Neil McBride ( ga, Niall Mac Giolla Bhrighde; 1861–1942) was a farmer, poet, author, and songwriter from Feymore,

Creeslough Creeslough ( , locally ; ga, An Craoslach ) is a village in County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the t ...

, Donegal, Ireland, who further gained notoriety for protesting a fine he received for having his name written in

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

on his business cart.

Farmer and poet

Neil McBride spent his entire life in the small village of Feymore, Creeslough, He lived on Crockatee (Cruckathee), a foothill of Muckish Mountain and earned his living as a cottier (''farmer'') and a poet. Neil published a book of poems in 1905 called ''Blaṫa Fraoiċ'' ('Heather Blossoms'). McBride's poems and songs became well known throughout Ireland. Some titles include: "The Hills of Donegal", "Noreen Bawn" (1910), "The Castle of Doe", "Marble Hill" and "''Mo Chró Beag ag Bun Chnoc a' Tighe''" ("My wee shack below Crockatee")

Historic encounter with the law

McBride was a farmer by trade and all business carts were required to display its owner's name in English. On the evening of 11 March 1905, returning home from the

Dunfanaghy Dunfanaghy () is a small town, former fishing port, and commercial centre on the north coast of County Donegal, Ireland. It lies on Donegal's North West coast, specifically the west side of Sheephaven Bay, on the N56 road (the West Donegal Coas ...

Fair, in a nearby town, McBride was stopped and questioned by an English 'bobby' who fined him one shilling for having 'illegible' (Irish) writing on his donkey cart. The sign defiantly read, "''N. MAC GIOLLA ḂRIĠDE FIOḊ-MÓR''" in Irish. It was made by McBride's friend and fellow poet, Andrew Mac Intyre. McBride refused to pay the fine and defended himself at the Dunfanaghy

Petty Session Courts of petty session, established from around the 1730s, were local courts consisting of magistrates, held for each petty sessional division (usually based on the county divisions known as hundreds) in England, Wales, and Ireland. The session ...

. He lost, and was penalized an additional shilling after still refusing to pay. The

Conradh na Gaeilge (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emer ...

("Gaelic League") learned of McBride's story and made efforts to help him. One of its members, attorney

Patrick Pearse Patrick Henry Pearse (also known as Pádraig or Pádraic Pearse; ga, Pádraig Anraí Mac Piarais; 10 November 1879 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist, republican political activist and revolutionary who ...

, seeing the opportunity to champion Irish independence, agreed to defend McBride,

pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...

. McBride's appeal was brought before the

Court of King's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court court of common ...

in Dublin. It was Pearse's first and only court appearance as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

. The case was lost, but it inspired Pearse in his endeavors as a political activist and spawned a national campaign to change British government policies towards the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

. Pearse wrote about the court's decision in his 27 June 1905 column in the Gaelic League newspaper, ''

An Claidheamh Soluis ''An Claidheamh Soluis'' () was an Irish nationalist newspaper published in the early 20th century by ''Conradh na Gaeilge'' (the Gaelic League). It was named for the " Sword of Light" (in modern spelling ''Claíomh Solais'') of Gaelic myth. ...

'': "''...it was in effect decided that Irish is a foreign language on the same level with Yiddish.''" Continuing in the article, he urges the people of Ireland to promote the Irish Language as a form of

Irish nationalism Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...

Legacy

Literature

* Creeslough historian and author, Seamus Harkin featured McBride's poetry and songs in his 1996 book, ''‘Poets and People of Doe’'' * McBride published a collection of his songs and poems in 1905 in a book called '''Blaṫa Fraoiċ’ (‘Heather Blossoms’) Songs in Irish and English by Niall Mac Giolla Bhrighde''. * In 2011, Seamus Harkin updated and reissued '''Blaṫa Fraoiċ’ ,'' adding two extra songs, which McBride had composed after the original book was published. At the book's unveiling Seamus stated, "''My reason for printing this book is to let people, especially the young, know the great wealth of talent we had in the parish.''” * Liam Ó Connacháin wrote a biography about Neil in 1939 titled, "''Dírbheathaisnéis Néill Mhic Ghiolla Bhrighde''". It was reprinted in 1974.

Music, Radio, Television

* A radio broadcast about Neil's life and works aired on

Radio Éireann Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

in 1936. * A folk song, inspired by Neil's cart story, called "''An Trucailín Donn''" ("The Little Brown Cart"), was collected by Mícheál Ó hEidhin in the 1975 Irish language songbook "''Cas Amhrán''", and was released on 29 September 2012 by the band, ''Réalta'' on the album "''Open the Door for Three''". * In January, 2016, "''An Trucailín Donn''", a documentary about McBride and his cart, aired on the Irish Gaelic language television channel TG4.

Memorials

* The name plate from McBride's cart is on permanent display at the Donegal County Museum in Letterkenny. * A plaque honoring McBride was placed at the entrance to Doe (Chapel) Cemetery, and dedicated by Liam Connachain at its unveiling on 3 October 1982. * On 18 April 2016, a commemorative plaque was unveiled by

Pearse Doherty Pearse Daniel Doherty (born 6 July 1977) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Donegal constituency since the 2016 general election, and previously a TD for the Donegal South-West constituency from 2010 to ...

at Dunfanaghy Market Square in memory of the infamous court case, involving

References

External links

*Book: 'Blaṫa Fraoiċ’ (‘Heather Blossoms’) Songs in Irish and English by Niall Mac Giolla Bhríde *Audio
"Smaoitiú ar an am a bhí"
song written by Neil McBride, performed by Seán Ó Conaglaigh *Video
"An Trucailín Donn"
documentary trailer *Video
"An Trucailín Donn"
song inspired by Neil McBride's cart story, performed by Réalta *Video
"Noreen Bawn"
song written by Neil McBride, performed by Bridie Gallagher *Video
"Nuala na gCuacha Buidhe"
song written by Neil McBride *Video
"Mo Chró Beag ag Bun Chnoc a' Tighe"
song written by Neil McBride, performed by Suzanne McDevitt at the Regional Cultural Center in Letterkenny on 4 April 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:McBride, Neil 1861 births 1942 deaths Irish poets Irish language activists People from Creeslough Linguistic controversies Writers from County Donegal 20th-century Irish writers