John MacRury | Iain MacRuairidh (2 May 1843, Torlum, Benbecula – 1907) was a Gaelic author, scholar, and translator. He studied Divinity at the University of Glasgow. One of the most prolific Gaelic writers of the period, MacRury contributed frequently to periodicals including Jonathan MacKinnon’s Mac-Talla, The Northern Chronicle, and Na Duilleagan Gàidhlig, the Gaelic supplement of Life and Work, the magazine of the Church of Scotland, in which he was a minister. In Am Bàrd, his contributions appeared under the name ‘Iain’. As Calum Laing has established, he was also using the pseudonyms ‘I. M. R.’, Bodachan a’ Gharaidh’, and ‘F. O. S.’ His translations into Gaelic include The Arabian Nights and Robinson Crusoe. He presented many papers to the Gaelic Society of Inverness which were published in its Transactions.
Publications in Erskine’s Periodicals
- ‘Dòmhall Àrd’ [prose, GD], Volume I, Issue 1 (July 1901)
- ‘A’ Ghobhar Ghlas’ [prose tale, GD; commentary ENG], Volume I, Issue 2 (August 1901)
- ‘Còmhradh eadar Eachann, Dòmhnall Gobha, agus Seumas’ [dialogue, GD], Volume I, Issue 3 (September 1901)
- ‘Còmhradh’ [dialogue, GD], Volume I, Issue 4 (October 1901)
- ‘Dàn a’ Chlàrsair Dheireannach’ [poetry, GD; translation from Walter Scott’s The Lay of the Last Minstrel], Volume I, Issue 5 (November 1901)
Resources
- Calum Laing, An t-Urramach Iain MacRuairidh: A Bheatha agus na Sgrìobhaidhean aige (Inbhir Nis, 2013)