clan donald nova · pdf filepage 1 clan donald nova scotia winter 2016 ... the origins of the...

Clan Donald Nova Scotia Winter 2016

CLAN DONALD NOVA SCOTIA

Winter 2016

"Ni h-eibhneas gan Chlainn Domhnaill…" (It is no joy without Clan Donald ...)

2015 Awards Banquet The Clan Donald Annual Awards Banquet was held in Arisaig in June. As always, a delicious lobster

dinner was enjoyed. This year’s Hall of Honour recipient was Douglas MacLeod, Past Commissioner

of Clan Donald Pictou County. His son, Scott, received the award on behalf of the family. Judy Parks,

enthusiastic and devoted member of the Annapolis Valley Branch, received an Achievement Award,

as did brothers Alastair and John “Spyder” Macdonald. Alastair and John are noted for their musical

and acting achievements. John is a member of the Pictou County Branch and Alastair of Halifax

Region. They entertained us with two of Alastair’s compositions at the end of the evening.

(Photos courtesy of Russ MacDonald)

Scott MacLeod, Judy Parks, John 'Spyder'

and Alastair Macdonald with their awards

Alastair on fiddle; Spyder on guitar

The members of the Annapolis Valley Branch

who were in attendance

New Glasgow High School friends, Judy

MacDonald and Judy Parks


25th Anniversary Service Gail Gordon, Annapolis Valley Commissioner,

welcomed clan members and friends as they

gathered for the 25th

anniversary of the unveiling of

the Clan Donald monument in Pictou. The Rev. Dr. Glen Matheson of First Presbyterian Church in

New Glasgow was the guest preacher. His thought-

provoking sermon was entitled “What Do These Stones Mean”. Burns MacDonald provided music

for the hymns “The Lord is My Shepherd” and

“Unto the Hills” and sang “In the Garden” as a solo. Piper, Harold MacDonnell, played the

Lament. Harold was the piper at the unveiling in

1990. Scripture lessons were read by Ronald A.

MacDonald, Barry MacDonald, and Donald A. MacDonald. After the service, a fellowship hour

was held with refreshments that included a special

anniversary cake (see below).

Back: Ronald A. MacDonald, Pat Christensen,

Genevieve Oliver. Front: Brundage MacDonald,

Russell MacDonald, Ella MacDonald. Missing from

photo: Burns MacDonald and Harold MacDonnell.

These members were present at the unveiling of

the monument in 1990 as well as the 25th

anniversary in August 2015.

(picture courtesy Brundage MacDonald)

Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan, Grand Pre

The Covenanter

Church in Grand

Pre was the setting

for the 19th Annual

Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan

service sponsored by

the Annapolis Valley

branch of Clan Donald. The service

was well attended on

a beautiful Sunday afternoon in June.

Clan Lamont was the ‘honoured clan’ this year and

Jean Watson (‘Mother of Tartan Day’) representing

that ancient clan, gave an engaging account of its history. Worship was led by the Rev. Dr. P. A.

(Sandy) McDonald, of the Halifax branch of Clan

Donald. His sermon was entitled “ Courage and Community”. Gaelforce, a Gaelic singing group

from the Valley, offered “O Mhiorbhail Gras”

(“Amazing Grace”) before the various clan tartans were brought forward for blessing. Included in the

presentations was the recently registered Annapolis

Valley Tartan which was designed, over thirty

years ago, by Gordon Hansford of Kentville. The Valley branch of Clan Donald was instrumental in

having this tartan approved and registered by the

Scottish Register in 2014. Following the service, everyone gathered for refreshments at the Horton

Community Hall where Mr. Hansford spoke about

the origins of the tartan and recited a poem he had written about it.

Gordon Hansford speaking to the gathering

at Horton Community Hall


2016 AGM Planning Committee Meeting

The Clan Donald Canada 2016 Annual

General Meeting will be held in Truro,

Nova Scotia on the weekend of October 14 and 15. Clan Donald Nova Scotia will host

the event at the Glengarry Best Western Plus.

Plans are well underway for this event where we will welcome members and friends from

across Canada and around the world! This

year we are expecting a Facebook group

called Clan Donald Worldwide who will be touring Nova Scotia and Prince Edward

Island during the time of our gathering. They

plan to join us for some of the AGM events over the weekend. We look forward to

meeting the tour director, Chas MacDonald,

and other members of the group. AGM Committee meeting, December 2015 –Florence, Barry, Pat,

Sheila, Gail, Wayne, Bob and Priscilla are shown above.

(picture taken by Wade)

Scot of

the Year

Award The St. Andrew’s

Society of

Pictou County hosted its

annual feast

of St.

Andrew’s recently at

Summer

Street. The society’s Scot

of the Year

award was presented to

Brundage

MacDonald.

From left: Veronica MacDonald, her husband and Brundage’s son Gordon MacDonald, previous recipient Bob Haines, Ella MacDonald, Brundage MacDonald, Joan Sutherland (on behalf of her late husband Donald

Sutherland in whose memory the award is dedicated), and previous recipient George McKay.

(from The Pictou Advocate, Jan. 6, 2016) (picture by Steve Goodwin)


Colaisde Na Gàidhlig /The Gaelic College

Each year, Clan Donald supports three summer

school students at the Gaelic College in St. Ann’s,

Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The students each

receive a bursary worth $300 toward their weekly tuition. During the week there are five daily classes

where students learn the music, dance, language,

and crafts of the Nova Scotia Gaels. In 2015, the

bursary recipients were: Colby Fraser, Kaleigh Mudge, and Caragh Kennedy. In 2014, the

recipients were: Shannon MacKay, Emma

Townsend, and Jessie Everill (member of Clan Donald Halifax). All students were very grateful

for the support received from Clan Donald. 2014

was Jessie Everill’s first time at the College and she enjoyed her week so much that she went back

in 2015 for two separate camps and is planning to

attend three camps in 2016! She especially liked

the weaving classes and the Gaelic lessons. http://www.gaeliccollege.edu/study-with-us/

Highland Games 2015 Clan Donald Nova Scotia was

represented at the

Antigonish Highland

Games and the New Glasgow Festival of

the Tartans. Three

new members were signed up and welcomed

to the Clan: Doern MacDonald, Basil MacDonald,

and Pattie MacDonald. We look forward to seeing

them at future Clan events! As ever, we were amazed by the distances people travelled to attend

the Games. Our guestbook was signed by residents

of Montana, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Virginia, Texas, Germany, Qatar, and many points

in between!

Bereavements

MACDONALD, Rev. Fraser (1931-2015) passed away March 12, 2015 in Sydney, NS. Fraser was a

minister with the United Church of Canada. He was

very involved with the Donald and Angus Clan of Cape Breton. Survived by wife, Kathy, a daughter,

three sons, and ten grandchildren.

MACDONALD, The Honourable Flora P. C., C. C.

(June 3, 1926 – July 26, 2015), a native of North

Sydney, NS, was a Canadian politician and

humanitarian. Canada's first female foreign minister, she was also one of the first women to vie

for leadership of a major Canadian political party,

the Progressive Conservatives. A member of Clan Donald Antigonish. Life member of Clan Donald

Nova Scotia and Clan Donald Canada.

MACKAY, Barbara (MacDonald) (Clark), age 89

of New Glasgow, passed away on September 27,

2015. Survived by husband Dr. Allan MacKay, son

David, daughter Mary Beth, their spouses and children. Barbara was a member of the Pictou

County Branch. Life member of Clan Donald Nova

Scotia and Clan Donald Canada.

STALLARD, Douglas Arthur, age 93, of New

Glasgow, passed away October 1, 2015. Doug was

a veteran of the Second World War, discharged with the rank of Flight Lieutenant (RCAF). He

graduated in 1948 from Dalhousie Faculty of

Pharmacy. He is survived by a daughter, three sons, and several grandchildren. Predeceased by wife,

Vera, in 2005. Doug was a member of the Pictou

County Branch and a Life member of Clan Donald Nova Scotia.

MACDONALD, Rev. Dr. L. George, age 72, of

Bedford, NS, passed away January 15, 2016. A retired minister with the Presbyterian Church in

Canada, George grew up on Pictou Island and in

Thorburn, NS. A graduate of St. F.X., he obtained a theology degree from McGill and graduated from

Presbyterian College, Montreal. He was a talented

preacher and engaging storyteller. George was a member of Clan Donald Halifax Region.

http://www.gaeliccollege.edu/study-with-us/


Remembering ‘The Bard’

Born in

Alloway,

Scotland, on

January 25,

1759, Robert

Burns was the

first of William

and Agnes

Burnes’ seven

children. His

father, a tenant

farmer,

educated his

children at

home. Burns also attended one year of mathematics

schooling and, between 1765 and 1768, he attended

an “adventure” school established by his father and

John Murdock. His father died in bankruptcy in

1784, and Burns and his brother Gilbert took over

the farm. This hard labor later contributed to the

heart trouble that Burns’ suffered as an adult.

At the age of fifteen, he fell in love and shortly

thereafter he wrote his first poem. As a young man,

Burns pursued both love and poetry with

uncommon zeal. In 1785, he fathered the first of his

fourteen children. His biographer, DeLancey

Ferguson, had said, “it was not so much that he was

conspicuously sinful as that he sinned

conspicuously.” Between 1784 and 1785, Burns

also wrote many of the poems collected in his first

book, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, which

was printed in 1786 and paid for by subscriptions.

This collection was an immediate success and

Burns was celebrated throughout England and

Scotland as a great “peasant-poet.”

In 1788, he and his wife, Jean Armour, settled in

Ellisland, where Burns was given a commission as

an excise officer. He also began to assist James

Johnson in collecting folk songs for an anthology

entitled The Scots Musical Museum. Burns’ spent

the final twelve years of his life editing and

imitating traditional folk songs for this volume and

for Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs.

These volumes were essential in preserving parts of

Scotland’s cultural heritage and include such well-

known songs as “My Luve is Like a Red Red

Rose” and “Auld Land Syne.” Robert Burns died

from heart disease at the age of thirty-seven. On the

day of his death, Jean Armour gave birth to his last

son, Maxwell.

Most of Burns’ poems were written in Scots. They

document and celebrate traditional Scottish culture,

expressions of farm life, and class and religious

distinctions. Burns wrote in a variety of forms:

epistles to friends, ballads, and songs. His best-

known poem is the mock-heroic Tam o’ Shanter.

He is also well known for the over three hundred

songs he wrote which celebrate love, friendship,

work, and drink with often hilarious and tender

sympathy. Burns died on July 21, 1796, at the age

of 37. Even today, he is often referred to as the

National Bard of Scotland. (from poets.org)

My Love is like a Red, Red Rose

O my Luve's like a red, red rose

That’s newly sprung in June;

O my Luve's like the melodie

That’s sweetly play'd in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,

So deep in luve am I:

And I will luve thee still, my dear,

Till a’ the seas gang dry:

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,

And the rocks melt wi’ the sun:

I will luve thee still, my dear,

While the sands o’ life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only Luve

And fare thee weel, a while!

And I will come again, my Luve,

Tho’ it were ten thousand mile.


Murder under trust ... On 27 August 1691 King William offered the

Highland clans a pardon for their part in the

Jacobite rising - if they agreed to pledge allegiance

to him before New Year’s Day. The oath had to be made before a magistrate. Many Highland Chiefs

waited for word to come from the exiled King

James before they took the oath.

Alasdair MacIain, the Chief of Glencoe, arrived at

Fort Willliam on 31 December 1691 to take the

oath but was told that he would have to travel some 70 miles to the sheriff at Inveraray. MacIain finally

took the oath on 6 January 1692. He was given

assurances that his allegiance would be accepted

and that he and his people - the McDonalds of Glencoe - were safe.

John Dalrymple, Master of Stair, was the Secretary of State. He was hoping for an excuse to make an

example of one of the Highland Clans. When he

heard that Alasdair MacIain had not sworn allegiance by 31 December he was delighted:

“My Lord Argyle tells me that Glencoe has not

taken the oath, at which I rejoice. It is a great work

of charity to be exact in the rooting out of that

damnable sect, the worst in all the Highlands.”

On 2 February about 120 troops arrived at Glencoe

under the command of Captain Robert Campbell of

Glenlyon. They were given hospitality by the MacDonalds of Glencoe as was customary in the

Highlands. For the next 10 days and nights the

troops were given food, drink and lodgings.

On 12 February Glenlyon received written orders

from his superior, Major Duncanson:

“You are hereby ordered to fall upon the rebels, the McDonalds of Glencoe, and put all to the

sword under seventy. You are to have a special

care that the old Fox and his sons do upon no

account escape your hands, you are to secure all the avenues that no man escape. This you are to put

in execution at five of the clock precisely; and by

that time, or very shortly after it, I'll strive to be at you with a stronger party. If I do not come to you

at five, you are not to tarry for me but to fall on.

This is by the King's special command, for the good

and safety of the country that these miscreants be cut off root and branch. See that this be put in

execution without feud or favour, else you may

expect to be dealt with as one not true to King nor

Government, nor a man fit to carry Commission in the King's service. Expecting you will not fail in the

fulfilling hereof, as you love yourself. I subscribe

these with my hand at Ballachulish, February

12th,1692.”

Robert Duncanson For their Majesty’s Service

To Capt. Robert Campbell of Glenlyon

At 5 am on the morning of 13 February 1692 the killing began. Alasdair MacIain of Glencoe was

shot dead as he rose from his bed, his wife was

dragged away from her fallen husband and stripped naked. She died the next day. Houses were set

alight. The troops bound some captives hand and

foot before killing them. Gunfire woke the people

of Glencoe. They ran from their homes and fled into the mountains.

Thirty eight men, women and children were killed

in the massacre. Many more died of exposure as they tried to escape across the mountains in the

dead of winter.

The MacDonalds had been victims of ‘murder

under trust’, considered even worse than normal acts of murder under Scots law. The Massacre of

Glencoe was also an act of terror by the state

against its own people. The MacDonalds were killed to scare the other Highland Clans into

submission. John Dalrymple, Master of Stair, had

planned the murders. The orders to kill the MacDonalds of Glencoe had been signed by King

William. As word of the massacre spread, the

Government tried to cover up what had happened.

Eventually, in 1695, King William had to launch an enquiry. The Master of Stair resigned his offices

and was given a Government pension. Robert

Campbell of Glenlyon died in poverty a year later. No-one was ever brought to trial.


A Canny Scot

A Scotsman named Angus walks into a bank in London and asks for the loan officer. He says he's going to the US on business for two weeks and needs to borrow 1,000 pounds. The bank officer says the bank will need some kind of security for the loan, so Angus hands over the keys to a new Rolls Royce. The car is parked on the street in front of the bank, he has the title and everything checks out. The bank agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan. The bank's president and its officers all enjoy a good laugh at Angus for using an expensive Rolls as collateral against a 1,000 pound loan. An employee of the bank then proceeds to drive the Rolls into the bank's

underground garage and parks it there.

Two weeks later, Angus returns, repays the 1,000 pounds and the interest, which comes to

10 pounds.

The loan officer says, "Sir, we are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multimillionaire. What puzzles us is why would

you bother to borrow 1,000 pounds?"

"Angus replied, "Where else in London can I park my car for two weeks for only 10 pounds and expect it to be there when I return?"

Did you know?

The first Boy Scout Troop in

North America was

organized in 1908 in Port

Morien, Cape Breton Island,

Nova Scotia.

2016 Events

Ceilidh in support of Feed

Nova Scotia hosted by Clan

Donald Halifax Region on

Thursday, February 25, 7 p.m., at St.

Andrew’s Church Hall, 216 School St.,

Dartmouth. All welcome!

Tartan Day, Wednesday, April 6 …

check local papers for events.

Culloden Memorial, Knoydart, NS -

Saturday, April 16, (gather at road side

at 10:45, walk to the Cairn begins at

11:00 am) See website www.culloden.ca

for map of the area.

CDNS Spring Meeting - hosted by

Halifax Region, Saturday, May 14th.

Lunch at Noon, followed by meeting.

First Presbyterian Church Hall, 60

Beaverbank Rd., Lower Sackville, NS

Kirkin’ of the Tartan – Covenanter

Church, Grand Pre, Sunday, June 5th,

2:30 pm, sponsored by Annapolis Valley

Branch of Clan Donald.

Antigonish Highland Games – July 3-10.

Clan Tent - Saturday, July 9th

Festival of the Tartans, New Glasgow –

July 13–17. Clan Tent - Saturday July 16

Clan Donald Canada AGM, Oct. 14/15 at

Best Western (Glengarry), Truro, NS

http://www.culloden.ca/


Clan Donald Nova Scotia Executive

Commissioner:

Eric Mapplebeck

P.O. Box 489

Kingston, NS B0P 1R0

Tel. 902-765-0331

E-mail: [email protected]

Deputy Commissioner:

Barry MacDonald

33 Dalhousie Avenue

Kentville, NS B4N 5E5

Tel. 902-678-7669


Secretary:

Priscilla Sharkey

159 Pleasant Drive

RR #2, Pictou

Lyons Brook, NS. B0K 1H0

Tel. 902- 382-2219


Treasurer:

Wayne MacDonald

15 Acadia Drive

Kentville, NS B4N 5E1

Tel. 902-679-1915


Federation of Scottish Culture in Nova Scotia

Representatives

Pat Christensen

38 Centennial Drive

RR 3 New Glasgow, NS B2H 5C6

Tel. 902-695-2066


Dennis MacDonald

Bldg. 95, Apt 112

Chipstone Close, Halifax, NS B3M 4J8

Tel. 902-221-7607


CDNS Historian

Ronald A. MacDonald

96 Pleasant Street

Antigonish, NS B2G 1W9

Tel. 902-863-2863

Branch Commissioners

Annapolis Valley:

Gail Gordon

14 Duncan Avenue

Kentville, NS B4N 1N4

Tel. 902-678-4535


Antigonish:

Ron McConnell

109 Hawthorne Street, P.O. Box 1324

Antigonish, NS B2G 2L7

Tel. 902-863-2598


Halifax Region:

Alastair Macdonald

587 Colby Drive

Dartmouth, NS B2V 1Y5

Tel. 902-462-1317


Pictou County:

Pat Christensen

38 Centennial Drive

RR 3, New Glasgow, NS B2H 5C6

Tel. 902-695-2066


Newsletter Editor

Sheila D. MacDonald

951 Montague Road

Montague Gold Mines, NS B2R 1V2

Tel. 902-435-4223


Clan Donald Canada

website

www.clandonaldcanada.ca

mailto:[email protected]











http://www.clandonaldcanada.ca/

clan donald nova · pdf filepage 1 clan donald nova scotia winter 2016 ... the origins of the...

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