The Little Letter for Gaelic Learners

There are well over a hundred words for high country in Gaelic in Scotland. But what happened do that vocabulary over in Nova Scotia? It would be interesting to examine that. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

More than fifteen years ago, in the second Litir Ruairidh wrote, he gave different names for spiders. His grandmother would say poca-salainn, rather than damhan-allaidh. He heard a new word for spider recently and he was asked a question TV that he could not answer! Find out more in this week's letter. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

Until recently Ruairidh was never in the Gaidhealtachd in Nova Scotia. However, he recently remedied this and went to visit. He thoroughly enjoyed this place and meeting the people. Find out what really grabbed his interest in this week’s letter. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

The Fianna (Fingalians) were at one time living in Glencoe, according to oral tradition. Sgòr nam Fiannaidh ‘the peak of the Fianna’ is the name of the summit at the western end of Aonach Eagach ‘notched mountain’. Bealach Fhionnghail ‘Fingal’s pass’ connects Glencoe to Glen Etive. And on Aonach Dubh ‘black mountain’ there is Ossian’s Cave. Ossian the son of Fionn was writing poetry there. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

Ruairidh makes his way to the end of the alphabet in Armstrong’s old dictionary. He’s looking for unusual compound words. How many words do you know? Find out in this week’s letter. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

Ruairidh is going to look at compound nouns from Armstrong’s old dictionary. We’ll see how many you understand. He’ll be going through the alphabet. Do you know any of these words? Test yourself with this week’s letter. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

The crofters in the parish of Lochs in Lewis were planning to go ahead with the Park Deer Raid. The government wasn’t happy. They were on the side of the landlord. They sent police and soldiers to the island. That was in November 1887. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

Donald MacRae was a schoolmaster in Balallan School in Lochs Parish in Lewis. He was involved in the Park Deer Raid. That was the famous raid on the Park Deer Forest in 1887.Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

The Rev. Donald MacCallum moved to a new congregation in Tiree. The Duke of Argyll, the landlord, tried to stop him. But he didn’t succeed. There had been bad factors in Tiree. John Campbell, ‘Am Bàillidh Mòr’, was there. He put many people out of their homes. He was followed by another of the same ilk, Hugh MacDiarmid. Find out how Donald MacCallum overcame the factors in this week’s letter. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

Ruairidh has more to tell us about the Rev. Donald MacCallum. He stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the crofters at the time of the land struggle. When he moved to Vaternish on the Isle of Skye he became renowned. His congregation on the Sabbath was very small. He was in the Church of Scotland. Most of the area’s people were in the Free Church. How did he get such recognition? Who was amongst his strongest supporters. Find out in this week’s letter. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

you know the story of The Crafty Lad and the Drover? People were fed up of the Crafty Lad. They put him in a barrel. They were going to throw it down a steep slope. But there was a pub on the way. They went in for a dram. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

I was telling you about Fairybridge (‘the ford of the three burns’) in the north of Skye. In the Nineteenth Century, at the time of the Disruption of the Church, there were enormous religious meetings there. Thousands attended. Forty years later, the crofters were meeting in the same place. This time was during the land struggle. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

On the Isle of Skye, between Dunvegan and Edinbane, there is a bridge called The Fairy Bridge. Some people thought that horses would see the fairies dancing beside the bridge. In the book Skye: The Island and its Legends, Otta Swire tells us about her grandfather, John Robertson of Orbost. John reported that horses were scared of the bridge. Find out more about The Fairy Bridge in this week’s letter. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

There was, and is, a lighthouse on Skerryvore near Tiree. Despite that, however, there were occasional maritime accidents in those waters. The accident of the Cairnsmuir was in 1885. It was rather like the famous accident of the Politician near Eriskay. Find out more in this week’s letter. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

There is an amazing lighthouse on the Skerryvore near Tiree. It’s the highest one in Scotland, at a height of 48 metres. The Skerryvore is about twelve miles from Tiree and fifty miles from the mainland. Before there was a lighthouse on it, it was a great danger to shipping. Find out about the family who built the lighthouse in this week’s letter. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag