Iain mac Ailein

Iain mac Ailein, or John MacLean (8 Jan 1787, Caolas, Tiree – 26 Jan 1848, Addington Forks, Antigonish County, Nova Scotia)[1] was a poet and highly important figure in both Scottish Gaelic literature and in that of Canadian Gaelic.[2] Before emigrating with his family to Nova Scotia in 1819, MacLean had served as the Chief Bard to the 15th Chief of Clan MacLean of Coll.[3] Following his arrival in the New World, MacLean remained a prolific poet and composed one of the most famous and most popular Scottish Gaelic emigration poems, Òran do dh' Aimearaga ("A Song to America"), which is also known as, A' Choille Ghruamach ("The Gloomy Forest").[4] Robert Dunbar has dubbed MacLean, "perhaps the most important of all the poets who emigrated during the main period of Gaelic overseas emigration", which took place between 1730 and 1860.[5]

  1. ^ "John Maclean | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  2. ^ "John Maclean | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  3. ^ Brown, Ian (2010-11-26). From Tartan to Tartanry: Scottish Culture, History and Myth: Scottish Culture, History and Myth. Edinburgh University Press. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-7486-4449-0.
  4. ^ Edited by Natasha Sumner and Aidan Doyle (2020), North American Gaels: Speech, Song, and Story in the Diaspora, McGill-Queen's University Press. Page 282.
  5. ^ Edited by Natasha Sumner and Aidan Doyle (2020), North American Gaels: Speech, Song, and Story in the Diaspora, McGill-Queen's University Press. Page 282.