Mo rùn geal òg

"Mo rùn geal òg" (My fair young love), alternately known as "Cumha do dh'Uilleam Siseal" (Lament for William Chisholm) is a Scottish Gaelic lament written by Christina Fergusson for her husband, William Chisholm of Strathglass, who was killed at the Battle of Culloden in 1746.

Memorial to Chisholm and Ferguson, near Struy

Fergusson was possibly born in Contin, Ross-shire.[1][2] She was married to William Chisholm, who was a smith, armourer and standard bearer for the Chief of Clan Chisholm. Chisholm was killed at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. In his memory, Ferguson wrote Mo Rùn Geal Òg (My Fair Young Love).[3][4][5][6] In the poem, Christina rebukes Prince Charles Edward Stuart, saying that the loss of her husband in fighting for his cause has left her desolate.

A roadside memorial marks the site of Chisholm and Ferguson's cottage, near Struy in Strathglass.[7]

The song has been performed by several notable singers, including Flora MacNeil, Mary Ann Kennedy, Anne Lorne Gillies,[8] Julie Fowlis.[9]

References
  1. Mackenzie, John (1909). Sar-obair nam bard Gaelach : the beauties of Gaelic poetry and lives of the Highland bards. Edinburgh: John Grant. pp. 373–4.
  2. Ewan, Elizabeth; Innes, Sue; Reynolds, Sian, eds. (2006). The biographical dictionary of Scottish women : from the earliest times to 2004 (Reprinted. ed.). Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univ. Press. p. 69. ISBN 0748617132.
  3. John Stuart Blackie (1889). Scottish Song... W. Blackwood & sons. pp. 234–238. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  4. Malcolm Maclean, ed. (2002). Great Book of Gaelic. Canongate U.S. p. 276. ISBN 9781841952505. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  5. David Masson (1885). Macmillan's Magazine Volume 52. Macmillan and Company. pp. 309–310. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  6. John T. Koch, ed. (2006). Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 1033. ISBN 9781851094400. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  7. "Chisholm Stone, Mauld". Highland Council HER. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  8. "Mo Rùn Geal Òg". Bliadhna nan Òran (in Scottish Gaelic). BBC. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  9. "Duncan Chisholm, Liz Doherty & Julie Fowlis - Mo Rùn Geal Òg". BBC Alba. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
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