| Social Context | Guth Aoibhneach is a posthumously published collection of 18 short stories, interspaced with poetry, written between the 1950s and 1980s, and ranging from the comic to the tragic.
Paul MacInnes (Pòl MacAonghais, 1928-1987), was born on 22 January 1928 in Gourock. His father belonged to Ballachulish and his mother to Grimsay, North Uist. After the death of his father in 1936, MacInnes was brought up mainly by his maternal grandparents in Grimsay. He received his primary education in Grimsay and Bayhead schools after which he attended Portree High School, Isle of Skye. His university education at Glasgow University was disrupted by the war, and afterwards he undertook teacher training at Jordanhill College of Education. He taught in various places such as Quarrier’s Village at the Bridge of Weir and Orphans Homes School. MacInnes married Annot Robertson from Greenock in 1956 and they had two children. In 1957, as a newly-appointed headmaster, MacInnes taught at Kilmuir Primary School, Isle of Skye and, after six years there, he then went in turn to Inverness, Linwood in Paisley, and latterly Renfrew. From 1979, based in Edinburgh, he was a Gaelic producer and writer for the BBC’s education department. MacInnes was a prolific Gaelic novelist, short story writer, dramatist, translator and poet. He also played an enthusiastic part in Gaelic drama as actor, stage-manager and producer, as well as playwright. He was the author of an unpublished novel in English entitled Barefoot in the Lowlands, as well as a translation, entitled Ceann Teine Fòid, of Allan Campbell Maclean’s Ribbon of Fire. MacInnes died suddenly, aged fifty-nine, whilst on a visit to Portree, on 19 August 1987. |
| Contents | After a brief blurb (p. i), appears a photographic portrait of the author (p. ii) then the title page (p. iii), followed by publication details (p. iv) and then the contents list (p. v). There then appears a short memoir by Calum Cameron (pp. vii-viii) followed by a foreword (pp. ix-xi) containing a brief biography. The main contents then appear as follows, ‘“Aon Fheasgar…”’(pp. 1-5), ‘Lathan Bha Suid’ (pp. 6-10), ‘An Gille Gallta’ (pp. 11-17), ‘Cur As an t-Solais’ (pp. 18-22), ‘Air Feadh na Fìdhle’(pp. 23-25), ‘Sin Mar a Tha’ (pp. 26-32), ‘Pìoban gun Ribheid’ (p. 33), ‘Is Trom an t-Eallach’ (pp. 34-40), ‘Seachain a’ Phòsaidh’ (pp. 41-46), ‘Mòrag’ (pp. 47-51), ‘Nighean Chruinn Donn’ (pp. 52-57), ‘An Seann Bhàrd’ (p. 58), ‘Toiseach a’ Gheamhraidh’ (pp. 59-62), ‘An Dìleab’ (pp. 63-68), ‘Droch Am dhen Bhliadhna’ (pp. 69-83), ‘Urnaigh’ (p. 84), ‘A’ Ghrugach a Thadhal’ (pp. 85-90), ‘A’ Phrosbaig’ (pp. 91-96), ‘Itean Bòidheach’ (pp. 97-102), ‘Turas Dhòmhnaill a Ghlaschu’ (pp. 103-09), ‘A’ Chiad Oran’ (p. 110), ‘Maserati air a’ Mhachaire’ (pp. 111-31). |
| Language | The short stories vary in quality, but for the most part are written in a fluid idiomatic style containing sharp and witty dialogue, and the text is fairly easy to comprehend.
The text contains a number of idiomatic phrases such as: chaidh a fhiuchadh chun na seice (p. 7), cha bu ruith ach leum (p. 8), O, shìorraidh, tha thu air do ghànrachadh (p. 12), Bha a bhrògan a’ dèanamh turtar a dhùisgeadh na mairbh (p. 79), cha robh sin ga chur a-null no nall (p. 104).
The copula is realised as follows: ’S e (p. 1), ’n ann (p. 1), ’s ann (p. 9), gur e (p. 21).
Apostrophes are not retained in the possessive determiner, e.g.: gad shiubhal (p. 1), ga chur (p. 12), na h-ònrachd (p. 2), na bhois (p. 21), na mo chuimhne (p. 130).
Very occasional appearance of English idioms, e.g.: Tha e gun seatlaigeadh dòigheil (p. 11).
Occasional use English words, as well as loan-words that have been Gaelicised, e.g.: obairèisean (p. 32), loidseadh (p. 36), tagsaidh (p. 39), reacòrdair (p. 53), teip (p. 54), baidhsagail (p. 69), lòraidh (p. 71), canabhais (p. 75), funail (p. 76), siogarait (p. 79), sliopars (p. 81), garaids (p. 93), carabhanaichean (p. 93), plèan (p. 97), draibhear (p. 97), deasg (p. 97), trannsa (p. 98), troilidh (p. 100), bancair (p. 114).
Frequent appearance of rare or unusual words, e.g.: stuirceach (p. 1), spliathach (p. 2), grianaisgeach (p. 6), fiafhrachd (p. 6), miastadh (p. 6), cliopach (p. 7), gnoban (p. 8), tuthagan (p. 9), sgathair (p. 9), sgeunach (p. 15), a’ spuaiceadh (p. 16), diogadaich (p. 18), ragadh (p. 19), speachach (p. 19), rolais (p. 21), biùg (p. 22), braidseal (p. 27), sgalthartaich (p. 28), athais (p. 42), tàrradh (p. 43), òmar (p. 45), monaiseach (p. 46), ragadh (p. 49), piatharlan (p. 66), siobhag (p. 76), boc (p. 82), tapag (p. 82), peithreach (p. 83), glamhach (p. 83), spochaidhean (p. 86), fothall (p. 105), aoladh (p. 107), siad (p. 108), cèigeil (p. 108), stròidheil (p. 108), fadharsach (p. 112), ropladh (p. 116), starcach (p. 117), aonach (p. 118), muragan (p. 125), borbhan (p. 128).
Other spellings of note, some of which reflect the author’s dialect, are among the following: naodh (p. 1), readh (p. 1), bhitheadh (p. 2), nach dreadh (p. 2), thubhairt (p. 7), còigear (p. 7), duirt (p. 8), dara (p. 8), unnta (p. 20), leth-uair (p. 21), fa-near (p. 26), Di-luain (p. 41), dara (p. 46), air dhòigheigin (p. 48), iomadach (p. 61), an sheo (p. 74), norradh (p. 81), an shiud (p. 94), mu thràth (p. 94), dàrnacha (p. 94), bhàrr (p. 106), mura bheil (p. 119) but also mura h-eil (p. 120), troimhte-chèile (p. 122), an shiud (p. 124).
The language reflects the North Uist dialect of Grimsay. |
