Appearing in court on
the 2nd of June, 1908, ten cottars from the small island of Vatersay were
presented before the Court of Session in Edinburgh on charges of breach of
interdict (injunction) and contempt of court. In the eyes of the authority
their alleged crime was to resist eviction from the island which they hard
raided and on which they had constructed
temporary huts and planted potatoes without seeking or intending to seek permission from the landowner, Lady Gordon of Cathcart. That, in a nutshell,
was the case against the Vatersay Raiders.
The men from Barra and Mingulay had
originally taken matters into their own hands and ‘invaded’ the island in July
1906 but despite repeated attempts by Lady Cathcart to serve interdicts their
resolve was as strong as ever to remain put. By January 1908, Lady Cathcart had
clearly lost her patience and served a complaint for breach of interdict and
contempt of court on these men. The case is far too convoluted to give in any
more detail here suffice to say that the court, somewhat predictably, upheld
the side of the landlord.
These men were by no means by the
first “land raiders” in the Highlands and Islands, driven to act by iniquitous
landlordism, and they would certainly not be the last. The trial and ensuing
events of the summer of 1908 became a cause célèbre, which had considerable
ramifications at a time when land reform was high on Westminster’s agenda.
The
case of the Vatersay Raiders caused such a furore across Scotland that the government
eventually purchased the island for crofting – though not before the ten
raiders had served most of the two-month prison sentences they were given for
breach of interdict and contempt of court.They
may have lost the battle but they had won the war. In many ways, Vatersay could
be described at that time as a microcosm of what was then happening across the Highlands
and Islands, as landlords became hostages not only to changing fortunes, but
also to the increasingly expensive lifestyles they embraced in Edinburgh and
London. It was their tenants who bore the brunt of these financial
difficulties, a situation that could no longer be sustained or tolerated.
On
the 2nd of March 1947, Calum Maclean was coming near to his first (but no his
last) fieldtrip to Barra, met MacPhee (1869–1954), known as Dòmhnall Bàn Eileanach, a crofter-fisherman from Brevig in Barra. MacPhee
was born on the remote isle of Mingulay, some dozen miles south of Barra, which
was completely abandoned by 1912. The people of Mingulay subsequently resettled
in Barra as well as neighbouring Vatersay. In his obituary notice it states
that MacPhee was “a man of keen intellect and retentive memory, he was a
senachie of outstanding powers, being well-versed in the lore of his native
island. On his marriage he took up residence in Brevig, where his home became
the village ceilidh house.”
In a
note written by John Lorne Campbell, the following information is provided:
“Domhnall Bàn Eileanach [Eileanach = Mingulay man] recorded about 130 Mingulay
place names for me in 1937. He also sent me the story Leum Iain Òig, published in ‘Outlook’ and other items written in
Gaelic by himself. These are all that remain of his lore. His papers were
destroyed by a member of the family after his death [JLC].”
Maclean
transcribed a few items from his recitation, a self-composed song, a toast, and
a very interesting socio-historical recollection of the events leading up to
and during the Vatersay Raid in 1906, together with the local and national
repercussions thereafter. At the time of his death, MacPhee was survived by his
wife and their family of three sons, Calum, Donald and Michael, as well as their
three daughters, Catriona, Morag and Peggy.
The
following is one of only a few Gaelic oral accounts recorded from an
eye-witness which very much offers an insider’s recollection of an event that
he took part in over forty years before. Of course, like any other oral
testimony, it may diverge here and there, as the narrator himself admits, from the
historical record but its value lays more in its fascinating glimpses of a
voice not so often heard:
Thóigeas síos an seanchas seo ó Dhòmhnall Mac
a’ Phì (Dòmhnall Bàn Eileanach), c. 70, talmhaidhe agus sean-iasgaire,
Brèibhig, Barraigh. Rugadh agus tòigeadh Dòmhnall Bàn Eileanach i Miughalaigh.
Tá sé a’ trácht annseo ar an uair a d’fhága an sluagh Oileán Mhiughalaigh agus
a chuaidh siad go Bhatarsaidh agus thòigeadar talamh annsin i n-aghaidh na
dlighe. 2:3:1947
This lore was taken down from Donald MacPhee
(Dòmhnall Bàn Eileanach), c. 70, a crofter-fisherman, Brevig, Barra. Donald
MacPhee was born and brought up in Mingulay. He makes mention here of the folk
leaving Mingulay and who went to Vatersay to illegally take land. 2:3:1947.
Well, a
charaid chòir, ’s ann a mhuinntir Mhiughalaigh a tha mise, fear dhe na
h-eileanan an Iar, an dàrna fear is fhaide dhan iar dha na h-Eileanan an Iar,
Eilean Mhiughalaigh. Rugadh ann mi is dh’àraicheadh ann mi. Bha deich
teaghlaich fhichead ann ri mo linn, ach mu dheireadh thòisich iad air tanachadh
ach dh’fhan [riar?]. Bha barrachd math is fhichead teaghlach ann nuair a
thàinig na daoine às air fad gu ruige Bhatarsaigh.
An seòrsa beò-shlàin’ a bh’ aca ’s e iasgach,
iasgach langan, is bha sgothan iasgaich aca eadhon beag is mòr as gach seòrsa.
Bha sgothan beaga aca airson iasgach nan giomach agus na sgothan mòra, troma
nach gabhadh tarraing, is bhiodh iad air acraichean sa Chaolas Bheàrnarach,
agus bha stèisean ciùraidh ann am Beàrnaraigh aig Niall MacNèill, Niall mac
Iain ’ic Aonghais, bràthair athar Mhaighstir Iain Mhìcheil, sagart na Mòirthir.
Bha, an t-iasg aig an àm a bh’ ann an sin, bha e gu math pailt. Bha annlann
eile againn cuideachd. Bha sinn a’ faighinn gu leòr de sgairbh, is de dh’ eunlaidh
ann an àm an t-samhraidh, agus ann an àm an fhoghair gu h-àraid an fheadhainn a
bha aig an taigh, ach aig an àm a bh’ ann an sin, bhiodh na gillean òga ag
iasgach na h-Àird an Ear sa Mhormhaich is ann am Fraserburgh, an Ceann Phàdraig
’s an Obar Dheadhain, agus feadh costa na h-Àird an Ear gu lèir, agus bhiodh
iad a’ tabhairt dhachaigh suim bheag laghach airgid a rèir agus mar a bhiodh an
seisean, a rèir agus mar a bhiodh an t-iasgach. Nan dèanadh iad deagh iasgach,
bhiodh deagh phàigheadh aca a’ tighinn agus bha iad glè mhath dheth còmhla ri
iad fhèin a chothachadh mun chuairt na bliadhna sa gheamhradh agus ann as
t-earrach ag iasgach langan. Ach chuir na tràlairean mu dheireadh stad air.
Chan fhaigheamaid mu dheireadh sìan a b’ fheuch an t-saothair a phàigheadh ar
cosgair air thàilleamh nan tràlairean a bha a’ tràladh mu na h-eileanan, sa
Chaolas Mhiughalach, sa Chaolas Bheàrnarach, sa Chaolas Phabach agus sa Chaolas
Shanndrach. Thàinig oirnn mu dheireadh gum feumamaid an t-eilean fhàgail. Cha
robh beò-shlàin’ againn ann. Cha b’ urra’ dhuinn an gnothach a dhèanamh, agus
chuir sinn romhainn gun toireamaid a-mach Bhatarsaigh, agus gun robh
Bhatarsaigh – ’s e eilean a bhuineadh dha ’r sinnsridh a bh’ ann. Dh’fhalbh ar
sinnsridh às aig àm na h-eviction,
nuair a chuir na h-uachdarain Ghàidhealach air falbh iad gu ruige Canada.
Sgaoil iad às gach àite agus bha Eilean Bhatarsaigh, bha e aig an Dòmhnallach,
bràthair na mhinistear a bh’ ann an Cuidhir, agus tha mi a’ glè chreidsinn
caraide dhan Dotair MacGilleBhràth cuideachd.
Co-dhiù, chuir sinn romhainn gu làidir is
chaidh sinn ann an guaillean a chèile gu làidir. Bha rud mòr againn ri
dhèanamh. Bha fios againn gun robh cumhachd an lagha agus an t-sluaigh nar
n-aghaidh. Ach ged a bha bha aona phoint
àraid as an inntinn againn, ’s ann le Easbaig nan Eileanan, Bishop of the Isles, ’s e bh’ ann, ach
chanamaid sinne aig an àm a bh’ ann an sin Bishop
of Argyll and the Isles, ach ’s e Easbaig nan Eileanan, ’s ann leis a bha
na ceithir [sic] eileanan,
Bhatarsaigh, Sanndraigh, Pabaigh, Miughalaigh is Bèarnaraigh. Dh’fhuiling sinn
gu leòr. Gun teagamh sam bith, sinne a rinn sin, dh’fhuiling sinn even ar cairdean fhèin gu leòr. Ach, co-dhiù,
thug sinn a-mach Bhatarsaigh doirbh ’s mar a bha, agus bha e cho doirbh ri
sgath a chunna mi riamh, ach rinn sinn an gnothach orra. Fhuair sinn buaidh
orra a dh’aindeoin cho làidir ’s a bha an cumhachd, cumhachd an lagh. Chunna
sinn againn fhìn gun robh sinn ann an eilean mara, agus bha sinn òg làidir gun
teagamh sam bith, ged a bha seann-daoine nar measg.
Bha seann-daoine ceart gu leòr nar measg, ach
bha iad a’ faotainn am beò-shlàin’, ach cha d’fhuair iad sgillin o Bhòrd nam
Bochd riamh, ged bu daor a phàigh iad e, agus a choisinn iad e. Rinn iad an
gnothach as aonais, ach chunna sinn againn fhìn gum feumamaid innleachd agus
ionnsaigh a thoirt cho làidir an aghaidh an lagh agus a thug Breatann air Hitler.
Bha fios againn taghta math gu feumte a dhol gu math seòlta mu dheidhinn. Bha sinn
a’ cumail meetings. ’S e rud math a
th’ ann am meetings – am facal nach bidh
aig an dàrna duine, bidh e aig an duine
eile, ach co-dhiù phropose sinn an gnothach,
co-dhiù, agus an samhradh a bh’ ann an seoachd, bha dà sgothaidh à Miughalaigh
agus dà sgothaidh eile à Bàgh a’ Chaisteil, ’s e sin Dòmhnall Mhìcheil, an Christina, agus sgoth eile, ach co-dhiù
bha dà sgothaidh à Miughalaigh agus dà sgothaidh à Bàgh a’ Chaisteil agus
chaidh an sluagh a bha airson bìdeag de dh’ fhearann Bhatarsaigh fhaotainn,
chaidh iad air bòrd annta.
Bha sinn supposed
falbh a thogail thaighean. Bha fios againn taghta math nan rachamaid
thairis air an limit – co-dhiù feumaidh
i corra fhacal Beurla a ràdh – nan rachamaid fairis air crìochan Chladh Ghriastain
gum biodh an lagh nar druim, agus gum bu mhiosa a dh’fhàg na fhuair ach ’s e rinn
sinn thòisich sinn ann am Bràighe na Steiseanan, a chionn tha àite as an eilean
as an robh ciùrairean a’ ciùradh an sgadain mòran shamhraidhean roimhe sin ann
am Bhatarsaigh. Thòisich sinn ri togail bothagan chearc, am fleet againn ann am bràighe na staiseanan.
Bha fios againn a h-uile car a bha sinn a’ cur dhìonn, agus a h-uile clach a
thionndamaid, gum bidh e ann an Dùn Èideann aig a’ Bhoard of Agriculture a chionn bha cumhachd làidir aig na
Dòmhnallaich.
’S e fear Dòmhnallach am breitheamh a bh’ againn.
Chan eil ainm agam air, ’s e thug a-mach a bhreitheamh againn. Cò-dhiù na co
dhealadh, bha cumhachd làidir aig na Dòmhnallaich a chionn ’s e bràthair a’
mhinisteir, ’s ann aige a bha Bhatarsaigh, agus bha bràthair eile dhà as an
Eilean Sgitheanach. Bha ceann à tuath an Eilein Sgitheanaich aige, ach, co-dhiù,
bha ceathrar na còignear bhràithrean aig a’ mhinistear. Co-dhiù, cha robh sinn
diumbach idir dhiubh, ged a bha iad nan Dòmhnallaich fhèin air taobh a chèile,
’s e càirdean a bh’ annta. Ach tha agam ri ràdh gun robh ar càirdean fhèin nar
n-aghaidh ann an gu leòr a dh’àiteachan, ach chum sinn air aghaidh. Chum sinn
air aghaidh co-dhiù. Chuir sinn beothaichean ann, gamhna, agus bhrist sinn air
an talamh. Rinn sinn buntàta ann, agus ann an ceann beagan ùine, nuair a bha
sinn a’ smaointinn gun d’fhuair am Board
of Agriculture agus na cairdean a bha sa Phàrlamaid air taobh nan Dòmhnallach,
gun d’fhuair iad brath gun a thog sinn na bothagan ann am bràighe a’ chladaich,
thòisich sinn ri dhol na b’ àirde suas.
Mu dheireadh ràine sinn an Square far an robh a’ bhàthach aig an
Dòmhnallach airson nam beothaichean agus far am biodh e a’ glèidheadh an
arbhair. Thòisich sinn ri togail thaighean ann a shin, beagan dhiubh. Thog sinn
dhà na trì thaighean ann a shin le cloich dhen t-seann-dòigh Ghàidhealach a bha
feadh nan Eileanan an Iar gu lèir. Chuir sinn a dh’ iarraidh fiodh agus chuir
sinn suas seadaichean na bu ghiorra ’n a’ chladach. Chaidh a’ ghàsaid a chur gu
ruige Dùn Èideann aig na Dòmhnallaich gun a bhrist na squatters – gu dè Ghàidhlig a th’ air squatter? – talamh agus gun tug iad leotha na beothaichean a Bhatarsaigh
agus gun a thog iad taighean, ach ’s e bh’ ann gun a rinn iad iad fhèin breugach ann an làthair muinntir na Pàrlamaid
mìos roimhe sin, fhuair iad brath bhuatha gur h-e bothagan a bha iad a’ togail
ann am bràighe a’ chladaich, ann an tiùrr a’ mhuir-làin.
Bha Dòmhnall Shaw an duine còir à Dùn Èideann,
’s e am fear lagh’ a bh’ againne, agus ’s e duine cleabhar a bh’ ann. ’S e
deagh-sgiobair a bh’ ann, deagh chaiptin, ach bha criù math aige. Bha ann am
Bhatarsaigh aig an àm a bh’ ann an sineachd daoine ionnsaichte a bha glè mhath
agus gu math na b’ fheàrr na bha gu leòr, agus b’ e sin Donnchadh Caimbeul. ’S
e bh’ ann an ainm leader againn, agus
b’ e caraide dhà Niall Mac a’ Phì. Is math is aithne dhaibh air fad e. ’S e a secretary a bh’ aige, an rùn-chlèireach
a bh’ aige. Agus ma tha mise olc gun teagamh sam bith cha do cheannaich mi
sgath dheth. Thug mi o na Caimbeulaich e agus thug mi o Chloinn a’ Phì e e cuideachd,
ach olc is mar a bha mi, thug Niall an coilear dhiom. Bha e fada na bu mhiosa
na bha mi fhìn. Chuir sinn romhainn gum faigheamaid buaidh air na Dòmhnallaich,
agus chitheamaid dhuinn fhìn gu math fada air falbh an dìg, mura faigheamaid
buaidh orra. Bha deagh fhear-lagha againn a bha a’ sgrìobhadh ’ugainn à Dùn Èideann
a h-uile cùirt a bhiodh aca. Bha cùirt mhòr aca. B’ fheudar dhan Shawach bhochd
fuireach sàmhach aig a’ chùirt a bh’ ann an seo an Dùn Èideann. Thuirt iad nach
robh boinne uisge air Eilean Bhatarsaigh, agus gun robh an Dòmhnallach ag
aiseag nam beothaichean tarsaing a’ Chaolais Chumhaing gu Ceann Tangabhal
airson gum faigheadh iad uisge is gan cumail ann nuair a bhiodh bliadhna
thioram ann. B’ fheudar dhan t-Shawach fuireach sàmhach. Thilg e a’ chùirt a
bh’ ann a shin, mas e thilg i, cha do fhreagair e idir e idir. Ach Garson, a tha fo ainm ‘Shir Edward and Garson’,
b’ e am fear-lagh a bh’ aig na Dòmhnallaich. Bha a’ bhuinig aige an latha sin
ar leis fhèin, ach sgriobh an Shawach gu ruige Bhatarsaigh. Dh’innis e a h-uile
facal chaidh a ràdha aig a’ chùirt, nach robh boinne uisge ann am Bhatarsaigh agus
gun robh an Dòmhnallach ag aiseag nam beothaichean tarsaing a’ Chaolais
Chumhaing gu ruige Ceann Tangabhal. Co-dhiù, fhuair sinn an litir a bh’ ann an
seo on t-Shawach, agus rinn sinn coinneamh. Ach, co-dhiù, a’ choinneamh a rinn
sinn, bha i ann an dìomhaireachd ann an cridhe a h-uile h-aon againn, ach
chomhairlich sinn le chèile gu goirid agus chaidh sinn a dh’ionnsaigh an rùin-chlèirich,
gu Niall Mac a’ Phì.
’S e a’ chiad obair a chaidh a dhèanamh an làr-na-mhàireach
an deoghaidh an litir fhaotainn thàinig Donnchadh Caimbeal, thàinig an
Caimbeulach a-nuas a thaigh Nìll. Bha bràthair dhòmh-sa air an robh Eachann Mac
a’ Phì a-staigh aige agus ri taobh taigh Nìll a charaid, mac bràthar athar dhà.
Rinn iad sluice, àite le fiodh, as an
ruitheadh an t-uisge, agus thug iad leotha uaireadair agus thug iad leotha tin,
fear dhe na tinichean sin a bhios aig na
mnathan, a’ dol ’n a bhith a dh’iarraidh galan parrafin. Chaidh iad a dh’Eòrasdal an toiseach agus thomhais iad an
t-uisge ann an Eòrasdal. Chaidh an account
a dhèanamh suas ann am fiogairean. Thomhais iad a h-uile tobar a bh’ ann am
Bhatarsaigh. Thomhais iad an leathad is am meudachd is an doimhneachd a bh’ ann
an Loch Bhatarsaigh agus anns an abhainn, uibhir agus a bha i a’ produceadh ann am mionaid, na ann an còig
mionaidean. Chaidh iad a dh’ionnsaigh a Bheannachain go Abhainn a’
Bheannachain. Thomhais iad Abhainn a’ Bheannachain air an achd chionann cheunda,
agus chaidh iad a sin a Charagraidh. Tha loch eile ann an Caragraidh. Thomhais
iad an loch air an achd chionann cheunda, am fad ’s an leathad ’s an
doimhneachd a bh’ ann, am produce a
bha tighinn bhuaithe. Dh’fhalbh iad a Caragraidh agus chaidh iad ’n a’ Chaolas.
Thomhais iad Abhainn a’ Chaolais, am produce
a bh’ aice-se. Bha an t-uaireadair aca agus am flask, flask galain. Bha Dòmhnallaich eile ann cuideachd a bha na
seirbhisich agus nan cìobairean aig Fear Bhatarsaigh, on a tha nàdar clannish as a h-uile gin dheth na Dòmhnallaich.
Bha Dòmhnallaich a’ Chaolais, Clann Alasdair
a’ Chaolais bha iad nan cìobairean aig Fear Bhatarsaigh, agus bha an taigh stuichd
aca; agus gu dearbha fhèine bha iad a’ cur mu seach airgid. Bha caoraich aca
còmh’ ris an stoc agus bha iad a’ cur mu seach airgid, agus bha iad ann an
òrdan uamhasach math ann am Bhatarsaigh agus ga brith co-dhiù chòrd e riutha na
daoine a dhol ann gus nach do chòrd, chum iad orra fhèin e gu math tight; ach ’s math a dh’aithnich iad ceann
ar seud agus ar siubhal, nuair a chaidh sinn a thomhas an uisge ’n a’ Chaolas.
Chaidh an t-uisge a thomhas. Rinn Niall Mac a’ Phì, an rùin-chlèireach suas,
dh’add e suas na fiogaran, a h-uile
tuna a chaidh a ruith de dh’uisge às na ceathair uairean fichead air an t-seachdamh
latha na Mhàrt sa bhliadhna a bh’ ann an seo: agus chaidh litir a sgrìobhadh a
dh’ionnsaigh an t-Shawaich. Bha an litir cho làidir air a sgrìobhadh agus gun
tuirt e ann an deireadh na litreach gun robh sinn uile ann an rùn làidir nach yieldamaid, nach strìocamaid, gus an
tigeadh expert on Chrùn ga thomhas,
gun robh an fhìrinn againn. Chaidh an litir a bh’ ann an seo a dh’ionnsaigh an
t-Shawaich. Beagan ùine às a dheoghaidh sin, chaidh a’ chùirt a chumail ann an
Dùn Èideann; agus bha Garson còir, an duine còir, gum bu slàn iomradh dhà, ma
bha e a’ bualadh a bhasan le sòlas air a’ chùirt a bh’ ann roimhid, cha robh an
inntinn aige ach gu math trom air an trip a bha seo. Thug an Shawach a-mach an
litir, mar a sgriobh Mac a’ Phì i, agus leugh an Dòmhnallach, an Lord Justice Clerk, leugh e i, agus
nuair a leugh e i choimhead e air Garson, air fear-lagh Gharson. Chaidh am point a bh’ ann an sin a dheànamh breugach
an aghaidh Lady Gordon Cathcart, agus
mach bhuaithe sin bha saoirsne againn ann am Bhatarsaigh.
Ach bha a h-uile rud a bh’ ann nar n-aghaidh
ann am Bhatarsaigh. Chaidh na croitean a roinn. Thàinig engineer on Chongested
Districts Board – ’s e bh’ ann an uair sin. Thàinig engineers a ghearradh na croitean. Ghearr iad na croitean. Bha na
pineachan annta. Chaidh sinn a choimhead nan croitean, mar a ghearr na h-engineers iad. Chunna sin na pineachan agus
chunna sinn croitean mòra agus croitean beaga. Ach thuig sinn am port a bh’ ann
a seo math gu leòr, agus a chionn bha feadhainn dhe na daoine againn fhìn na
mealltairean air taobh nan Dòmhnallach, ach ged a bha fhèin air a shon sin, bha
seo air a thabhairt suas dhan t-Shawach. Bha fios aig an t-Shawach air an seo
cuideachd. Chomhairlich e dhuinn gu feumamaid a bhith gu math furachail orra.
[Tá beárna ins an t-seanchas annseo C. M.]
Well, chaidh an t-uisge a thomhas. Chaidh an
litir a Dhùn Èideann a dh’ionnsaigh an t-Shawaich agus sgrìobh an Shawach ’ugainn
am Bhatarsaigh, agus ’s e a’ chiad thoiseach a bha san litir aige gun robh e a’
tabhairt taing mhòr dhuinn airson an litir a chuir sinn ’uige a chionn ’s gun a
choisinn e a’ bhuaidh an Dùn Èideann. Ach mun a thachair seo idir chaidh
muinntir Bhatarsaigh, na bha de shluagh a Bhatarsaigh, agus b’ e sin muinntir
Mhiualaigh a’ chuid bu mhotha dhiubh a shumanadh, a shumanadh gu cùirt an Dùn Èideann.
Chuir an Shawach brath ’uca a dhol air
aghaidh. Dh’innis e dhaibh ro làimh gun tigeadh orra a dhol ann. Fhuair iad an
sumanadh is chaidh iad ann agus fhuair iad dà mhios prìosan airson contempt of court. Chaidh iad ’n a’
phrìosan, agus gu lucky shàbhail
Niall Mac a’ Phì, mo charaide fhèin, shàbhail e agus shàbhail mise cuideachd,
ach cha do shàbhail an còrr e, agus ’s e mar a shàbhail mise e, phòs mi bean òg
an uair sin, a’ chailleach ud shuas. Bha i ann am Brèibhig, agus bha mi fhìn ag
iasgach a-mach à Bàgh a’ Chaisteil leis an sgothaidh a bh’ agam fhìn, agus
bhithinn a’ dol a choimhead na caillich a h-uile feasgar. Chaidh am fear a
chaidh leis na sumanaidhean a-null gu ruige Bhatarsaigh. Ghabh iad bhuaithe na
sumanaidhean, agus bha sumanadh aige gu Niall agus thachair do Niall e fhèin
gun robh e ann am Miualaigh le biadh gu mhàthair agus gu phiuthar as an àm. Cha
b’ urrainn dhan duine a bh’ ann an seo fuireach ach an aon latha, agus dh’fhalbh
e. Chum e air aghaidh gu ruige Dùn Èideann agus dh’innis e ann an Dùn Èideann
gun d’ rinn esan obair dhìleas, gun a sherve
e na h-interdicts air na squatters uile gu lèir, agus bha ainm
Nìll aige. Dh’fhàg e tè Nìll agus dh’fhàg e an interdict aig Niall, agus ghlèidh cuideigin i. Nuair a fhuair esan
far à làmhan i, bha e ceart gu leòr. Ach chaidh brath a chur sa mhionaid a
dh’ionnsaigh an t-Shawaich, nuair a thill Niall à Miualaigh agus thuirt e ris
nach fhac’ esan an duine idir a sherve
na h-interdicts, agus nach matha a
chunnaic e an t-interdict fhèin ma
bha interdicts aige-san nach d’fhuair
esan i co-dhiù. Chaidh a’ chùirt a chumail. Sheas a Shawach air bheulaibh an Lord Justice Clerk, e fhèin is a chuid
fhear-lagh gu h-àraid Garson, Sir Edward and Garson! Is àithne dhaibh glè mhath
e. Is math is àithne dhòmh-sa e. Chaidh Niall Mac a’ Phì, chaidh a thabhairt
suas gun robh e air interdicteadh còmhla
ri càch. Chaidh ainm Nìll a thabhairt a-staigh aig an fhear a sherve na h-interdicts còmhla ri càch, còmh’ ris an fheadhainn a fhuair iad
agus a ghabh iad. Dh’èirich an Shawach, an duine còir agus chall e am fear a sherve
na h-interdicts:
“Na sherve
thusa an t-interdict air Niall Mac a’
Phì?” – an taigh na cùirte.
Chrom e a cheann gu ceacharra, brosgallach, diùid,
nàireach:
“Cha do sherve,”
ors’ esan. “Cha robh e ann am Bhatarsaigh idir.”
Chaidh ainm Nìll a tharraing far an roll, agus air an ath-chuirt às a
dheoghaidh sin ’s ann a chaidh dà mhìos prìosain orra.
Chaidh dà mhìos prìosain
orra: agus mas e fhior am pàipear-naidheachd an Oban Times – bha mise ga leughadh as an àm agus mi aig an taigh,
gun tuirt an Lord Justice Clerk ris
an luchd-lagha sa chùirt, agus an jury
air gearain ris gun robh gu leòr an siud dà mhìos, agus bha an Lord Justice Clerk, bha e diumbach nach
deacha na trì orra, a chionn ’s e Dòmhnallach a bh’ ann. Bha e clannish. Bha e air taobh an luchd-cinnidh.
Thuig sinn sin glè mhath, ach bha mise is Niall ann am Bhatarsaigh. Bha mise ag
iasgach. Bha sgoth iasgaich agam fhìn, is bha mi fhìn ag iasgach. Thug sinn
fainear co-dhiù, ’s e mi fhìn a thug fainear cuideachd dhà. Bha Niall am
Bhatarsaigh. Bha mise am Bàgh a’ Chaisteil. Thug sinn fainear gun dèanamaid petition a chuireamaid a dh’ionnsaigh Dewar,
bha na mhember Pàrlamaide airson Siorrachd
Inbhir Nis. ’S i bh’ ann an uair sin. Thàine Niall còir a-nall am Bhatarsaigh
an latha bh’ ann an seo co-dhiù, agus sin a’ bhliadhna a chaidh Maighstir Iain
Mhìcheil, a chaidh a choisrigeadh na shagart, a’ chiad bliadhna dhà a bhith na
shagart agus ’s e Maighstir Uilleam MacCoinnich an sagart a bh’ ann am Borgh,
agus ’s e Maighstir Eòghan Camshron an sagart a bh’ ann am Bàgh a’ Chaisteil. Thug
Niall, bha am pàipear aige, foolscap
– nach e a bheir thu ris? – thug e foolscap
do Mhaighstir Uilleam MacCoinnich, agus dh’iarr e air na headings a dhèanamh. Rinn Maighstir Uilleam sin, rinn e na headings, ged nach eil cuimhne agam-sa
orra an-diugh. Mo chreach! Tha mi duilich nach eil cuimhne agam orra, ach
co-dhiù tha cuimhne agam air rud beag agus innsidh mi dhaoibh mar a bha e. Rinn
Maighstir Uilleam, rinn e am beginning dhen a’ phetition a bha sinn a’ dol a dhèanamh agus thuirt e: On behalf of those, who are disturbing His majesty’s Gaol for their illegal proceedings.
Cha do chòrd an gnothach ruinn nuair a chunna sinn illegal as na headings
aig Maighstir Uilleam MacCoinnich, sagart Bhuirgh. Cha dèanadh math dhuinn a
dhol na chòir. Cha ghabhadh e gu math e, agus dh’ fheumamaid fuireach cho fada
bhuaithe agus a b’ urra’ dhuinn, ach a h-uile mathas a b’ urra dhà thoirt
dhuinn gum feumamaid a ghabhail, agus gum feumamaid a bhith na fheum. Ach ’s e ’m plan a rinn sinn co-dhiù, ’s
e Cloinn a’ Phì a bh’ annainn le chèile. Chuir sinn am pàipear air a’ bhòrd,
agus aig cho fior-mhath agus a bha Niall gu sgrìobhadh, bha na corragan aige
uamhasach math gu sgrìobhadh dh’atharraich e sgrìobhadh Mhaighstir Uilleim agus
thug e as illegal agus chuir e legal ann. Ach, co-dhiù, dh’fhalbh sinn
a Bhorgh. Chomhairlich e dhuinn a dhol a dh’ionnsaigh nan croiteirean agus crofter a chur aig deireadh a h-uile h-ainm,
on is e crofters a bha sinn fhìn ag
iarraidh a bhith. Nuair a bha sinn a’ toirt a-mach Bhatarsaigh. Dh’fhalbh sinn,
mi fhìn is Niall is chaidh sinn a Bhatarsaigh. Cha robh mac duine ann an
Tangasdal, na ann an Cuidhir na ann an Cliait nach deacha’ na h-ainmeannan ris a’
phetition.
Às a’ chiad starta co-dhiù, nuair a ràine sinn taigh Mhaighstir Uilleim cò bha
staigh romhainn ach Maighstir Iain Mhìcheil, is e air ùr-choisrigeadh na
shagart; agus bha sagart eile ann is gu dearbha chan eil cuimhne ’m, gabhaibh
mo lethsgeul, chan eil cuimhne ’m cò an sagart eile a bh’ ann. Tha an ùine car
cho fada. ’S e bh’ ann sagart Gallda eile, nach buineadh dhan dùthaich idir.
Thug sinn am petition do Mhaighstir
Uilleam agus choimhead Maighstir Uilleam air is na triùir shagart a-staigh ann
an taigh Mhaigstir Uilleim am Borgh. Choimhead e air agus leugh e am petition:
“O!” ors’ esan, “’s e mi fhìn a rinn seo.”
“O! sibh gu dearbha fhèine,” orsa sinn fhìn.
Cha robh ach shoighn e e. Chuir e ainm ris.
Shìn e am petition do Mhaighstir Iain
Mhìcheil, Canon MacNeil, Morar, Shoighn am fear sin e fhèin e. Shoighn an
sagart eile a-rìthist e.
A-nist, bha e air a shoigneadh aig na trì
sagairt.
And
the translation goes something like the following;
Well, my good friend, I myself belong to
Mingulay folk, one of the Western Isles, the second one furthest south of the
[inhabited] Western Isles, the Isle of Mingulay. I was born and brought up
there. In my time there were thirty families, but eventually they thinned out
but [a few stayed?]. There were more than twenty families remaining when all
the folk left to settle in Vatersay.
Their earned a livelihood by fishing for ling
and they owned fishing boats, large and small of each type. They had small
boats for lobster fishing and the big, heavy boats couldn’t be rowed and they
would be anchored in Berneray Straight; and they had a curing station in Berneray
owned by Neil MacNeil, known as Niall mac
Iain ’ic Aonghais, a brother of Father John MacNeil, a priest in Morar. The
were plenty fish back then. We also had another type of food – we caught a lot
of cormorants and other seabirds during the summer and autumn especially those
at home, but at that time there were young fishermen from the East Coast, who
came from Morayshire, Fraserburgh, Peterhead and Aberdeen, and throughout the
East Coast and they used to take home a tidy sum of money depending on the
season and, of course, how well the fishing went. If they had done well, they’d
have a decent pay and they’d do well for themselves and those about who
struggled through the winter and spring fishing for ling. But the trawlers
eventually put an end to that. Eventually we couldn’t catch anything that was
worth the effort of paying for the trawlers that were trawling around the
islands in the Straight of Mingulay, in the Straight of Berneray, in the
Straight of Pabbay and also in the Straight of Sandray. We eventually had to
leave the island. We couldn’t earn livelihood. We couldn’t manage and we
decided to settle in Vatersay, and the Isle of Vatersay belonged to our
ancestors. Our ancestors left at the time of the evictions when the Highland
landlords evicted them over to Canada. They were scattered all over the place
and the Isle of Vatersay was then owned by a MacDonald, a brother of a minister
at Cuier [near Castlebay, Barra] and I firmly believe that he was good friends
with Dr MacGillivray as well.
But, in any case, we made a firm decision and
we all strongly supported one another. We had set out to do a big thing. We
knew full well that the law and the folk were against us. Nevertheless we kept
one special thing on our minds as it was owned by the Bishop of the Isles, but
we’d refer to him then as Bishop of Argyll and the Isles, who had the four [sic]
islands of Vatersay, Sanndray, Pabbay, Mingulay and Berneray. We had suffered
enough. Without a shadow of a doubt we had [suffered] and even our own kin had
had enough. But, anyway, we made it over to Vatersay though it wasn’t easy, and
it was as difficult as anything I’ve ever experienced, but we nevertheless made
it. We were victorious even against such a strong force as the law.
We saw for ourselves that we were in a
sea-island and we were without doubt young and vigorous even though there were
old folk in our midst. There were old folk in our midst right enough but they
earned their livelihood and never received a single penny from the Poor Board
although they dearly paid for it [their livelihood] that they made for
themselves. They managed without assistance but we ourselves saw that we would
need as much ingenuity and guile to fight as strongly against the law as Britain
had fighting Hitler. We knew full well that we’d have to be diplomatic about
it. We held meetings. These meetings were useful – a thought that one man
didn’t have another would have and, anyway, we proposed a way forward and that
summer two skiffs from Mingulay and two skiffs from Castlebay, one owned by
Donald Michael [Christina] and
another skiff, but, anyway, two skiffs from Mingulay and two skiffs from
Castlebay came and the folk who wished to go over to Vatersay to claim a bit of
land embarked.
We were supposed to be build houses. We knew
full well that if we went over the limit – anyway there’d have to be a few
English words said – if we went over the limit at Griastan Cemetery that the
law would be on our backs, and we’d be worse off than we were before but what
we did was to start at the Station Brae for there is a station there that used
to cure herring many summers before in Vatersay. We began to build hen-huts
with our fleet at the Station Brae. We knew that every step we took, and every
stone that was turned, the Board of Agriculture in Edinburgh would know about it
for the MacDonalds had great power.
MacDonald was the judge [lawyer] representing
us. I have nothing against him but it was he who made the judgement. But, at
any rate, the MacDonalds had great power for his brother was the minister who
owned Vatersay and he also had another brother in the Isle of Skye who owned
the northern part, but, at any rate, the minister had four or five brothers.
Anyway, we weren’t unhappy about it at all even though these MacDonalds on each
side were related. But I have to admit that our own friends were dead against
them in many places, but regardless we kept on going. We kept going. We
purchased stirks and we cultivated the land. We planted potatoes and, in only a
short time, when we had thought that the Board of Agriculture and their friends
in Parliament who sided with the MacDonalds got word that we had built huts on
the shoreline and started to build further up.
Eventually we reached the Square where the
MacDonald’s barn was for the cattle and where he stored corn. We began building
houses there, a few of them. We built two or three houses there using stones in
the old Highland style as was used throughout the Western Isles. We fetched
wood and we built sheds close to the shore. A complaint was sent to Edinburgh on
behalf of the MacDonalds that squatters – what’s Gaelic for squatter? – had
begun breaking up the land and had brought cattle with them to Vatersay, and that
they had built houses, but they had impeached themselves in the presence of the
members of Parliament a month before as they got word that huts were being
built on the shoreline, at the point of the high-tide.
That affable fellow Donald Shaw from Edinburgh
was our lawyer and he was a clever man. He was an excellent skipper and a good
captain who he had a skilful crew. In Vatersay, at that time, there were clever
men who were very capable, and better than many was Duncan Campbell. That’s the
name of our leader, and he was related to Neil MacPhee. And they all knew that.
That was his secretary. And if I’m bad then without doubt I earned it. I took
it from the Campbells and I took it from the MacPhees as well, but as bad as I
may be, Neil took my collar from me. He was far worse than me. We set ourselves
the task of winning over the MacDonalds, and we would see for ourselves that
the ditch was quite far away, before we could gain victory. We had a good
lawyer who wrote to us from Edinburgh every time he attended court. They had a
great big court. Poor Shaw had to remain silent at this court in Edinburgh.
They said that there wasn’t a single drop of water in Vatersay, and that
MacDonald had ferried the cattle over the narrow straight to Kentangaval so
that they could get water and so could be kept there when it was a dry year.
Shaw had to remain silent. The case was thrown out, and if it had been, he
never gave an answer at all. But Garson, Sir Edward Garson was the MacDonald’s
lawyer. He thought that he had won [the case] that day but Shaw wrote to
Vatersay. He related every word that was said at court, that there wasn’t one
drop of water in Vatersay and that MacDonald had ferried the cattle over the
narrow straight to Kentangaval. Anyway, we received the letter from Shaw and we
held a meeting. But, at any rate, at the meeting, it was kept a secret in every
single one of our hearts, and we quickly took counsel of one another and we
then went to the secretary, Neil MacPhee.
The next day the first thing to be done after
the letter came was the arrival of Duncan Campbell up to Neil’s house. My
brother, Hector MacPhee, stayed next to Neil’s house, a paternal nephew. They
made a sluice, a place made of wood so out the water would run and they took a
watch with them and they took tin, one of the tins that women had when going to
fetch a gallon of paraffin. They went over to Eorsadale at first and they
measured the amount of water there. An account of it was noted down in figures.
They measured every single well in Vatersay. They measure the length, width and
depth in Loch Vatersay and the river and the amount it produced in a minute or
in five minutes. They then went over to Abhainn a’ Bheannachain and measure it
in the same way as before and they then went over to Caragraidh. There’s
another loch in Caragraidh. They measured the loch in the same way, its length,
breadth and depth and the amount produced from it. They went from Caragraidh
over to Caolas and measure Abhainn a’ Chaolais and how much it produced. They
had a watch and a gallon flask. There were other MacDonalds there too and they
were servants and shepherds to the Tacksman of Vatersay, as they were naturally
clannish just like every single one of the MacDonalds.
The MacDonalds of Caolais, Clann Alasdair a’
Chaolais, were shepherds to the Tacksman of Vatersay, and they owned a
stock-house; and indeed they saved money. They also owned sheep as well as
stock and they saved money, they were in very good order in Vatersay whether
folk enjoyed that or not, they kept themselves quite tight; but they knew full
well what we had been up to when we measured the water in Caolas. The water had
been measured. Neil MacPhee had added up the figures, every ton of water that
ran for twenty-four hours on the seventh of March that year: and a letter was
sent to Shaw. The letter was so forcibly written that he said at the end of the
letter that we were firmly of the opinion that we wouldn’t yield, that we wouldn’t
give up, until an expert came from the Crown authority to measure it and that
we had told the truth. This letter was sent to Shaw. A little while after that,
a court was held in Edinburgh; and affable Garson, the nice fellow, may mention
of him be well, and if he had been clapping his hands with delight at the court
before, he was going to have a heavy mind this time round. Shaw took out the
letter, as had been written by MacPhee, and the Lord Justice Clerk, a
MacDonald, read it, and after he had read it, he looked over to the lawyer
Garson. The main point had been made out to be untrue and went against Lady
Gordon Cathcart, and from then we were free in Vatersay.
Everything had gone against us in Vatersay.
The crofts had been subdivided. An engineer arrived from the Congested
Districts Board as it was called then. Engineers arrived to divide the crofts.
They subdivided the crofts. They had pins placed around them. We went to go and
see the crofts and the way in which the engineers divided them. We saw the pins
and we saw both the large and small crofts. But we understood well enough their
tune and because a few of our own people had been traitors who sided with the
MacDonalds, and even at that, it was taken up with Shaw. Shaw knew about this
as well. He advised us that we’d have to treat them carefully.
[There is a gap in the account here. C.M.]
Well, the water had been measured. The
letters had been sent to Shaw in Edinburgh and Shaw gave his reply to us in
Vatersay and the first thing he said in his letter was to offer us a big thank
you for the letter we had sent him for congratulating him on his win in
Edinburgh. But before any of this happened, the Vatersay folk, or those that
were in Vatersay, and that was mainly Mingulay folk, were summoned to appear at
court in Edinburgh.
Shaw sent them a message that went against
this. He told them beforehand that they would have to appear. They received a
summons and they made an appearance and received a prison sentence of two
months for contempt of court. They were imprisoned, but luckily Neil MacPhee,
my own friend, saved him and saved me too, but he couldn’t save the rest as he
had saved me, I married my young wife then, the old woman up there. She was in
Brevig, and I was fishing out of Castlebay with my own skiff and I used to go
and see the old woman every evening. The man carrying the summons went over to
Vatersay. They took the summons from him and he had a summons for Neil and it
so happened that Neil was in Mingulay delivering food to his mother and sister
at the time. They man could only stay for one day, and then had to leave. He
travelled to Edinburgh and he told them in Edinburgh that he had performed his task
and that he had served the interdicts to all the squatters, and he had Neil’s
name. He left it with Neil’s partner and it was left for him, as someone kept
it. Once it was out of his possession that was the last of it. But a message
was sent that very minute to Shaw, when Neil returned from Mingulay who had not
seen the man at all who served the interdicts, and that it was very well that
he had not seen the interdict itself and that he had not received it in any
case. A court was held. Shaw stood in front of the Lord Justice Clerk, himself
and his lawyer particularly Garson, Sir Edward and Garson! Well they knew him.
And well I know him. Neil MacPhee offered up that he had been interdicted along
with the rest. Neil’s name was offered up to the man who had served the
interdicts along the rest, along with those who had taken them. Shaw rose up,
the affable man, and called the man who had served the interdicts.
“Did you serve the interdict on Neil
MacPhee?” – in the court-house.
He bowed his head, sorrowfully, flatteringly,
shamefully and embarrassingly.
“No,” he answered, “He wasn’t in Vatersay at
all.”
Neil’s name was withdrawn from the roll, and
at the next court after that the sentence of two months was announced.
The were imprisoned for two months: and if
the report in the Oban Times is true – I read it at the time when I was at home
– that the Lord Justice Clerk said to
the lawyers in court, and the jury complained to him the two months was enough;
and the Lord Justice Clerk was displeased for he wanted them to be imprisoned
for three months as he was a MacDonald. It was all a bit clannish. He was on
the side of the chiefs. We understood this very well, but Neil and I were in
Vatersay. I was fishing. I owned a skiff and I was fishing. We paid attention
to it and I paid attention to him as well. Neil was in Vatersay. I was in
Castlebay. We intended to make a petition to send to Dewar, who was a Member of
Parliament for Inverness-shire as it was called back then. Neil came over to
Vatersay on this day anyway, and that was the same year that Father John
MacNeil, who had been consecrated a priest, that he had become a priest, and
Father William MacKenzie was the priest in Borve, and Father Hugh Cameron was
the priest in Castlebay. Neil took a piece of foolscap paper – isn’t that what
you call it? – and he gave the foolscap to Father William MacKenzie – and asked
him to write the headings. Father William did so, and he wrote the headings,
although I don’t recall them today. Oh alas and alack! I’m sorry that I can’t
recall them, but anyway I recall one little item and I told them what it was.
Father William wrote
the beginning of the petition that we were going to compose and he said: On behalf of those, who are disturbing His majesty’s Gaol for their illegal proceedings.
We didn’t like it when we saw illegal as one of the headings written by Father William
MacKenzie, the Borve priest. It wouldn’t do us any good to go near that. It
wouldn’t be taken well, and we’d have to say as far away as possible from that
as we could, everything good that he could give us we’d have to accept, and it
would have to be of some use. But that was our plan anyway, we were both
MacPhees. We placed the paper on the table, and Neil was so excellent at
writing, he had a very good hand and he altered Father William’s writing to
make out illegal as legal. But anyway we set off for Borve. He advised us to go
over the crofts and to sign crofter after every name for we wished to be
crofters. Then we went over to Vatersay, we set off, Neil and I and went over
to Vatersay. There was no-one in Tangasdale or in Cuier or in Cliait who did
not sign their names on the petition.
In the first place, anyway, when we reached
Father William’s house, who happened to be there but Father John MacNeil, he
who had been newly consecrated as a priest; and there was another priest but
indeed I don’t recall, you’ll have to excuse me, but I don’t recall the other
priest’s name. It was so long ago. But the other priest was a stranger and
didn’t belong to locality at all. We gave the petition to Father William and he
looked at it, and also the three other priests who were in Father William’s
house in Borve. He looked at it and read the petition.
“Oh!” he said, “it is I who wrote this.”
“Oh! Yes, indeed, you did,” we said.
He just had to sign it. He signed his name.
He handed the petition to Father John MacNeil, Canon MacNeil, Morar. He also
signed it. The other priest signed it as well.
Now it had been signed by all three priests.
It may be mentioned
that Duncan Campbell, the leader of the Vatersay Raiders, did not live long
enough – he passed away in October 1912 – to see Vatersay flourish but he never
regretted the action that he and his fellow islanders had taken:
The
celebrated case of the Vatersay raiders is recalled by the death of Mr Duncan
Campbell at the age of about sixty-five years, who passed away the other day on
the Island which he loved so well ... The facts connected with the memorable raid
of which he was the leader, will be fresh in the minds of many people, and also
the trial which took place in Edinburgh on June 2, 1908, and resulted in
sentences of two months’ imprisonment being, passed upon Campbell and nine of
his followers. Early in the year 1907 Campbell and a number of other landless
cottars had been living in the village of Centangaval, and other parts of
Barra, in very reduced circumstances, took forcible possession of part of the
neighboring island of Vatersay, erected huts there, and proceeded to cultivate
it, all without the permission of the proprietrix. After the latter had
interdicted the raiders, proceedings were issued In the Court of Session citing
them to appear before the Second Division as they would not give an undertaking
to leave, the island, and not to trespass there in the future. This they
refused to do, and they were tried, convicted, and sentenced as stated. Negotiations
were then opened between the Secretary for Scotland, Lord Pentland, and the
proprletrix, which resulted in the purchase of the whole island of Vatersay by
the Congested Districts Board. In the meantime the Court ordered Campbell and
his followers to be set at liberty after they had endured about a month’s
imprisonment. On being released Campbell observed that he would have been ready to stay thirty years instead of thirty days in prison, rather than give
up his claim to a holding on Vatersay, from which, he stated, the grandparents
of his associates had been evicted some fifty years before.
Unsurprisingly a song
entitled Òran nan Raiders (‘A Song
for the Raiders’) was composed by Michael Buchanan, known as Mìchael Nìll Bhàin, and was later recorded
by James Ross in 1958 from the recitation of Nan MacKinnon known as Nan Eachainn Fhionnlaigh:
Òran
nan Raiders
Hù a Hò gum B’ Eibhinn Leam
Sèist:
Hù o hò gum b’ eibhinn leam
A chluinntinn mar a dh’èirich dhuibh,
’S a labhair thu ’n Dùn Èideann riu’
Ratreut nach biodh nad champa.
Tha Uilleam Baoid, gur h-àiridhe
Air Beirgheaslom gu Carragraidh,
An Goirtean Geal, ’s am Beannachan
Gu leathad bruthach Hamhstail.
Tha Dòmhnall Iain shìos an sin,
’S chan eil e doirbh a riarachadh:
Gu fòghnadh an Uidh Riabhach dha,
’S i math gu feurach ghamhna.
Tha Eòghan ann an Eòrasdal:
O, saoil sibh nach e Tòraidh e?
’S mura bi e fo lagh Dhòmhnaill,
’S ann a bhòtas sinn ’n a’ Ghleann e.
Tha todhar an Tràigh Tuath agaibh
A-mach gu Cala Shnuasamaoil,
’S tha Uidh Nistean fuaighte ris,
’S an uaigh aig Mòr nan Ceann ann.
Tha ’n Caolas math gu bàrr agaibh:
Tha stac air Port a’ Bhàt’ agaibh,
’S gun cruadhaich sibh an gràn aige
’S an àthaidh a bh’ aig Melvin.
A Song for the Raiders
Refrain:
Refrain:
What happy news for me
To hear how you fared
And how you told them plainly in
Edinburgh
That there would be no retreat in your
camp.
William Boyd, he ought to have
From Beirgheaslom to Caraigridh,
The Goirtean Geal, and the Beannachan
To the side of the brae of Hamhstal.
Donald John is down there,
And he’s not hard to please:
The Uidh Riabhach would do fine for
him,
Since it’s good for grazing stirks.
Ewen there in Eoradail,
See what a Tory he is!
And if he won’t follow Donald’s
orders,
We’ll just vote him out of the Glen.
You have seaweed rights from the North
Beach
Out to Snuasimul harbour,
And Uinessan along with it,
And Mor nan Ceann’s grave is there.
You have the Caolas, good arable land;
You have (plenty of) drift seaweed at
Port a’ Bhàta,
And you can dry the grain there
On the kiln that Melvin had.
References:
Ben
Buxton, Mingulay: An Island and its
People (Edinburgh: Birlinn, 1995)
--------,
The Vatersay Raiders (Edinburgh:
Birlinn, 2011)
NFC
1031, pp. 18–36, ‘A’ toirt air ais am fearann ann am Bhatarsaigh’ / ‘Taking the
land back in Vatersay’ (Donald MacPhee (Dòmhnall Bàn Eileanach) (Barra))
Nan
MacKinnon (Nan Eachainn Fhionnlaigh),
‘Òran nan Raiders’, http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/fullrecord/93509/1
Lisa
Storey, Muinntir Mhiughalaigh (Inverness:
Clàr, 2007)
Images:
The Vatersay Raiders. Back row (L to
R): Arthur Dewar, counsel; John MacDougall (Iagan Raghnaill); John Sinclair
(Iagan Iain Dhonnchaidh, cousin of Duncan); William Boyd (Uilleam Boid); Donald
Shaw, lawyer.
Middle Row (L to R): John Campbell (Iagan Mhìcheil); Roderick
MacNeil (Ruairidh Iain); Duncan Campbell (Donnchadh Antonaidh), leader; Donald
MacIntyre (Dòmhnall Mhìcheil Dubh); Michael Campbell (Teic).
Front row (L to
R): Duncan Sinclair (Donnchadh Anndra Dhonnchaidh); Hector MacPhee (Eachann
Dhòmhnaill). Pictured before their trial in Edinburgh.
Lady Gordon Cathcart
Village, Mingulay, 1887
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