Biography

Roderick MacKenzie, Ruairidh a' Ghlinne, was born in Glen Tarmasaig, between Urgha and Carragreich, near Tarbert, on the 9th of May 1888. Poetry was in Roderick’s blood: his mother was the poet, Cairistìona a' Bhàird; his grandfather was Neil Morrison (Bàrd Phabaigh), and Neil MacDonald, Niall Mòr, or Bàrd Losgaintir, was Roderick’s cousin. His father was Kenneth Thormoid whos family originally came from Lochcarron.

Roderick married Catriona MacAuley, daughter of Thormoid Shomhairle, from Grosebay, who was the maternal aunt of the singer Willam John MacAuley. It was for her that he composed the song Fail il ì ho rò mo Chailin. They moved to Portnalong on the Isle of Skye along with many others from Harris in the 1920s. The move didn't agree with Catriona and she was very homesick, so she returned to Harris. Roderick stayed on in Skye for a while but eventually returned as well, and they lived in Glen Tarmasaig. They had six children: five girls - Kirsty, Mary Sarah, Norah, Rachel, and Mary Anna - and one boy, Kenneth. Catriona, Roderick’s wife, died on the 3rd of September 1935, six months after their sixth child, Mary Anna, was born. The youngest children, Mary Anna and Rachel, were raised with their grandmother in Grosebay while the others stayed with their father.

Roderick was a stonemason and worked on the roads for the County from when he returned from Skye until he retired. He passed away in Taigh na Hearadh at Tarbert on the 7th of June 1978, aged 90.

List of compositions

Fail il ì ho rò mo Chailin