar with the language – for example when looking at certain words I can kind of figure out how it’s meant to sound. It’s really hard work, but I had forgotten how much I enjoy singing as part of a group, and it’s an added bonus that I can combine this with learning Gaelic.<\/p>\n

\"macgregor-ad\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At our last rehearsal we sang unison songs as a little break from our usual rehearsal routine. One of them was the song Griogal Cridhe<\/em>, which is the lament of the widow of Gregor Ruadh, the Red MacGregor of Glenstrae. Griogal<\/em> is Gaelic for Gregor, and cridhe<\/em> (a word that I have come across quite a lot in my foray into Gaelic music) means heart, or in this case beloved. The song is the oldest known Gaelic song, and well known in Scotland. There are Gaelic songs that are possibly older, but this one can be dated to a specific event, which just happens to be a heartbreaking chapter from clan history.<\/p>\n

MacGregor (1541-1570) was the 10th chief of Clan MacGregor<\/a>, and his tenure is remembered for a particularly bloody, long-lasting feud with Clan Campbell of Breadalbane<\/a>. Once close allies, the troubles between the two clans came about as the result of a power struggle for control over manpower, lands and other resources in Breadalbane and Lorn. Previously the clans had expanded together from their neighbouring glens into Lorn, settling once again side by side in their new lands. This geographical closeness cemented all kinds of links between the clans including marriages – MacGregor himself was married to Marion Campbell, the daughter of Grey Colin Campbell. When cracks in the clan relationship began to appear, many clansmen were torn between their loyalties.<\/p>\n

Sir Colin Campbell<\/a>, better known has Grey Colin, became Laird of Glenorchy and Baron of Dalach by purchase in 1550. Two years later he evicted the McGregor chieftain from Balloch Castle, demolishing the castle and building one for himself, known as Taymouth Castle and located on the outskirts of the village of Kenmore. Grey Colin’s Taymouth exists to this day in name only – most of the castle was demolished and rebuilt in the 19th Century by the Campbells of Breadalbane.<\/p>\n

The clan feud came to a head in 1562 when Grey Colin imposed hard conditions on the young MacGregor chief, who was infefted with the lands of Glenstrae. (Your Scots word for the day is infeft – an old Scots law word which means to invest with or give symbolical possession of inheritable property). In the same year the MacGregors seized lands on Loch Tay, which resulted in the death of some Campbells and their allies. The raiding and fighting was particularly intense in the following year – Mary, Queen of Scots was even involved, giving authority to Grey Colin to pursue the MacGregors ‘with fire and sword’ through two acts of the Privy Council.<\/p>\n

Seven more years of rebellions and fighting followed, and in 1570 MacGregor was betrayed and captured by Grey Colin and beheaded in the presence of Murray of Atholl and others as a salutary lesson to the Clan MacGregor. MacGregor’s wife, Marion Campbell, is said to have witnessed the execution at the hands of her father, and penned the heartbreaking elegy which we know today in response. In the song, Marion describes the horror of what happened, as she sings to her child:<\/p>\n

Verse 1:
\nI\u00b4Sioma hoidhche fhliuch is thioram
\nSide na seachd sian
\nGheibheadh Griogal dhomhsa creagan
\nRisan gabhainn dion<\/p>\n

Chorus:
\nObhan obhan obhan iri*
\nObhan iri, o!
\nObhan obhan obhan iri
\nSmor mo mhulad smor<\/p>\n

Verse 2:
\nEudail mh\u00f3ir, a shlaugh an Domhain,
\nDh\u00f2irt iad t\u00b4 fhuil o \u00b4n d\u00e9,
\n\u00b4S chuir iad do cheann air stob daraich
\nTacan beag bho d\u00b4 chr\u00e9.<\/p>\n

Verse 3:
\nB \u00b4annsa bhi le Griogal cridhe
\nTe\u00e0rnadh chruidh le gleann,
\nNa le Baran m\u00f3r na Dalach,
\nS\u00ecoda geal mu m\u00b4 cheann.<\/p>\n

Verse 4:
\n\u00b4Nuair a bhois mn\u00e0than \u00f2g a\u00b4 bhaile,
\n\u00b4Nochd nan cadal s\u00e8imh,
\n\u00b4S ann bhios mis\u00b4 air bruaich do lice,
\n\u00b4Bualadh mo dh\u00e0 l\u00e0imh.<\/p>\n

Verse 5:
\nDh\u00ecrich mi dh \u00b4an t-se\u00f2mar mhullaich,
\n\u00b4S theirinn mi \u00b4n tigh-l\u00e0ir,
\n\u00b4S cha d \u00b4fhuair mise Griogal cridhe
\n\u00b4Na shuidhe mu \u00b4n chl\u00e0r.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Translation:<\/p>\n

Many a night both wet and dry
\nWeather of the seven elements
\nGregor would find for me a rocky shelter
\nWhere I would take refuge.<\/p>\n

Chorus:
\nObhan, Obhan, Obhan iri
\nObhan iri O!
\nObhan Obhan Obhan iri,
\nGreat is my sorrow, great.<\/p>\n

Great darling from the “Domhainn” folk
\nThey let your blood yesterday
\nAnd they put your head on an oaken stake
\nNear where your body lay.<\/p>\n

I would be glad to be with dear Gregor
\nGuarding cattle in the glen
\nInstead of with the big Baron “Dalach”
\nWhite silk around my head.<\/p>\n

While the young wives of the town
\nSerenely sleep tonight
\nI will be at the edge of your gravestone
\nBeating my two hands.<\/p>\n

I climbed into the upper chamber
\nAnd lay upon the floor
\nAnd I would not find my dearest Gregor
\nAt the table in his place.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Using the law and the statutes to suit themselves the Campbells<\/a> successfully evicted the MacGregors from Glenorchy and Glenstrae, but the MacGregors<\/a> didn’t take this lightly. Amongst their reprisals for the death of their chief in 1570 was the killing of thirteen Campbells. Although denounced for this, the MacGregors were granted a pardon within two years. 443 years after the fact, the song continues to have an emotional pull on singers, continuing the legacy of these two great clans.<\/p>\n

*The chorus (obhan obhan obhan, etc. . .) is made up of nonsense words, meant only to convey emotion, not meaning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On a Wednesday evening in Edinburgh, direct your ears upwards while wandering up Victoria Street from the Grassmarket and you might just hear a bit of Gaelic tune floating out onto the street below. C\u00f2isir Dh\u00f9n \u00c8ideann (Edinburgh Gaelic Choir) meet once a week in the Quaker Meeting House, just a few streets away from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":39097,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,10,5,50,7],"tags":[1147,597,42,241,1148,1149,1150,1151,1152,1153,1154,1155,182,1156,1157],"class_list":["post-38731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campbell","category-scottish-clans","category-gaelic-heritage","category-macgregor","category-scottish-history","tag-balloch-castle","tag-breadalbane","tag-clan-campbell","tag-edinburgh","tag-edinburgh-gaelic-choir","tag-execution","tag-gaelic-clan-macgregor","tag-gregor-ruadh-red-macgregor-of-glenstrae","tag-grey-colin","tag-griogal-cridhe","tag-lament","tag-marion-campbell","tag-mary-queen-of-scots","tag-sir-colin-campbell","tag-taymouth-castle"],"yoast_head":"\nGriogal Cridhe - Beloved Gregor -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/?p=38731\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Griogal Cridhe - Beloved Gregor -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On a Wednesday evening in Edinburgh, direct your ears upwards while wandering up Victoria Street from the Grassmarket and you might just hear a bit of Gaelic tune floating out onto the street below. C\u00f2isir Dh\u00f9n \u00c8ideann (Edinburgh Gaelic Choir) meet once a week in the Quaker Meeting House, just a few streets away from […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/?p=38731\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-12-06T19:43:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amanda Moffet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amanda Moffet\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\\\/?p=38731#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\\\/?p=38731\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Amanda Moffet\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/efc1b4c282f8440e1f29106b1079c544\"},\"headline\":\"Griogal Cridhe – Beloved Gregor\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-12-06T19:43:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\\\/?p=38731\"},\"wordCount\":1044,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\\\/?p=38731#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"keywords\":[\"Balloch Castle\",\"breadalbane\",\"Clan Campbell\",\"edinburgh\",\"Edinburgh Gaelic Choir\",\"Execution\",\"Gaelic Clan MacGregor\",\"Gregor Ruadh Red MacGregor of Glenstrae\",\"Grey Colin\",\"Griogal Cridhe\",\"Lament\",\"Marion Campbell\",\"Mary Queen of Scots\",\"Sir Colin Campbell\",\"Taymouth Castle\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Campbell\",\"CLANS - Big List of Scottish Clans\",\"Gaelic Heritage\",\"MacGregor\",\"Scottish History\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\\\/?p=38731#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\\\/?p=38731\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\\\/?p=38731\",\"name\":\"Griogal Cridhe - Beloved Gregor -\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\\\/?p=38731#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\\\/?p=38731#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-12-06T19:43:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/efc1b4c282f8440e1f29106b1079c544\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\\\/?p=38731#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\\\/?p=38731\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\\\/?p=38731#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\\\/?p=38731#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Griogal Cridhe – Beloved Gregor\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/efc1b4c282f8440e1f29106b1079c544\",\"name\":\"Amanda Moffet\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e399873c4b68b9e39518787ce3440c6f7c705f37278b56586b3100f64c657b81?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e399873c4b68b9e39518787ce3440c6f7c705f37278b56586b3100f64c657b81?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e399873c4b68b9e39518787ce3440c6f7c705f37278b56586b3100f64c657b81?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Amanda Moffet\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.scotclans.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\\\/?author=3\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Griogal Cridhe - Beloved Gregor -","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/?p=38731","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Griogal Cridhe - Beloved Gregor -","og_description":"On a Wednesday evening in Edinburgh, direct your ears upwards while wandering up Victoria Street from the Grassmarket and you might just hear a bit of Gaelic tune floating out onto the street below. C\u00f2isir Dh\u00f9n \u00c8ideann (Edinburgh Gaelic Choir) meet once a week in the Quaker Meeting House, just a few streets away from […]","og_url":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/?p=38731","article_published_time":"2013-12-06T19:43:15+00:00","author":"Amanda Moffet","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Amanda Moffet","Estimated reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/?p=38731#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/?p=38731"},"author":{"name":"Amanda Moffet","@id":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/#\/schema\/person\/efc1b4c282f8440e1f29106b1079c544"},"headline":"Griogal Cridhe – Beloved Gregor","datePublished":"2013-12-06T19:43:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/?p=38731"},"wordCount":1044,"commentCount":1,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/?p=38731#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","keywords":["Balloch Castle","breadalbane","Clan Campbell","edinburgh","Edinburgh Gaelic Choir","Execution","Gaelic Clan MacGregor","Gregor Ruadh Red MacGregor of Glenstrae","Grey Colin","Griogal Cridhe","Lament","Marion Campbell","Mary Queen of Scots","Sir Colin Campbell","Taymouth Castle"],"articleSection":["Campbell","CLANS - Big List of Scottish Clans","Gaelic Heritage","MacGregor","Scottish History"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/?p=38731#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/?p=38731","url":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/?p=38731","name":"Griogal Cridhe - Beloved Gregor -","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/?p=38731#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/?p=38731#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","datePublished":"2013-12-06T19:43:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/#\/schema\/person\/efc1b4c282f8440e1f29106b1079c544"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/?p=38731#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/?p=38731"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/?p=38731#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/?p=38731#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Griogal Cridhe – Beloved Gregor"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/","name":"","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/#\/schema\/person\/efc1b4c282f8440e1f29106b1079c544","name":"Amanda Moffet","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e399873c4b68b9e39518787ce3440c6f7c705f37278b56586b3100f64c657b81?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e399873c4b68b9e39518787ce3440c6f7c705f37278b56586b3100f64c657b81?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e399873c4b68b9e39518787ce3440c6f7c705f37278b56586b3100f64c657b81?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Amanda Moffet"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.scotclans.com"],"url":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/?author=3"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/project1-m9gb2xku8.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}