Arisaig (), () is a small village in

Antigonish County Antigonish County is a historical county and Census divisions of Canada, census division of Nova Scotia, Canada. Local government is provided by the Municipality of the County of Antigonish, the Town of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Antigonish, and b ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, Canada. It is located on the north coast of eastern mainland Nova Scotia, on the

Northumberland Strait The Northumberland Strait (French: ''détroit de Northumberland'') is a strait in the southern part of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in eastern Canada. The strait is formed by Prince Edward Island and the gulf's eastern, southern, and western sho ...

, and is connected to the town of

Antigonish Antigonish ( ; ) is a town in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The town is home to St. Francis Xavier University and the oldest continuous Highland games outside Scotland. It is approximately 160 kilometres (100 miles) northeast of Hal ...

to the southeast and to

New Glasgow New Glasgow is a town in Pictou County, in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated on the banks of the East River of Pictou, which flows into Pictou Harbour, a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait. The town's population was 9,471 ...

to the west by Route 245, the "

Sunrise Trail The Sunrise Trail is a scenic roadway in the Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is located along the province's North Shore (Nova Scotia), North Shore on the Northumberland Strait for from Amherst, Nova Scotia, Amherst to the Canso Cau ...

". Nearby communities include Doctors Brook, Malignant Cove,

Knoydart Knoydart () is a peninsula in Lochaber, Highland, on the west coast of Scotland. Knoydart is sandwiched between Lochs Nevis and Hourn — often translated as "Loch Heaven" (from the Gaelic ''Loch Néimh'') and "Loch Hell" (Gaelic: ''Loch ...

, and McArras Brook. The community was founded 1785 by

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

immigrants who named it after their home,

Arisaig Arisaig () is a village in Lochaber, Inverness-shire. It lies south of Mallaig on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, within the Rough Bounds. Arisaig is also the traditional name for part of the surrounding peninsula south of Loch Mor ...

, on the west coast of Scotland. There is a government wharf and recently rebuilt lighthouse situated at Arisaig Harbour. The Roman Catholic church is dedicated to

St. Margaret of Scotland Saint Margaret of Scotland (; , ), also known as Margaret of Wessex, was Queen of Alba from 1070 to 1093 as the wife of King Malcolm III. Margaret was sometimes called "The Pearl of Scotland". She was a member of the House of Wessex and was b ...

. The present church was constructed in 1878 and the parish itself was established in 1792. Two cairns are situated in the community - one near the wharf marking the approximate site of the original log cabin church, and a second near the present church commemorating the centennial of its construction. Despite being a member of the Nova Scotia branch of the Free Church of Scotland, the poet Iain mac Ailein, a highly important figure in both

Scottish Gaelic literature Scottish Gaelic literature refers to literary works composed in the Scottish Gaelic language, which is, like Irish and Manx, a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. Gaelic literature was also composed in Gàidhealtachd communities ...

and in that of

Canadian Gaelic Canadian Gaelic or Cape Breton Gaelic (, or ), often known in Canadian English simply as Gaelic, is a collective term for the dialects of Scottish Gaelic spoken in Atlantic Canada. Scottish Gaels were settled in Nova Scotia from 1773, with the ...

, felt able to build a very close friendship with Fr. Colin P. Grant, the

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' re ...

assigned to St. Margaret of Scotland Church in Arisaig. So close was their friendship that Iain Mac Ailein composed a work of

praise poetry A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of - 'a ...

in honor of Fr. Grant. Arisaig Park, which borders on the Northumberland Strait, features significant

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

deposits.

References

External links

Village website
Communities in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia {{AntigonishNS-geo-stub