The Scotsman

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Reviews

Cuir mi s an
fhearann thu
RAGHNALL MacilleDHUIBH
LEABHRAICHEAN RA

THA facal aig mo bhean s a

daoine an irinn, passremarkable.
Tha e ciallachadh breithneachail. Their thu e ri duine tha toirt
beachd nuair b fherr dha bhith
smhach. Seo leabhar r gasta
leis an ghdar as passremarkable
a th againn, John MacLeod, None
Dare Oppose: The Laird, the Beast
and the People of Lewis (Birlinn,
cmhdach cruaidh, 16.99).
Ged nach eil an tiotal ga dhanamh soilleir, s ged a tha e fada
gun tiseachadh, tha None Dare
Oppose na sgrdadh air beatha
aon duine: Dmhnall Rothach
(c.181190), fear-lagha beag Baile
Dhthaich a bha na phrocadair
fiscal ann an Sternabhagh bho
1841 gu 1874 agus na shiamarlan
air oighreachd Ledhais bho
1854 gu 1875. Chruinnich e iomadh dreuchd phoblach eile
fear-cathrach air bird sgoile
mar eisimpleir. Aig deireadh a
latha, nuair chaill e an cumhachd
seo uile air beatha nan daoine,
bhiodh balaich Sternabhaigh
ga leantainn tro na sridean ag
ibheach na facail a chleachd e
fhin ri iomadh croitear na r,
ann an Gidhlig Taobh Sear Rois:
Cuir mi s an fhearann thu!
Ged a tha an stiridh air fad
uabhasach inntinneach, gu snraichte do Ledhasaich agus do
luchd-lagha, chan eil mi riaraichte gu bheil am mneachadh ceart
aig an ghdar air an Rothach.
Tha e faighneachd car son a rinn
e na rinn e, a co-dhnadh nach
bann air son airgid, s a teicheadh gu cainnt an diadhaire: Island believers often talk, with
the Apostle Paul, of those given
over to sin some, such as those
destroyed by the bottle, to the
merciless consequence of a particular vice; but some (and you
could still find one or two instances in most little communities, in a Lewis township or anywhere else) simply to sin itself.
Mar sin, tha MacLeid a feuchainn ri dealbh den duine a thoirt
dhuinn mar an t-bharsair fhin,
an Stan, Bist an tiotail aige.
An n a tha dol seachad air, saoilidh mi, se gun robh addiction aig
an Rothach a tha, is dcha, cho

cumanta ris a bhotal. Tha deagh

fhacal Greugach air, megaloma
nia. Ged a tha MacLeid math le
faclan chan eil cuimhn agam
gun do chleachd e aon uair e bho
thoiseach gu deireadh an leabhair. Bha an Rothach den dream
mhallaichte ud a bhios a smcadh cumhachd, ag l cumhachd,
a gabhail cumhachd mar gum b
ann le snthaid. Bha comataidh
r dhsan mar bhotal ruma do
dhfheadhainn eile. Comharradh
cinnteach air megalomania be
mar bhiodh e ag atharrachadh
mhionaidean choinneamhan a
rir a thoil fhin. Stan? Cha b.
Duine cunnartach? B. Duine
tinn? B.
Saoilidh mi fhn gum bu chir
tiotal mar A Study in Power: The
Rise and Fall of Donald Munro a
bhith air an leabhar. Ach feumar
aideachadh gu bheil trr nas
motha na esan ann. Cha mhr
nach eil e na eachdraidh Ledhais o bhliadhna nan con gu 1875.
Agus abair gu bheil stoidhle
lidir shibhlach aig MacLeid,
loma-ln colloquialisms (greatgrand pappy), anachronisms
(the mission of the Fife Adventurers was a . . . car-crash), paren
theses (faic shuas). Oh, agus pass
remarkability (the old fool).

Dr Emily McEwan-Fujita: tha

d ideology aig a Ghidhlig

TAING do dh dheasaiche bhethail, Colm Baoill agus Nancy

McGuire, tha Scottish Gaelic Stud
ies a tighinn a-mach cho luath
an-drsta s nach eil e furasta cumail suas ris. Seo a-nist ireamhan
26 (Samhradh 2010) agus 27
(Geamhradh 2010), 12.50 am
fear bho Oilthigh Obar Dheathain.
Tha SGS air a bhith dol bho

SATURDAY 18 JUNE 2011

Dmhnall
Rothach,
siamarlan
Ledhais
18541875:
Bha an
Rothach
den dream
mhallaichte
ud a bhios
a smcadh
cumhachd, ag
l cumhachd,
a gabhail
cumhachd
mar gum bann
le snthaid.
Car son eile a
leigeadh e le
fear camara
an dealbh
iongantach
seo a thogail
dheth?

1926 an dearbh bhliadhna a

thisich a Ghidhlig againne!
agus ann an ir. 26 tha an soirbheachas seo air a chomharradh le
ln liosta de na h-airtigealan a
nochd ann an irr. 125, air an
rangachadh a rir ghdair.
Am measg na ghlac mo shil
ann an ir. 26 tha pos aig Axel
Khler mun t-seann sgeulachd
Seachd Saoidhean na Rimhe
agus mun bhuaidh a bh aice air
sgeulachdan nas aithnichte mar
Billidh Lunnainn agus An
Gille Carach. Tha Keith Sanger a
toirt dhuinn litir a sgrobh am
fear-ciil ainmeil Pdraig MacDhmhnaill (ministear Chille
Mhoire an Earra-Ghaidheal) ann
an 1808. Agus ann an ir. 27, tha
Mcheal Newton ag innse dhuinn
mu lmh-sgrobhainn Ceap
Breatainn anns a bheil ran le
sagart do Mhac Shimidh a chaidh
a dhcheannadh ann an 1747.
Tha cuimhne an-diugh air an
t-Siorram Alastair MacNeacail
(182793) mar am fear a thug
ainm do Sgrr Alasdair sa Chuiltheann, a shuidh air Comisean
Napier, agus a rinn leabhar mr
sheanfhacal a tha ri fhaotainn
fhathast. Tha Bernhard Maier amach air a bheatha ann an ir. 26
agus air an leabhar ann an ir. 27.
Se am pos rannsachaidh as
tarraingiche anns an d irimh
Ideologies and Experiences of
Literacy in Interactions between
Adult Gaelic Learners and FirstLanguage Gaelic Speakers le Emily McEwan-Fujita. Ma tha thu an

ss idir ann an leasachadh na

Gidhlig, bu chir dhut a leughadh. Le ideologies tha i a ciallachadh a Ghidhlig fhaicinn na
cnan aontaichte sgrobhte neo
na cnan a tha freumhaichte ann
an cainnt bheil na dachaigh.
Bidh dil aig an neach-ionnsachaidh gum bi a chiad shersa aig
luchd Gidhlig ach mar as trice
chan eil ach an drna. Mar sin tha
bern eatarra, agus m-thuigse a
tha dol na gamhlas uaireannan..
An dara cuid tha thu a brath na
Gidhlig no tha thu ga claonadh.
Tha seo gam thoirt gu d airtigeal mu dheireadh. Ann an ir. 26
tha Michelle NicLeid a-mach air
codaicheancianalaisannambrdachd Ghidhlig. Tha e follaiseach
gum buin NicLeid do thaobh
tradiseanta na bern ud, oir ged a
tha i sgrobhadh ann am Beurla
tha i toirt seachad bloighean brdachd ann an Gidhlig a-mhin.
Agus ann an ir. 27 tha tuilleadh
aig Kerry Cardell agus Cliff Cummin san t-sreath inntinneach aca
Gaelic Voices from Australia.
Tha e follaiseach gu bheil iadsan
bho thaobh eile na bern, oir
nuair thogas iad rud iris Ghidhlig Astrilianach tha iad ga thoirt
dhuinn cmhla ri eadar-theangachadh Beurla. Gu m-fhortanach
chan eil na h-eadar-theangachaidhean aca math idir mar eisimpleir, tha iad a m-thuigsinn
deasaiche mar countryman.
Stannardan, stannardan . . .

CHUMADH cuirm mhr

chuimhneachaidh do dhIseabail
NicAsgaill nach maireann ann
an Inbhir Nis oidhch Ardaoin.
DHFHOSGAIL Dachaigh
Chlann Dmhnaill taigh-stir
sthne ann an Armadal (Slite).

THA Scottish Power an dil

tuathanas gaoithe air leth mr a
thogail far costa irinn cmhla
ri companaidh cumhachd na
Danmhairg, DONG. Thid a
chuid as motha dheth a thogail
ann an Caladh Bheul Feirste.
Thathas a cumail a-mach gur
as adhbhar do na prsean troma
a tha iad a leagail air taighean
agus teaghlaichean ann an Alba.

LEO CONDIE SINGS THE

SONGS OF JACQUES BREL
BREL, GLASGOW
HHHHH

WHERE better to pay tribute

to the mighty Belgian crooner
Jacques Brel than in the bar
which bears his name and in
front of a poster of the great
man in full flight, no less.
If Leo Condie, the frontman
of Glasgow indie band The
Low Miffs, performing his
first gig since a serious cycling
accident six months ago, was
conscious of that formidable
legacy, he betrayed no nerves
as he launched into a rapid-fire
Jackie, as demanding a warm-up
number as they come.
Brel songs demand to be
acted and attacked as much as
sung and while Condie was not
always bang on the tune, he was
all over the complex delivery

MUSIC
PAUL MCKENNA BAND
PLEASANCE CABARET BAR,
EDINBURGH
HHHHH

ONE acts loss is anothers gain.

With Canadas David Francey
originally booked for this
Edinburgh Folk Club date
having postponed his UK
tour until next year, there was
something pleasingly karmic
about the Paul McKenna Band
stepping in as a substitute, after
their own gig here was cancelled
amid last winters snow.
Working at the helm of his
five-piece line-up since 2006,
McKenna is a young Glaswegian
singer, guitarist and bouzouki
player, whose arrangements
of traditional, contemporary
and sometimes original songs
interspersed with the odd
instrumental set also feature
David McNee (tenor guitar/
bouzouki), Sen Gray (flute/
whistles/guitar) and Ewan Baird
(bodhrn/cajon).
Their foremost asset is

THEATRE
THA Urras na Pirce agus an
t-uachdaran, Mgr Barry Lomas,
air an aon rmh an turas seo.
Tha iad le chile feargach ri
Riaghaltas na h-Alba air son dil
a chur san obair luachaidh air an
oighreachd. Seo cho fada s a tha
an t-aonta eatarra a dol ge-t, oir
tha an t-Urras am beachd gur e
an t-uachdaran as motha a tha a
buannachd s a mhirneal.

without sacrificing anything

in the enunciation, investing
totally in the words even as
he tossed his hair or fiddled
with his shirt cuffs or flopped
theatrically into a chair as he
began Next.
Every Brel song is a visceral
journey and this one started
with enervation and ended
in desperation, while The Gas
travelled from a droll croon to
overwrought comic anecdote.
Pianist Ewan Fulton was with
Condie every step of the way.
His rendition of the darkly
humorous Funeral Tango
secured him some future
bookings for audience members
funerals, while My Death
provided a contrasting dose of
straightforward soul-bearing
and the elegiac Sons Of served as
a comparatively serene breather
before the Sturm und Drang of
Amsterdam brought the show to
a melodramatic climax.
FIONA SHEPHERD

unquestionably McKennas
voice, already an instrument of
vividly individual distinction,
and though I sense he has
further to grow into it, even
now its vibrancy of timbre,
intensity of tone and fluency of
ornamentation only made that a
more exciting prospect.
Thats not to imply any
shortage of quality in his
bandmates contributions,
which also took in backing
vocals, amid densely layered
patterns of multiple picked
strings, imaginative duetting
between Gray and MacMillan,
and punchy but nimble rhythm
work.
While some numbers, Like
Ewan MacColls The Terror Time
and Lionel McLellands The
Silent Majority, would have
benefited from sparer, slower
backing, McKennas choice
of material showed laudable
ambition, and he scored the
considerable compliment of an
enthusiastic audience singalong
in the chorus of his own recent
composition, Dreams of Darien.
SUE WILSON

rblack@scotsman.com

Boinne ann am beul na gaoithe

THA ceannard r aig Al
Qaeda, Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri.

MUSIC

DHFHAODADH coitheanal
Sternabhaigh bhtadh gus
dealachadh ri Eaglais na h-Alba
air muin ceist nam ministearan
gidh ann an taghadh domhair
a bhios aca air 28mh gmhios.
THA co-labhairt air beatha s
obair Shomhairle MhicGill-Eain
a tighinn gu crch an-diugh ann
an Sabhal Mr Ostaig.

GENERATION
TRAMWAY, GLASGOW
HHHHH

STANDING on the precipice

of adulthood can be scary and
exciting in equal measure. At
the age of 17, three of the four
performers in Generation are
still too young to vote, pay
tax, drink alcohol legally or
get married without parental
consent. Its all ahead of them.
The fourth actor, 18-year-old
Nebli, is already there (as he
smugly demonstrates with a
can of Tennents) and while hes
pretty unfazed by the challenges
ahead, his fellow teenagers are
not.
Do you understand the
countrys current financial
situation?, how will you fund
your children?, have you got a
pension plan? they demand of
him. Nebli is low on answers.
Theres much to provoke

thought in this latest work

from glas(s) performance,
both for those of us already
grown-up and those on the
way. Theres also a good deal
of humour, perfectly timed by
the four talented cast members
(with Neblis Robert De Niro
impersonation meriting special
mention).
What theres surprisingly
little of, given the subject matter,
is poignancy. On two occasions,
Daniel Purves gets right to the
heart of the matter: first, when
he hurtles through his life at
breakneck speed, stating exactly
what hell be doing, where and
when between the ages of 18
and 70. Secondly, when he stops
for a second to worry what
will happen if it doesnt all go
according to plan which of
course it wont, nor should it.
It is moments such as this,
and the infectious energy
displayed throughout, that give
Generation its impact.
KELLY APTER