Micí Mac Gabhann (22 November 1865 – 29 November 1948) was a
seanchaí
A seanchaí ( or – plural: ) is a traditional Gaelic storyteller/historian. In Scottish Gaelic the word is (; plural ). The word is often anglicised as shanachie ( ).
The word ''seanchaí'', which was spelled ''seanchaidhe'' (plural ''s ...
and memoirist from the
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 town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...
Gaeltacht
( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home.
The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially recog ...
. He is best known for his posthumously published emigration memoir ''Rotha Mór an tSaoil'' (1959). It was dictated to his folklorist son-in law
Seán Ó hEochaidh and polished for publication by Proinsias Ó Conluainn. The account won wide praise and was translated into English by
Valentin Iremonger
Valentin Iremonger (14 February 1918 – 22 May 1991) was an Irish diplomat and poet.
He was born on Valentine's Day in Sandymount, Dublin and joined the diplomatic service. He served as Irish Ambassador to Sweden, Norway, Finland, India, Luxemb ...
as ''The Hard Road to Klondike'' (1962).
Life
Early life
Micí Mac Gabhann was born "in a little thatched cottage" near the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...
in
Derryconnor Townland on 22 November 1865. His parents' names were Tomás Mac Gabhann and Bríd Ní Chanainn.
As a boy, he witnessed the pervasive making of
poitin by local families, the resulting violence between local residents and law enforcement, and the imprisonment of his own father for poitin-making.
Despite the fact that he had spent some time attending the district school at
Magheraroarty, Mac Gabhann lamented that he never knew enough English to understand the teacher. He later attributed his education to local resident Sean Johnny, who had attended a
hedge school as a youth and who taught Mac Gabhann and other local boys according to the same method.
The Hiring Fairs
In May 1874, the Mac Gabhann family had become so destitute that a widowed Bríd brought her 8-year-old son to a hiring fair in
Letterkenny
Letterkenny ( ga, Leitir Ceanainn , meaning 'hillside of the O'Cannons'), nicknamed 'the Cathedral Town', is the largest and most populous town in County Donegal, a county in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Letterkenny lies on the ...
. There, wealthy farmers and landowners "were looking for boys that would herd and give a bit of service around and for bigger boys that would help with the agricultural work." After bargaining through an interpreter, a landowner from
Glenveagh bought Micí until the following November in return for the sum of £1 paid to his mother. As he said a brief and painful farewell to her, Micí noticed that his mother, "was tightening up her face as though a dagger was going through her heart."
Micí later recalled, "I was on my way to the Lagan. The people of Cloghaneely at that time called anywhere eastwards, from
Muckish Mountain
Muckish () is a distinctive flat-topped mountain in the Derryveagh Mountains of County Donegal, Ireland. At , it is the third-highest peak in the Derryveagh Mountains and the 163rd highest in Ireland. Muckish is also the most northern and secon ...
to
County Armagh
County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has ...
, 'The Lagan'. That part of the country hadn't got a very good reputation in our neighborhood. When anyone referred to the Lagan it meant slavery, struggle, extortion, and work from morning till night. All the stories I had heard about it were wheeling around in my mind as the horse was trotting up the street of Letterkenny."
During his months herding cattle near Glenveagh, Mac Gabhann befriended many local residents, learned a considerable amount of English, and listened to stories about the
mass evictions decreed in 1861 by
Anglo-Irish landowner Captain
John George Adair. In November 1874, he completed his indenture and returned home.
In May 1875, Micí and his mother returned to the Letterkenny hiring fair. After spending the night in a
ceilidh house and listening to a fairy tale that adapted the concept of the ''
Rota Fortunae
In medieval and ancient philosophy the Wheel of Fortune, or ''Rota Fortunae'', is a symbol of the capricious nature of Fate. The wheel belongs to the goddess Fortuna (Greek equivalent Tyche) who spins it at random, changing the positions of t ...
'' from
Roman mythology
Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these represent ...
into
Irish folklore
Irish folklore ( ga, béaloideas) refers to the folktales, balladry, music, dance, and so forth, ultimately, all of folk culture.
Irish folklore, when mentioned to many people, conjures up images of banshees, fairies, leprechauns and people gath ...
and which he would always remember, Micí was hired out to "Sam Dubh", an
Ulster Scots farmer from Drumoghill Townland, where he lived and worked until November.
Micí had been told growing up that the
Ulster Scots people
The Ulster Scots (Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''Ulstèr-Scotch''; ga, Albanaigh Ultach), also called Ulster Scots people (''Ulstèr-Scotch fowk'') or (in North America) Scotch-Irish Americans, Scotch-Irish (''Scotch-Airisch''), are a ...
have, "no lore and no superstitions", and was shocked to find that many Presbyterians in Drumoghill believed every bit as firmly in ghosts and in, "the
little people", as the
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the Briti ...
population of Donegal. Particularly fascinating to Micí was Billy Craig, an Ulster Scots ''
seanchaí
A seanchaí ( or – plural: ) is a traditional Gaelic storyteller/historian. In Scottish Gaelic the word is (; plural ). The word is often anglicised as shanachie ( ).
The word ''seanchaí'', which was spelled ''seanchaidhe'' (plural ''s ...
''. Billy Craig told Micí that the fairies of
Connaught had once declared war on the fairies of
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label=Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
. Shortly before the battle, the fairies of Ulster had visited a local woman named Curly Mary and told her that, if they were defeated, the water from her well would be the color of blood. When Curly Mary's well water ran red with blood the next morning, she new that the "little people" of Ulster had been defeated. Since then, according to Billy Craig, the "little people", had never again been seen in Drumoghill or anywhere else in
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label=Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
.
Scotland
By the time that he was fifteen, Mac Gabhann had spent five or six seasons being hired out to various different masters and mistresses in, "The Lagan." Shortly before
St. Patrick's Day, 1880, however, Micí and a young male relative named Conal Eileen made the decision to leave Cloghaneely for
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
. As their fathers would not be going with them, Micí and Conal decided to gather supplies for the journey in secret and leave the village during the celebrations for the Feast Day. At that time, departing for Scotland was very common among the young people of Cloghaneely and both Micí and Conal knew that once they were not found in the morning, it would be easily guessed where they had gone.
Legacy
* A bronze sculpture, ''The Hiring Fair'', by artist
Maurice Harron, is inspired by the book and was installed at Market Square in
Letterkenny
Letterkenny ( ga, Leitir Ceanainn , meaning 'hillside of the O'Cannons'), nicknamed 'the Cathedral Town', is the largest and most populous town in County Donegal, a county in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Letterkenny lies on the ...
in 1994.
* In 2002, Mac Gabhann's "St. Patrick’s Day in the Klondike" was read aloud in Irish,
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
, and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national id ...
at
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...
, for the St. Patrick's Day Ceremony of Remembrance and Reflection, at the
Wales National Great Famine Memorial,
Cathays Cemetery.
*A culture night was also held at Mac Gabhann's house, near
Magheraroarty, in September 2013.
References
External links
*
Dictionary of Irish BiographyMicí Mac Gabhann - Irish folklorist, gold miner, and Native American ally
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mac Gabhann, Mici
1865 births
1948 deaths
American literature in the Irish language
Gaelic culture
History of Montana
Irish-American literature
Irish autobiographers
Irish folklore
Irish-language literature
Irish-language writers
Irish memoirists
Irish mythology
Irish non-fiction writers
People from Butte, Montana
People from County Donegal
People of the Klondike Gold Rush
Irish storytellers