Evan MacColl (; 1808–1898) was a Scottish-born

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poet in both

Canadian Gaelic Canadian Gaelic or Cape Breton Gaelic (, or ), often known in Canadian English simply as Gaelic, is a collective term for the dialects of Scottish Gaelic spoken in Atlantic Canada. Scottish Gaels were settled in Nova Scotia from 1773, with the ...

and

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. He is commonly known in his native language as Bàrd Loch Fìne (the "Poet of Loch Fyne"). Later he became known as "the Gaelic Bard of Canada".

Early life

Evan MacColl was born at Kenmore on the banks of

Loch Fyne Loch Fyne (, ; meaning "Loch of the Vine/Wine"), is a sea loch off the Firth of Clyde and forms part of the coast of the Cowal, Cowal Peninsula. Located on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. It extends inland from the Sound o ...

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, Scotland, on 21 September 1808 when the area was thoroughly Gaelic speaking. His father was Dugald MacColl who was possessed of "the richest store of

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song of any man living in his part of the country." Alexander Mackenzie, 'Evan MacColl – the Bard of Loch Fyne', in ''The Celtic Magazine'', Inverness: A & W Mackenzie, 1881, Volume VI, p.54. This is a three part biography: (1) No. LXII, December 1880, pp,. 54–58; (2) No. LXIII, January 1881, pp. 95–103; (3) No. LXIV, February 1881, pp. 139–145 (an extract from MacColl's diary for 1838–39 of a tour of the Highlands). His mother, Mary Cameron, "was noted for her storehouse of traditional tales, legendary and fairy tales." She was also said to be something of an 'improvisatrice' or maker-up of tales. Though MacColl was fully employed farming and fishing, and later with road repairs, he nevertheless received a fair education. His father was fond of literature and procured books for his children when he could. The local village school offered a very limited education in English, and his father employed a tutor who taught his son English and instilled in him a love of

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and of

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in general. His poetic efforts began in boyhood, founded on a rich vein of the native Gaelic literary tradition surrounding him in youth and inherited from his family, although also inflected by the growing influence of Lowland Scots and anglophone literature.

Later life

MacColl's family emigrated to Canada in 1831, but he could not make up his mind to join the

Scottish diaspora The Scottish diaspora consists of Scottish people who emigrated from Scotland and their descendants. The diaspora is concentrated in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, England, New Zealand, Ireland and to a lesser extent A ...

. He continued his employment in road repairs while composing many of his best-regarded Gaelic lyrics. He published his first book of poems at his own expense in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

in 1836. This was ''The Mountain Minstrel; or, Clàrsach nam Beann'', and it sold enough to give the author a small profit. In 1837, he began contributing to the ''Gaelic Magazine'' then published in Glasgow. From October 1838 to January 1839, MacColl made a tour of northeast Scotland which was recorded in a diary published by Alexander Mackenzie in his biography of MacColl. Later in 1839 he became a clerk with the

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in Liverpool. He remained in Liverpool until 1850, when, because of declining health, he obtained six months' leave of absence and visited friends and relatives in

Glengarry County, Ontario Glengarry County, an area covering , is a county in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is still inhabited by the descendants of 18th and early 19th-century Scottish Highland pioneer settlers from Lochaber, was historically a Gàidhealtachd com ...

. While staying on his brother's farm on the Trent River, he was introduced to the Hon. Malcolm Cameron, then a

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and was offered a position in the Canadian Customs at

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

, which he accepted. MacColl remained in this post for thirty years and was superannuated about the year 1880.Evan MacColl – Poemhunter.com
Retrieved 5 November 2011 His first wife was Frances Lewthwaite whom he married in

Toxteth Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the county of Merseyside. Toxteth is located to the south of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Aigburth, Canning, Liverpool, Canning, Dingle, Liverpool, Dingle, and Edge Hill, Merseyside, Edge Hill ...

, Liverpool on 6 May 1847. He later married Isabella MacArthur in Kingston. He had nine children from one or both marriages. He died on 24 July 1898 in Toronto and was buried in Kingston.

Poetic achievements

Dr. Norman McLeod, editor of

Good Words ''Good Words'' was a 19th-century monthly periodical established in Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consist ...

, wrote as follows: MacColl wrote numerous poems while in Canada, including one in Gaelic in praise of a Scottish organization in Toronto in 1858. MacColl was literate in Gaelic and was a well-respected authority on the literature of the Highlands, sought out in Canada by those who took an interest in the subject. One of MacColl’s English poems is "Robin", written for the occasion of the

Centennial celebration in Kingston. The poem's easy and melodious expression is in excellent imitation of Burns' own style. He had been for many years the bard of the St. Andrew's Society of Kingston, and his anniversary poems are greatly appreciated by all Scotsmen. His poetic gifts were inherited by his daughter, Miss Mary J. MacColl, who published a meritorious little volume of poems entitled "Bide a wee," highly commended for their sweetness and delicacy.

Publications

Books

* ''The Mountain Minstrel; or, Clàrsach nam Beann'' consisting of original poems and songs, in English and Gaelic, etc. Glasgow: Maclachlan & Stewart, 1836. * ''The English poetical works of Evan MacColl'' with a biographical sketch of the author by A. MacKenzie. (Contributor: Alexander Mackenzie, 1838–1898) Toronto : Hunter, Rose. Edinburgh : MacLachlan & Stewart, 1883. (This 'biographical sketch' is a reprint of Mackenzie's biography in ''The Celtic Magazine'' of 1880–81.) * ''Clarsach nam Beann.'' An ceathramh do-bhualadh, meudaichte agus ath-leasaichte. ith plates, including portraits.Glasgow: Evan MacColl Memorial Committee, 1937.Publications as listed in the

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catalogue, available at http://www.bl.uk

Scores

* ''Màiri:'' for 16-part choir a cappella. James MacMillan; words by Evan MacColl; English translation by James MacMillan. Boosey & Hawkes, c2003. (English words, translated from the original Scottish Gaelic of Evan MacColl; also printed for reference with French and German translations preceding score.) * ''Welcome, Snow.'' Text by Evan MacColl. Author: Joseph Roff 1910–. New York: Leeds Music Corporation, 959 * ''Suaicheantas na H-Alba'', Gaelic text by Evan MacColl, translated by Malcolm MacFarlane as 'The Badge of Scotland' (more popularly known as 'The Thistle o' Scotland'), and accompaniment by Frederick W. Whitehead. Published in ''Songs of the Highlands'', Inverness: Logan and Co.,

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Memorial

In 1930 a cairn on the shore of Loch Fyne was commemorated to MacColl.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacColl, Evan 1808 births 1898 deaths Canadian people of Scottish descent 19th-century Scottish Gaelic poets 19th-century Canadian poets Canadian Gaelic poets Canadian male poets Scottish male songwriters People from Argyll and Bute 19th-century British male writers Scottish-Canadian culture in Ontario Poets from Ontario