The ancient Clan Chattan possess a wooden chanter (finger pipe of the bagpipes) known as ‘The Black Chanter’ or ‘Feadan Dubh’. The chanter is one of the Clan’s most cherished possessions alongside their Green Banner and is kept at Cluny Castle in Badenoch—the Seat of the Chief of Clan Chattan/MacPherson. The prosperity of the House […]
Living in Edinburgh we know the ghost tours well. You can’t go through a walk in the city centre without crossing paths with one, combination of pale faced tourists and giggling people huddled in the the back of the group avidly listening to their tour guide theatrically telling ghoulish tales of what terrible deed happened […]
I am of the opinion that there is value in pre-colonial indigenous ideas about how to get on in this world and so they are worth exploring. I live in the midst of recognized indigenous cultures in every direction, as far as the eye can see. Some of these cultures are still alive; others just remnants disclosed […]
Throughout Scottish history there have been many battles fought on Scots soil, many have been fought on English soil, however a few battles between Scotland and England have taken place on French soil. Few have been as important as this one though; the Battle of Baugé Background: The Battle was part of the ‘Hundred Years War’ […]
Gaels are real people and they tend to do really cool things. While Gaelic activism often requires us to narrowly draw down our focus onto the ancient origins and past experience of our Scottish Gaelic ancestors, we are fortunate to be refreshed by the active, innovative and vibrant – not to mention living – Gaelic community in […]
Scottish Gaelic in the United States truly is a marginalized language and culture, and it has been largely subsumed and reinvented on a very different Anglo-Scottish model. Thus, much of the discussion necessary to set the stage for expanded efforts at Gaelic culture and language recovery and revitalization tends to be a bit dark and more than a little uncomfortable. Such […]
Battle of Drumnacoub (between 1427 and 1433) This battle was an internal feud among the men of Clan MacKay but also involved some Sutherland men. A disastrous battle, it led to the loss of many senior members of the clan and most of the belligerents on both sides. The origins of the battle begin with […]
Yesterday was the birthday of a great Gael. One of the greatest in fact. Poet, story teller and Gaelic cultural warrior Somhairle MacGill-Eain (Sorely MacLean) was born on Raasay on October 26th in 1911. Somhairle died in 1996. Had the Gaelic people, culture and kingdom not been overtaken and marginalized (i.e. stolen) by Anglo aggression, ethnic cleansing and forced […]
If one looks at Scotland from a certain perspective, it is completely possible to identify two distinct worlds co-existing under one Alban sky. A close reading of north Britain human history reveals about 1,300 post-Roman years of a multi-cultural, multi-lingual, dynamic melting pot of Gaelic, Pict, Norse, Briton and finally Anglo Saxons and Normans. Rich, […]
I wrote a Not Your Father’s Gaelic blog post a few weeks ago wherein I expressed how nice it would be to have neighbors who are aware of and interested in their Scottish Gaelic heritage. Perhaps even neighbors with whom I could joke around in Gaelic! As it is, even my own (Italian American) mother’s eyes […]
