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Poet Day
"A’ falbh an aonaich ag iarraidh chaorach, (Wandering the moor in search of sheep,)
‘S mi cheart cho aotrom ri naosg air lòn, (and I was as light as a snipe on the marsh,)
Gach bot is poll agus talamh toll, (eachc mound, bog and marshy hallow,)
A toirt na mo chuimhne ‘n uair bha mi òg." (bringing to mind my youthful self.)
~ Mary MacPherson (1821-1898)
Attention poets, antiquarians, and art historians! This tartan carries a remarkable story, standing as one of several historic tartans derived from a portrait or photograph. The tartan was reconstructed from a colorized version of a black-and-white photograph of a shawl worn by the Skye poetess Mary MacPherson, famously known as Màiri Mhòr nan Òran (Big Mary of the Songs). Màiri began composing poetry in her 50s and went on to create beautiful Gaelic songs on various subjects, from exile to the fierce fight for crofters’ rights during the Highland Land League movement. A leading voice in this struggle, she became a prominent figure in the battle for justice. Màiri Mhòr formed a close friendship with Professor John Stuart Blackie of Edinburgh University, a Greek language scholar and passionate Scottish nationalist who deeply empathized with Highland life and the crofters’ hardships. Skilled in spinning and wool work, Màiri crafted a tartan plaid for Blackie and later designed a tartan named "The Blackie" in his honor. The Dualchas (Heritage Service for Skye and Lochalsh) suggests that the tartan in the photograph, possibly worn by Màiri herself, may indeed be this design! ❤️ 💚 💙 🤍 💛 ✍️
Mary MacPherson known as Màiri Mhòr nan Òran (Great Mary of the Songs) (1821 – 1898), was a Scottish Gaelic poet from the Isle of Skye, whose work focused on the Highland Clearances and the land struggle.
Following the death of her husband in 1871, Mairi Mhòr took employment as a domestic servant with the family of an army officer. Accused of stealing clothes belonging to the officer's wife, who had just died of typhoid, she was sentenced to 40 days imprisonment. She protested her innocence for the rest of her life and was almost universally believed by the Gaelic speaking community. Her brush with the law and the feeling it aroused is recorded in Tha mi sgìth de luchd na Beurla (I'm tired of the English speakers).
On her release in 1872 Mairi Mhòr moved to Glasgow, aged about 50. Here she seems to have learned to read and write in English, and qualified with a nursing certificate and diploma in obstetrics from Glasgow Royal Infirmary. In 1876 she moved to Greenock to work but often returned to Glasgow for cèilidhs and other gatherings of Skye people. It is thought that she probably sang at many of these cèilidhs as there is evidence of her frequently doing so after she retired to Skye in 1882. By this time she had acquired a reputation for her songs and her championing of the crofters in the increasingly heated debate over land rights.
Register notes:
A requested reconstruction by Jamie Scarlett MBE in May 2007 from a black and white photograph of a tartan shawl worn by Mairi Mhor nan Orain - 'big Mary of the Songs' (1821-1898) from Skye. Mairi MacPherson started composing in her 50s, and from then until her death produced some beautiful songs in Gaelic on a wide range of subjects. She was a leading figure in the battle for crofters' rights as was Professor John Stuart Blackie (1809-1895) from Edinburgh. Mairi apparently designed this tartan for him and it was conjectured by the Dualchas (Heritage Service for Skye and Lochalsh) that this might be the tartan worn by Mairi. Admittedly an extremely long shot but, in the absence of any other name, it has been given that of Blackie. The Dualchas Heritage Service have commissioned a colour painting from the Mairi photograph portrait which is why they were eager to ascertain the colours of the tartan shawl.
For more on Mairi's work life and work, click the photo.