Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna
From Conservapedia
Donald MacDonald known as Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna (Red Dòmhnall of Chorùna) (9 July 1887 Chorùna, North Uist - 13 August 1967) was a war poet in the Scottish Gaelic language.
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Early life
He was born at Chorùna, North Uist in 1887. His mother, Flòraidh Fhionnghuala Dòmhnall, worked as a domestic servant. His father Dòmhnall worked as a merchant seaman. When the poet was young, he was often told stories about the experiences of his maternal great-grandparents during the Napoleonic Wars. His background, therefore, contained a certain glorification of war which was to expire forever in the mud of the Western Front.
He briefly attended a district school at Carinish, but never learned to read or write in his native language. He began composing poetry at the age of 13. His mother was reportedly impressed with his abilities and made him promise never to use his poetry for personal attacks. This was a promise he always honored. This, and the introspection caused by his experiences in World War I, set him apart from other Gaelic poets.
World War I
He enlisted in the King's Own Cameron Highlanders on the outbreak of war in August 1914. He experienced some of the first use of poison gas, which he described vividly in his poem Òran a' Phuinnsuin ("Song of the Poison"). In 1916, he was wounded in action at the Battle of the Somme. Although he soon recovered, he was unfit for frontline duty and spent the remainder of the war in the West Riding Field Regiment. He composed many poems and songs during his war service, many of which are still read and sung. Dòmhnall Ruadh's Christian beliefs deeply influenced his work and caused his poetry to be less despairing than other World War I poets like Wilfred Owen.
Later Life
According to Ronald Black,"The years following the War were filled with emptiness, economically as well as personally. There was little living to be had in Uist other than from the poacher's gun. In 1922, however, he married Annie MacDonald (Anna Ruairidh 'ic Nèill (1890-1970), and they had two children, Mary and Malcolm, both of whom died in 1965. Dòmhnall Ruadh had become a stone mason and went on to build more than thirty houses in different parts of Uist. Experiencing a degree of prosperity for the first time in his life after the Second World War, the Voice of the Trenches, as we may call him, became a prolific poet once more, but subsequently suffered a great deal from illness. He died at Lochmaddy on 13 August 1967. 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. [1]
Legacy
His is best known for the song An Eala Bhán ("The White Swan") which he composed during the Battle of the Somme and which is addressed to Mhagaidh Nic Leoid, his sweetheart at the time of the war. In recent years, it has been recorded by artists as diverse as Calum Kennedy, Donnie Munroe, Capercaillie, and Julie Fowlis.
The poet Dòmhnall Iain MacDòmhall wrote the following elegy for him:
- Mholthu 'n eala bhàn gu ciatach
- Ann am briathran brèagha bàidheil,
- Dh'inn's thu dhuinn mu 'liuthad deuchainn
- Tron deach thu ri beulaibh nàmhaid
- Mhol thu 'n tìr a dh'àraich òg thu,
- Uibhist bhòidheach bheag a' chrà-gheoidh...
- "You praised the White Swan with elegance
- In splendid, loving words,
- You told us of how many trials
- You survived in going against the foe:
- You praised the land that reared you young,
- Lovely little sheldraked Uist..."[2]
References
Further reading
- Ronald Black, An Tuil: Anthology of 20th Century Scottish Gaelic Verse, Polygon Press, 1999.
