BOOKS RECEIVED, IN BRIEF
Warriors and Priests: Nicolas Maclean-Bristol. Title and sub-title, 'The History of the Clan MacLean, 1300-1570', pretty well define the concerns of this work, which can be recommended to those with an interest in the history of the West Highlands and - obviously - Clan Maclean. There are many, many Macleans in the world, never mind those with remoter kinship ties, so I'd say that this publication has a fair chance of moderate commercial success. One of my paternal great-great-great grandfathers in Kintyre was a Finlay MacLean, married to a Barbara Milloy, but I don't know where he was from, if not from Kintyre. I hadn't reckoned the MacLeans to be a family of any great antiquity in Kintyre, yet the first MacLeans in the West Highlands - evidently originating in Carrick, Ayrshire - appeared in North Kintyre and Knapdale in the 15th century, on lands claimed jointly with MacNeills. This title is the first of three promised by Mr Maclean-Bristol on the history of that powerful and influential clan. Tuckwell Press, East Linton, 212 pp, £19.95.
The Beatons: John Bannerman. A paperback edition, by distinguished Gaelic historian, of a book which traces the Clan, Meic-bethad, or Clan MacBeth, whose members practised medicine ii the classic Gaelic tradition from the early 14th to the early 18th century The work examines the records of those scholar-doctors in the Westeri Isles and on the Scottish mainland. Kintyre is mentioned a couple 01 times. Fearchar Beaton, who died in 1762 and was a son of the Rev John Beaton of Bracadale in Skye, removed from Skye to Kintyre, where sister was married to Neill MacEachern of Killellan, whose sister, Isobel Fearchar married, and whose estate Fearchar succeeded to on the death o his brother-in-law (pp 68-9). The Kintyre Omeys - still with us as th last old family retaining the prefix 0, which is still common in Ireland are briefly considered in their progression from 'the art of weaving' t4 more learned pursuits (p 83). John Donald, Edinburgh, 161 pp, £16.
The Archaeology of Argyll: editor Graham Ritchie. In this fine, lavishly illustrated volume,
a team of specialists traces the history of the area, through its monuments
and artefacts, from the earliest settlers - the mesolithic hunter-gatherers
- through the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, to the successive arrivals of
the Scots and Norse settlers. The book has been assembled with the non-specialist
reader in mind and may be unreservedly recommended as a compact and comprehensive
guide to the archaeological riches of Argyll. Most of the major Kintyre
sites are examined. The editor, Dr Graham Ritchie, gave our Society, on 18 November
of last year, a most interesting illustrated talk on his own archaeological
field-work in Argyll over the past 30 years. Edinburgh
University Press, .308 pp.
A Field Guide to the Archaeology of Kintyre: Frances Hood. Our Society is to be congratulated on publishing this useful guide, whose progress towards print was bedevilled for several years. In future editions, however, 'Gigha' might profitably be added to the title, for that island - on which Frances has done sterling field-work - is given separate treatment in the text, and, by acknowledging that in the title, the booklet's market appeal could thereby be extended. This work can be recommended to locals and visitors alike as a concise, yet informative, guide to the main archaeological sites of the peninsula, and Frances hasn't forgotten to glance at industrial and wartime archaeology. TIu Kintyre Antiquarian and Nat Hist Soc, Campbeltown, 8Opp, £5.
Our good friend, Norman Newton, has had a book on Kintyre published, but despite efforts to obtain a review copy from the publishers, no copy has yet been received.
Appearing. The
Collected Poems and Songs of George Campbell Hay, edited
by Michel Byrne, is due for publication in October of this year, though it looks
likely that its appearance will be delayed. Mr Byrne has gathered together,
for the first time, Campbell Hay's complete body of original poems - in Gaelic,
Scots, English, Norwegian, Italian and French - and these will be published
by Edinburgh University Press in a deluxe two-volume edition costing ... £95! Let's hope a paperback edition
isn't too long coming. It is hoped to review the book in the next issue of the
Magazine and to accompany it with an article, titled 'A Poet at Park', which
describes Campbell Hay's relationship, in the 1930s, with the MacDougalls, a
Gaelic-speaking family which farmed Park, near Campbeltown.
Books of Local Interest Reprinting. Our Society is in the process of re-issuing Andrew MacKerral's authoritative Kintyre in the 17th Century, first published in 1948 and much sought-after on the second-hand market. Angus Martin's Kintyre: The Hidden Past, first published in 1984 and for several years out of print, is also being re-issued soon, by its original publisher, John Donald of Edinburgh The book will appear with a new cover and with the addition of eight pages of black and white photographs. A.M.
No 46 Autumn 1999
Page 2: A History of the Gilchrists
Page 3: In Campbeltown Once More.
Page 4: The Lowland Church of Campbeltown from its Foundation in 1654 till the Disruption. - Part Two
Page 5: Heather McFarlane's Page - Some Thoughts by e-mail & snailmail
Page 6: Books Received, in Brief
Page 7: Crarae Garden (Could be slow loading)
Page 8: By Hill and Shore - Part One