Biography

Kate Douglas (Ceitidh a' Mhaighstir) was born in 1893 in Kilmuir on the Isle of Skye. Her father, John MacNab, was a schoolmaster and bard. She received all of her formal education at her father's school and Gaelic teaching from her cousin, Anna MacDonald (Anna an Champion).

The MacNab family had a long history on the island and were known to be gifted poets. For example, Niall MacNab, who lived in Kilvaxter between 1740 and 1818, wrote an elegy after the death of one of the Martins of Bealach and Duntulm.

Bha thu foghainteach, làidir,
Bha thu spioradail, tàbhachdach, ciùin;
Dreach an t-samhraidh mar shnuadh ort
Cha robh nàimhdeas no fuachd nad ghnùis.

Kate's grandfather, Iain Ruadh MacNab, was also a bard and a schoolmaster in Marishader, and his father was also a bard. According to Reverend Donald Budge, who knew the family well:

"Kate came from a long line of people who were known for their wisdom and intelligence, but also for their musical gifts and their storytelling ability, which was unparalleled. On her father's side, there were teachers, poets, musicians and church figures. Her father was a skilled bard whose poetry survives through Catriona. His work includes humorous, light-hearted, and beautiful songs and poems in Gaelic of the highest standard."

In a speech to the Inverness Gaelic Society in 1974, Reverend Budge cited an example of a Hogmanay Rhyme by Kate's father:

Hò rò la ri ò
Thàinig mise 'n taobh seo
Dh'ùrachadh na Callainn
Hò rò la ri ò
Mise fear a h-uile bliadhna
Tha tighinn air m' fhiaradh à Peighinn-Òra.

Cha chùm uisge, gaoth no sian mi
Gàrradh-crìche no cion rathaidean
San dorcha 'n cunnart gum bàthar
An làthach Tobar an Òigh mi,
No an ìochdar croit 'ic Mhaoilein
Gun caochail mi am poll-mòna;
Nì mi stiùireadh air Catrìona
Nuair bhios an diathad an òrdugh
Pailteas de dheoch is de bhiadh ann
Bidh fìon ann do gach neach a dh'òlas
Bidh pailteas de dh'aran is de dh'iasg
Bidh sitheann eun agus feòil ann
'S mòran de ghnothaichean cosgail
Thàinig leis a' phost a' bhon-dè.

Kate and her husband James Douglas, from Kilmuir, lived in Peinora when Jonathan MacDonald first knew them, as he recounted on a programme for BBC Radio nan Gàidheal:

"Kate was very fond of music, and she loved tutoring young people, like me, to sing in the Mod. Her husband knew a lot of songs from Staffin and between them the winter nights wouldn't be long in passing."

Kate wrote many songs herself and adapted words to tunes, such as Mòrag à Dùn Bheagain, Alasdair an t-Sìthein, and An Cala Sèimh. Popular songs that are still sung today include Nach Truagh Leat Mi 's Tu 'n Èirinn, Chaill mi mo Chridhe 's mi Òg, Nochd gun Chadal, and Pìob Uilleim Rois. In 1971, Reverend Budge published a booklet of her songs titled Sàr Òrain le Catrìona Dhùghlas, Bana-bhàrd Thròndairnis an Eilein Sgitheanaich. In the short account he gave of her life, he wrote:

"Like her father, Kate spent all of her days in the place where she was born, surrounded by Gaelic and Gaels, and she made good use of that privilege."

One way she used that privilege was by collecting the songs of the village, work she began at a young age, as Jonathan MacDonald explained:

"Her job as pension officer meant that she visited people all over the area, and most often, people would sing for her. She took her pen and paper and wrote down every word, and this is how she collected so many songs from the island. Kate loved waulking songs, and at the time there would be groups of women who would often waulk the cloth in the workhouse in Kilmuir, where there would be many men and woman working as weavers. The women knew many songs which they were only too willing to sing around the waulking board."

When she died in 1965, James gave her songbooks to Reverend Donald Budge:

"The first thing I did was publish some of her songs in song sheets, allowing people to appreciate the value of her work."

Besides the book of songs, Budge also published a book of plays for children written by Kate, called Pein-Ora, and he explained the reason behind the name:

"When John MacNab resigned as schoolmaster, he built a home for himself on a hill near the school. He named the house after the hill, Peighinn Ortha, the place of prayer, Peinora. I named the book after the house and the name of the house in which Kate spent many years of her life and in which the poetess died."

Kate passed away in 1965. Her song collection is now held at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh.

List of compositions

Nach Truagh Leat Mi 'S Tu 'n Èirinn
Nochd gun Chadal
Òran Gaoil a Rinneadh Taobh Loch Laomainn