Alexander MacDonald | Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill (1820, Glenuig, Moidart – 10 March 1904, Springhill, Canada), also known as ‘Alasdair Ailein Mhóir’ and ‘Bàrd na Ceapaich,’ was a major Gaelic poet of Nova Scotia. His parents emigrated to Canada in 1830 and settled near the Keppoch Mountain.
The poem ‘A’ Ghrian’ is accompanied by the note: ‘Rinneadh an dàn seo le Alasdair Dòmhnallach a rugadh an Gleann Uig, am Mùideart, sa bhliadhna 1820, is a chaidh do Nobha Scotia le athair, Ailein Mòr, sa bhliadhna 1830.’ It is possible it was chosen by Hector MacDougall, who was to be the editor of the revised edition of Clàrsach na Coille (1928), a volume of Gaelic poetry from Nova Scotia originally edited by Alexander MacLean Sinclair in 1881.
Publications in Erskine’s Periodicals
- ‘A’ Ghrian’ [poetry, GD], Volume XV, Issue 2 (Summer 1918); republished posthumously
Resources
- Laurinda Matheson, ‘Alasdair Ailein Mhoir, Bard na Ceapaich,’ Rannsachadh na Gàidhlig 5 (2010)
- Laurinda Matheson & Trueman Matheson (eds.), O Cheapaich nan Craobh: A’ Bhàrdachd aig Alasdair Ailein Mhóir, Bàrd na Ceapaich / From Keppoch of the Trees: The Poetry of Alexander MacDonald, the Keppoch Bard (Sìol Cultural Enterprises, 2008)