Iain Eairdsidh MacAsgaill (19 February 1898 – 4 June 1934), alias the Bàrd Bheàrnaraigh ("the

Bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is an oral repository and professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's a ...

of Berneray") was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

veteran of the King's Own Cameron Highlanders, a

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

bush poet The bush ballad, bush song, or bush poem is a style of poetry and folk music that depicts the life, character and scenery of the Australian bush. The typical bush ballad employs a straightforward rhyme structure to narrate a story, often one of ...

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

, and a highly important figure in 20th-century

Scottish Gaelic literature Scottish Gaelic literature refers to literary works composed in the Scottish Gaelic language, which is, like Irish and Manx, a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. Gaelic literature was also composed in Gàidhealtachd communities ...

. He was also known as Iain Archie MacAskill and John Archie MacAskill.Clach-uaighe Iain Eairdsidh mar a chithear ann an "Tilleadh Dhachaigh." His Gaelic genealogical name was Iain-Eirdsidh Dhòmhnaill Thormoid-Shaighdeir ("John Archie son of Donald son of Norman the soldier.").

Life

He was born on 19 February 1898 in Berneray,

Harris Harris may refer to: Places Canada * Harris, Ontario * Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine) * Harris, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan Scotland * Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle ...

,Ronald Black (1999), ''An Tuil: Anthology of 20th-century Scottish Gaelic verse'', Polygon,

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. Page 752. he was the son of Dòmhnaill MacAsgaill () (1873–1955) and Anna Chaluim Mhoireasdan. He had three sisters, Effie, Mary, and Kate and four brothers, Norman, Alexander, Malcolm, and John.

Scotland

He attended the Berneray School between 1903 and 1912. The editor of MacAsgaill's posthumous 1961 poetry collection, Alick Morrison, is also the poet's first biographer and has left behind a detailed account of his childhood in the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...

during the early 20th century. According to Ronald Black, the culture clash between the Gaelic

oral literature Oral literature, orature, or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung in contrast to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used v ...

taught at the Ceilidh houses and the

Anglicisation Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

enforced through

corporal punishment A corporal punishment or a physical punishment is a punishment which is intended to cause physical pain to a person. When it is inflicted on Minor (law), minors, especially in home and school settings, its methods may include spanking or Padd ...

in the schools after the 1872 Education Act is crucial to understanding Iain Eairsidh MacAsgaill and all other

Gaels The Gaels ( ; ; ; ) are an Insular Celts, Insular Celtic ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They are associated with the Goidelic languages, Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising ...

of his generation. As Alick Morrison wrote, "Gaelic culture reigned supreme all over the island except one spot; it stopped dead at the threshold of Berneray Public School." In 1911, he and his sister Effie lived with their mother's parents, Calum and Effie Moireasdan, at Croft 3, Borbh. When he left school, he found employment as a

shepherd A shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations; it exists in many parts of the globe, and it is an important part of Pastoralism, pastoralist animal husbandry. ...

and worked for Calum MacLeòid for seven years at Sandhill. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he left MacLeòid's employment to enlist in the 5th (Service) Battalion, Cameron Highlanders. Along with the rest of his Battalion, he landed at

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

as part of the 26th Brigade in the

9th (Scottish) Division The 9th (Scottish) Division, was an infantry division of the British Army during the First World War, one of the Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener to serve on the Western Front during the First World War. A ...

in May 1915. At the age of 17, he saw combat at the

Battle of Festubert The Battle of Festubert (15–25 May 1915) was an attack by the British army in the Artois region of France on the western front during World War I. The offensive formed part of a series of attacks by the French Tenth Army and the British ...

and the

Battle of Givenchy A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

. MacAsgaill was also one of the regimental bagpipers who led the Cameron Highlanders over the top on the first day of the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used Chemical weapons in World War I, ...

. Three of his fellow pipers were killed and eighteen were wounded, but, even though the ribbons were shot off of MacAsgaill's pipes, he survived the Battle of Loos unscathed. At the end of the war, he was moved from the 5th to the 3rd

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

. In October 1919, Iain Eairdsidh obtained employment as a

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

for the

City of Glasgow Police The City of Glasgow Police or Glasgow City Police was the police organisation covering the city and royal burgh of Glasgow, from 1800 to 1893, and the county of city of Glasgow, from 1893 to 1975. In the 17th century, Scottish cities used to ...

. He also played in the

Glasgow Police Pipe Band Glasgow Police Pipe Band was a Pipe band#Grading system, grade one pipe band from Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1883 as the Burgh of Govan Police Pipe Band, the band enjoyed its greatest competitive success as the Strathclyde Police Pipe Band. It ...

and won the World Prize in 1920. After four years, in 1923, he left the police force and returned to Berneray, where he worked as an agricultural laborer for Reverend Tormod Moireasdan"John Archie MacAskill"
hebrideanconnections.com. Accessed 12 May 2022. and began for the first time to versify in earnest.

In Australia

In 1924, Iain Eairdsidh decided to emigrate and take advantage of a Government scheme to settle 75,000 immigrants over five years in

. There were attractive opportunities in Australia for young people willing to work on the land. He sailed on New Year's Day 1925 on . Initially, he received a 1,500 acre wheat farm, which he dubbed, 'Borvedale' near Lake Varley, Shire of Lake Grace, located in the Wheatbelt one-hundred miles east of

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

, in

. At Borvedale, MacAsgaill owned a house, a

lorry A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructio ...

, and a horse whom he named "Prince Charlie". MacAsgail also employed an

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

servant, whom he suspected of being in league with the local

Noongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian people who live in the South West, Western Australia, south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton, Western Aus ...

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...

, who sometimes stole MacAsgaill's chickens and other property. His health broke and he was in debt. Against his will, his brother, Calum, came from

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

to help him. Calum returned after two years, but Iain Eairdsidh's affairs only worsened. The

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

made wheat farming unprofitable. MacAsgaill lost Borvedale, and had to earn his livelihood by working as a hired hand on another farm. Most of his Gaelic poems and songs were composed during this period, in which MacAsgaill suffered greatly from homesickness and bitterly regretted his decision to leave behind the happy life he had known in both Berneray and Glasgow. MacAsgaill had always been fond of drinking, but now that ceased to help him.

Death and legacy

His health worsened again and, at the age of only 35, Iain Eairsidh MacAsgaill died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

at Perth in June 1934. He was buried under the marker 377 in

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

, in the

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

suburb of the same name. In 1983, Dr Iain Napier MacAsgaill put a gravestone where Iain Eairdsidh was buried.
Trusadh: Tilleadh Dhachaigh
' BBC Alba first broadcast on Monday 14 June 2010. 60 minutes. At Dr. MacAsgaill's request, acclaimed bagpiper John D. Burgess visited the grave during a tour of Australia and played a lament for the deceased poet and piper.The Bard of Berneray, Piper John Archie MacAskill, Cameron Highlanders and City of Glasgow Police Pipe Band
by Robert Wallace. After first reading her great-uncle's

Australian poetry Australian literature is the written or literary work produced in the area or by the people of the Commonwealth of Australia and its preceding colonies. During its early Western history, Australia was a collection of British colonies; as such ...

of homesickness during a Gaelic class held 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 ...

,Berneray Bard returns home after 76 years
''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

'', 14 April 2010. Alina NicAsgaill Simpson took the initiative to repatriate MacAsgaill's remains to Berneray, Harris. Alina raised £6000 within six months and fulfilled her great-uncle's last wishes in 2010. Following a Reformed funeral in Gaelic which was attended by more than 40 relatives, MacAsgaill was laid to rest beside his parents. In a subsequent interview with ''

'', Simpson revealed that the current owner of her great uncle's farm near

Varley, Western Australia Varley is a small town located between Hyden and Lake King in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. The area surrounding the town was opened for agricultural purposes in the 1930s and by 1938 the local progress association began campai ...

, Gary Struthers, had recently changed its name back to "Borvedale" in honor of the former owner of the land.

Publications

* 1961. ''An ribheid chiùil: being the poems of Iain Archie MacAskill 1898–1933, Bard of Berneray, Harris'' edited by Alick Morrison (Stirling: printed for the editor by Learmonth)

Writings about him

* Martin, Ruth Lee. 2013. 'Paradise Imagined: Songs of Scots Gaelic migrants in Australia, 1850–1940' ann an ''Humanities Research'' àir. XIX. No.3. 2013. dd. 27–44.

Songs

* "Eilean Bheàrnaraigh".

References

External links

The Bard of Berneray, Piper John Archie MacAskill, Cameron Highlanders and City of Glasgow Police Pipe Band
by Robert Wallace
Berneray Bard returns home after 76 years
''

'', 14 April 2010.
Iain Eairdsidh
at Làrach nam Bàrd at BBC
Iain Eairdsidh
at the website of Hebridean Connections.

At Tobar an Dualchais

Am bàrd Iain Eàirdsidh MacAsgaill a' falbh gu Astràlia
"The bard Iain Eàirdsidh MacAsgaill leaves for Australia" (Record number 74979) in 1980, Raonaid NicLeòid explains how she saw Iain Eàirdsidh MacAsgaill as he was leaving Berneray for Australia in 1924
Òran caillte le Iain Eàirdsidh MacAsgaill
"Lost songs of Iain Eàirdsidh MacAsgaill" (Record number 74982) in 1980, Raonaid NicLeòid talks about the songs of homesickness for Berneray that Iain Eàirdsidh MacAsgaill wrote in Australia and sent to her brother Aonghas. {{DEFAULTSORT:MacAsgaill, Iain Eairdsidh 20th-century Australian poets 20th-century Scottish poets category:Officers in Scottish police forces 20th-century Scottish Gaelic poets Australian male poets Scottish bagpipe players British Army personnel of World War I Deaths from pneumonia in Western Australia Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery People from the Isle of Lewis People from Lake Grace, Western Australia People from the Wheatbelt (Western Australia) Police officers from Glasgow Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders soldiers Scottish-Australian culture Scottish emigrants to Australia Scottish Gaelic diaspora poets Scottish police officers Australian bagpipe players