Biography

John MacCallum was born in the district of Muckairn, in 1851. He was descended from Clan MacCallum of Glen Etive, and his mother was of Clan MacCulloch from Loch Awe.

He was known as Taigh nam Bàrr, which Neil Shaw explained in a Gaelic program he made about MacCallum for the BBC on 05/11/1959:

"It was a very special honour to have a nickname like that, and to be known by that name as opposed to your proper name. That proves John had mental abilities beyond his peers and, along with that, he was respected. When we meet and talk about poets and musicians, we always mention our friend, Taigh nam Bàrr. He was also known as the Bard of Loch Etive."

When John was young, the blast furnace was operating at Taynuilt, and Neil Shaw gave a description of the it:

"Clouds of smoke would rise to the skies during the day, and at night firelight would spread and shine as far as the Cruachan. Many women from the Highlands and Islands came to Taynuilt to make a living stripping oak trees and making brooms out of birch, for the use of the furnace."

John learned many tunes from these women and sang them later in life. He also learned songs at school:

"John MacCallum was fortunate in his youth to be under the care and guidance of respected educational instructors, like Dougall Callery from Taynuilt, and Donald Campbell from Rubha Gharbh near Bàrr a' Challtainn. Campbell was such a good teacher that some students went straight from Rubha Gharbh to university."

John’s first job was in Oban, but at age 24 he went to Glasgow and, like many Gaels before him, joined the police force. John reached a high rank in the police but, after 26 years, his health failed. He resigned and returned to Argyll. In Glasgow, he was for many years a member of the Glasgow Gaelic Choir. He was the choir president and Gaelic teacher. Since he could write and read music, he was a great help to Norman MacDonald, who at the time was directing the choir. He was also the president of the Glasgow Oban Society and the former president of the Glasgow High School Cèilidh.

Besides being successful at Mòds with the choir, John was also successful in other solo competitions:

"He won prizes at the Mòd with song collections of tunes never before published. These were the songs he heard as a boy. One of the songs is now often sung at cèilidhs and concerts, Bidh Fonn Oirre Daonnan, ’S Bidh Aoibh Oirre An-còmhnaidh. The writer of this song was James Shaw; who came from the same place as Taigh nam Bàrr and was known as Bard of Loch nan Eala."

At the 1905 Mòd in Dingwall, MacCallum won first prize for poetry to the tune of bagpipe music, with Cath Gairidheach, which he put to the tune Meàrrsadh Dhòmhnaill Bhallaich. At the previous year’s Mòd, in Greenock, he won first prize with the song Croitearan Thròdairnis, which he put to the tune Gillean Phort Rìgh:

Gur a fada bhon bu chòir dhomh luinneag chuir air seòl
Do na seòid chruaidh ghramail, fhearail, chliùiteach,
A tha chòmhnaidh mar a b' àbhaist an Tròndairnis 's a' Bhràighe,
Na fir dhàna chuir urram air ar dùthaich;

Chaidh an smùid-shoithich Loch Iall air an turas ud an iar
Gu ruig crìoch Eilean Sgitheanach nan stùcan,
'S bha i luchdaichte gun dìth le maraichean 's maoir-sìth
Dol a dhìth-eachadh earrasachd nan diùlnach.

Guma sona cor nan Gàidheal a tha fuireach as a' Bhràigh
Siud na gillean nach robh drionganach no mùigeach;
Nuair bha Uabharaith an t-seilg a' toirt oidhirp leis a' cheilg
Air gach seilbh o na croitearan a spùinneadh.

John wrote the words and tune for Ceòl nan Cruinneag, and he made a number of praise songs for his village, which include Bràigh Mhuc-carna, Fàilte Bhun-Atha, and Fàilte Lathurna.

Despite his skills as a poet, he is most famous for the tunes he composed. He composed the tune for Ri Guailibh a Chèile by Duncan Reid, and in the two books published by Calum MacLeod, Modern Gaelic Bards, there are 25 tunes by MacCallum, as well 5 older tunes that he altered. He made tunes for poems by John Campbell (Bàrd na Leideig), Donald MacEchern (Bàrd Dhiùraidh), Mary MacKellar, John MacLachlan of Rahoy (An Lighiche), Neil MacLeod from the Isle of Skye, and Calum Campbell MacPhail. Neil Shaw explained more about this:

"Taigh nam Bàrr was a loyal member of the Gaelic Society and was as generous in helping his cause as he was in helping every good cause. He never refused to share his musical talents with anyone who needed them."

At Taigh nam Bàrr, John MacCallum regained his health and soon was busy again. He was an elder and a presenter in the Free Church where his friend, Reverend Calum Munro, was minister. He founded a Gaelic choir in the area and was a member of the Glen Orchy and Innis-Sheilich School Board. He did great work preparing the publication of An Laoidheadair, working alongside Calum Munro and Professor Robert MacLeod to create new tunes and revamp older tunes.

John MacCallum died aged 75:

"He left an exemplary legacy behind, and I would like parents here today to pay special attention to it. He had a daughter and Gaelic was the language they spoke together. She went to university in Glasgow. She took Gaelic as one of her subjects, although the language was not taught to her in school, and she won high awards from the two Celtic societies. She married and had a daughter. Her daughter took Gaelic in high school in Oban and went on to Edinburgh University. She continued with Gaelic there and won the same awards."

These two girls were Mary, the mother of Brigadier John Macfarlane, of Taigh an Uillt, and Anna, his sister. We are very grateful to him for the help he gave us with this information.

List of compositions

Cath Gairidheach
Ceòl nan Cruinneag