William Ross (Scottish Gaelic: Uilleam Ros [ˈɯ.ʎam ˈros]; 1762–1790/91) was a Scottish writer of Romantic poetry in Scottish Gaelic from the Isle of Skye and a Church of Scotland parish schoolmaster, who is often referred to as, "The Bard of Gairloch." Although Ross, similarly to Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair,[1] has been referred to as, "the Robbie Burns of the Highlands",[2] he also bears close parallels to his near contemporary John Keats. Similarly to Keats, more than two hundred years after dying of tuberculosis while still in his twenties, Ross remains a highly important and admired figure in Scottish Gaelic literature and is considered one of the greatest poets and writers in the history of the language.[3]
Ross' other famous poems include "Soraidh bhuan do'n t-Suaithneas Bhàn" ("Farewell to the White Cockade"), an iconic eulogy for the 1788 death in exile of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, and the lament, Cuachag nan Craobh ("Cuckoo of the Tree"),[4] one of the many poems inspired by his star crossed love for Lady Marion Ross, the tune of which is now known throughout the Anglosphere as The Skye Boat Song, based on multiple sets of Scottish English lyrics composed a century later. According to Derick S. Thomson, "Ros is justly regarded as the leading poet of love of the eighteenth century."[5] Despite being widely viewed, however, as a, "love-lorn romantic who died of unrequited love", Ross was also very capable of poking fun at his own sorrow.[6] Most recently, 20th-century Gaelic bard and literary critic Sorley MacLean praised Ross's last song, Òran Eile, as one of the greatest poems ever written in any of the languages of Britain and favourably compared it with the best of Shakespeare's sonnets.[7]