Biography

Roderick MacKay, known as Bàrd Iollaraigh (The Illeray Bard), was born on the 16th of November 1872, in Knockintorran in North Uist. He was the eldest son of the bard Alasdair MacKay, Alasdair mac Ruair' 'ic Eachainn. The family moved to Illeray in 1904, where Roderick spent much of his life. He was in the Cameron regiment for a time during World War I, and he spent many years travelling around Uist twice a year to collect the rent for the old bailiff, MacKenzie. He also helped the bailiff with administrative work in Ballone.

Roderick's poetry and songs were collected in the book, Oiteagan à Tìr nan Òg, and published in Glasgow for the Uist and Barra Society in 1938. In the foreward, George MacKenzie writes:

"Cha robh e ach 13 nuair a ghleus e chruit-chiùil an toiseach agus riamh on uair sin bha e ga gleusadh a-rithist agus a-rithist; 's math dh'fhaodte gu bheil e nas dlùithe air a' ghlan fhìrinn a ràdh gun robh i air ghleus an còmhnaidh." ["He was only thirteen when he first tuned his harp, and ever since then he has been tuning it again and again; though it would perhaps be closer to the plain truth to say that it was always in tune."]

Roderick was witty. Donald MacDonald from Illeray had a story about a time Rory was late coming home, so late that his mother began to worry. Anyway, Roderick arrived on Sunday morning, and his mother scolded him for not coming home sooner. His response, typical of his playful nature, was ‘Well, Mother, could you have chosen a better, more blessed day to return home than on a Sunday?’. Roderick was quite a small, thin man. Hugh James had a story about him one day sitting outside on a bench, making up a song. He ended the song with ‘until they squeeze me into a narrow coffin.’ “Well”, said the old man, “It’d have to be very narrow before they'd have to squeeze you into it!”.

George MacKenzie wrote about his poetry:

"There is the merit and form of good poetry to the songs of Roderick MacKay. The solumn thoughts of the mind, the desires of the heart, the honest mirth, every one put in appropriate form, its rythmn running smoothly, and the poet piece by piece painting the picture in his own mind without imperfection or hesitation. The love ditties here ... with humour and with longing; and because the poet is very opinionated and extremely witty it's no wonder that he would read the nature of his neighbour and his fellow man susicntly, and that he would give an account of them in jocose verse. There are poems in this book which will make you laugh but not one which will cause offence or heartbreak. [...] There are words in this book now only rarely heard in Uist itself. More's the pity if they are to be forgotten. Even if this book only gives them shelter from the storm which is sweeping so many of them away to the Land of Forgetting, it is not work without merit."

Roderick never married. He passed away in Illeray on the 7th of February 1949 and was buried in the Kilmore cemetery. Roderick’s memory lives on in his poetry. His gravestone bears a verse from Moladh Uibhist:

Tìr mo dhaoine, tìr mo ghràidh
Ged theireadh càch gur duainidh i
Cha do dheàlraich grian air àite
Leth co-àlainn snuadh rithe;
Ged nach fhaicear innte craobh
Gum faicear fraoch is luachair innt'
Is muran dubh-ghorm na raoin
'S iad taobh ri taobh gu cuaileineach.

List of compositions

Comunn Uibhist is Bharraigh
Ionndrainn Phaibil
Moladh Uibhist
Òran an Aithreachais