Printout of scanned handwritten draft of poem `Oran Mhanitoba` by John MacLean, the Balephuil bard.
Scan of an incomplete handwritten draft of poem `Manitoba` by John MacLean, the Balephuil bard, composed on New Years Day 1880.
Sepia photograph of soldier Neil Colquhoun od Caoles.
Neil Colquhoun was born in 1864 the son of Archibald Colquhoun, the schoolmaster at the Free Church Ladies Society School at Sliabh Dearg in Caoles, and his wife Mary Ann MacLean. Neil was a fervent Tirisdeach and a founder member of the Tiree Association.
Colour photograph of decorated bone combs from the broch at Vaul in the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow.
Decorated Viking bone combs from the broch at Vaul photographed in the Hunterian Museum in May 2006.
Black and white photograph of Neil MacPhaiden of Salum with his seven children.
Neil MacPhaiden (centre front) with his five sons – Malcolm, Donald, Neil, Alexander and Charles – and two daughters – Catherine (left) and Mary Anne (right). The sisters married brothers Thomas and William Purvis.
Neil was born in 1807, the son of Donald MacPhaiden of Salum and his wife Catherine MacNaughton. The family emigrated to Canada in 1821 and settled in Brock Township Ontario. Neil married Mary MacLean who died in 1851. Neil himself died in 1881 and he and his wife are buried in the Old Scotch Cemetery in Brock.
Black and white photograph of the aircrew of Halifax LL123 from RAF Squadron 518.
The aircrew of Halifax LL123 from RAF Squadron 518, probably on Crossapol beach. 3rd from left: F/Sgt Ozzie Ozaist (Polish Met Air Obs).
John MacLean of Balephuil and Manitoba
Photograph of John MacLean of Balephuil in Manitoba around 1900.
Courtesy of Mr Wallace Robertson
This photograph, taken around 1900, shows John MacLean of Balephuil outside his homestead in Manitoba. John, the son of Donald MacLean and his wife Ann MacLean, emigrated to Canada in 1878 with his brother Charles and nephew Hector.
They arrived in Tiverton, Ontario where John met and soon married a Tiree woman, Flora MacKinnon née MacLean, a widow with a daughter Kate. They all moved to the Brandon Hills area of Manitoba and homesteaded at Dewart Farm in Little Souris. They were among the first settlers in the area.
John, it was said, was a good bard, but his childhood friend John MacLean of Balemartine was the better of the two. He wrote a famous song ‘Manitoba’ describing their leaving from Balephuil, and the rage he felt that the Highlands, which had provided so many soldiers for the British Empire, were being stripped of its people.
Sepia photograph of John MacLean, the Balephuil bard, in Manitoba around 1900.
John MacLean (1825-1912), the son of Donald McLean of Sandaig and Anne McLean of Balemeannach. He emigrated from Balephuil in 1878 with his brother Charles and nephew Hector, eventually settling in Manitoba.
Police report on the theft of peats
Transcription of a police report on the theft of peats from the Tiree peat moss in the Ross of Mull in 1860.
Courtesy of Argyll & Bute Archives
In 1801 the 5th Duke of Argyll instructed his chamberlain of Tiree: ‘No peats to be allowed to crofters from the mosses in the island, which are nearly exhausted, but coals must be imported…They can be allowed to take peats from Ross in Mull if they chuse.’
In the previous century the people of Tiree had frequently resorted to the peat mosses in the Ross of Mull for their fuel, a practice that continued, some say, until the beginning of the 20th century. The men and boys would sail over to the Ross in the spring to cut and stack the peats, returning later in the year to ferry the dried peats back to Tiree.
In 1860 Effy MacKinnon of Ardtun appeared before Sheriff Robertson in Tobermory charged with stealing peats belonging to Gilbert MacDonald of Balemartine. She was found guilty and sentenced to six days imprisonment.
Going to salute the flag at Island House
Photograph of Hugh MacDiarmid leading a group of people to salute the flag at Island House in 1920.
Courtesy of Mr John Watson
In this photograph taken in 1920, Hugh MacDiarmid is leading a large group of over a hundred men, women and children to salute the flag at Island House.
What the event was is uncertain but judging from other photographs in An Iodhlann’s collections, it was a day of celebration with a piper in attendance and a picnic for the children. Everyone is dressed in their best clothes, although some of the children have bare feet.
Originally from Perthshire, Hugh MacDiarmid was appointed sub-factor for Argyll Estates in Tiree after the retiral of John Campbell in 1876. He died in May 1928 at Island House aged eighty-two.
Black and white photograph of Hugh MacDiarmid at Island House in 1920.
Hugh MacDiarmid leads a large group of over a hundred men, women and children to salute the flag at Island House in 1920. What the event was is uncertain but judging from photograph C33, it was a day of celebration with a piper in attendance and a picnic for the children. Everyone is dressed in their best clothes, although some of the children have bare feet.
Originally from Perthshire, Hugh MacDiarmid was appointed sub-factor for Argyll Estates in Tiree after the retiral of John Campbell in 1876. He died in May 1928 at Island House aged eighty-two.
Two Clydesdale Stud Book entries dated 1/9/1947 for a stallion ‘Pioneer Again’ and a mare ‘Brae Blossom’ bred by John MacLean of the Brae, Cornaigbeg.
Horse`s bit from Druimfhraoich, Kenovay.
Iron horse`s bit painted black, from Druimfhraoich, Kenovay and probably made in a local smiddy.
