The Clyde is a living, lively place for people and nature. Let’s celebrate  the nature and culture of one of Scotland’s most famous rivers, the river Clyde.  Let’s look back at the unique performance as part of the Royal National Mòd.

Cluaidh – Ùrachadh na h-Aibhne

 Nuair a bha mi òg, bha an turas an cois Chluaidh air an trèan a Ghlaschu caran gruamach. Bhiodh gàrradh-iarrainn dùinte ann ri taobh teanamaint thrèigte làimh ris an abhainn anns am faiceadh buaidh nan gnìomhachasan trom agus fàs a’ bhaile mhòir. Cha chanadh tu gum biodh nàdar ri lorg ann an abhainn mar seo.

Ach anns an latha an-diugh (agus cha mhòr 30 bliadhna air a dhol seachad bhon uair sin) ‘s e àite gu tur eadar-dhealaichte a chithear mu bhruaichean Abhainn Chluaidh. Tha pròiseactan mòra, a leithid Fèis Gàrraidh Ghlaschu, air na bruaichean ath-bheothachadh ann an Glaschu fhèin agus nas fhaide siar, agus shoirbhich leis na h-oidhirpean fada airson truailleachd na h-aibhne a ghlanadh. Chithear an soirbheachas sin anns na bradain a tha air tilleadh agus na mucan-mara aig beul na linne.

Clyde river – puffer © Scottish Maritime Museum

Mar thoradh air ath-bheothachadh na h-aibhne, dh’iarr SNH air a’ chraoladair is neach-ciùil ainmeil, Màiri Anna NicUalraig, taisbeanadh ciùil a chur air dòigh airson a’ Mhòid Nàiseanta Rìoghail ann an Dùn Omhain am-bliadhna. Tha sinn air maoineachadh a chur mu seach am-bliadhna – Bliadhna na h-Òigridh – a thuilleadh air a bhith a’ comharrachadh nàdar is cultar na h-aibhne, airson sgoilearan fhiathachadh air gach taobh den abhainn – Bun-sgoil Taigh a’ Chladaich, Dùn Omhain is Bun-sgoil Cnoc a’ Chonaisg, Grianaig – a thighinn an sàs ann an leasachadh is taisbeanadh na cuirme.

Chaidh a’ chuirm le Màiri Anna, ‘Cluaidh – Ùrachadh na h-Aibhne’, a thaisbeanadh ann an Talla a’ Bhaile, Dùn Omhain, Dimàirt 16 An Dàmhair. Bha an luchd-ciùil Finlay Wells (giotàr) agus Lorne MacDhùghaill (pìob/fìdeag) na cuideachd. Ghabh sgoilearan bho ionadan Gàidhlig Taigh a’ Chladaich agus Cnoc a’ Chonaisg òran a dh’ullaich iad anns na bùithtean-obrach le Màiri Anna is chaidh òran ann an Gàidhlig na sgìre a sheinn le dithis chloinne a tha a’ cumail dualchainnt Chòmhghail beò san teaghlach aca.

Chaidh a’ chuirm fhosgladh le Leas-chathraiche SNH, Aonghas Caimbeul agus Ceann-suidhe a’ Chomuinn Ghàidhealaich, Ailean Caimbeul.

The concert was opened by SNH Vice-Chairman, Angus Campbell

This song, Pilililiu – reminiscent of the bird’s call, was a piece created, rehearsed and sung by the pupils

Lean prògram na cuirme sruth na h-aibhne far an deach nàdar, gnìomhachas agus na daoine fhighe an lùib a chèile. Bha na h-òrain agus pìosan ciùil ùra aig toiseach na cuirme stèidhichte air bràigh na h-aibhne agus Easan Chluaidh NNR, is sinn air turas dàna air bàt’-aiseig thar na h-aibhne ann an Glaschu agus anns a’ bhaile fhèin, ‘Màthair Ghlaschu’.

Fhad ‘s a lean sinn an sruth gu sàl, nochd cuspairean a leithid tilleadh a’ bhradain, air an deach pìos ùr a chruthachadh; chaidh obair ùrachaidh sa choimhearsnachd le GalGael a thaisbeanadh nam faclan fhèin; chualas ath-bheothachadh na Gàidhlig mu bhruaichean Chluaidh agus chaidh an cam-glas – eun a bhios a’ neadachadh sa gheamhradh mu Linne Chluaidh – a mholadh.

Tha an t-òran seo, Pilililiu – a’ cur gairm an eòin sa chuimhne agus chaidh a dhèanamh, a dheisealachadh is a ghabhail leis na sgoilearan à gach taobh na h-aibhne, an dèidh nam bùithtean-obrach anns an do dh’ionnsaich iad mun cham-ghlas a bhios a’ geamhrachadh ann am poll nam fidean anns an sgìre.

Lean an dàrna leth sruth na h-aibhne le òran mu rèis dhachaigh eadar trì cliopairean-teatha a chaidh a thogail air Chluaidh agus aon dhiubh le caiptean Tirisdeach oirre agus seo a’ taisbeanadh cho cudromach ‘s a bha gnìomhachas nan gàrraidhean-iarainn air an abhainn. Chaidh òran à sgìre Chomhghaill a ghabhail le Caoimhe agus Saorsa O’Bròin, agus cuid den teaghlach bhon deach an t-òran a thional an làthair air an oidhche.

Chaidh Ortha Feamainn a thaisbeanadh an uair sin, anns an robh beairteas nan àrainnean feamad agus maerl a mholadh agus cho cudromach ‘s a tha feamainn airson mathas a chur ri talamh cruaidh. Chaidh a’ chraobh uinnsinn Arainneach a mholadh ann am pìos ciùil ùr agus an uair sin chaidh òran traidiseanta Gàidhlig a ghabhail a bha a’ moladh beathaichean na mara, eadar èisg bheaga is mucan-mara, agus dealbhan den mhadadh-chuain a chaidh fhaicinn faisg air Dùn Omhain o chionn ghoirid na lùib. Chaidh an oidhche a thoirt gu crìch le òran seòlaidh anns an robh Creag Ealasaid is a cuid eun-mara, agus òran deoch an dorais.

Bha taisbeanadh ri fhaicinn an lùib na cuirme anns an robh filmichean is dealbhan tasglainn cuide ri dealbhan is ìomhaighean ùra, stèidhichte gu mòr air an dualchas nàdarra, ach le measgachadh eile a thaisbean na ceanglaichean eadar na daoine, nàdar agus gnìomhachas.

Clyde – A River Recovery

When I was young, the train journey up the Clyde to Glasgow was a fairly depressing one.  Deserted shipyard sat side by side with dilapidated tenement alongside a river that was still showing the signs of heavy industrialisation and urban growth.  It didn’t feel like a place where you could be close to nature. 

Fast forward a number of years (too close to 30 to mention) and Clydeside feels like a different place.  Urban regeneration projects, starting with the Glasgow Garden Festival, have transformed the river banks in Glasgow and downstream, and the long-term efforts to remove pollution from the river have paid off, with salmon restored to the river and dolphins and whales seen in the upper reaches of the firth.

In recognition of the revival of the Clyde, we commissioned well-known musician and broadcaster Mary Ann Kennedy to develop a performance for the Royal National Mòd which was held in Dunoon this year.  In addition to celebrating the nature and culture of the river, in Year of Young People 2018, we also funded the engagement of pupils from schools either side of the Clyde – Sandbank, Dunoon and Whinhill, Greenock – in the development and performance of the concert.

well-known musician and broadcaster Mary Ann Kennedy  developed a performance for the Royal National Mòd

Mary Ann’s commission, entitled ‘Cluaidh – Ùrachadh na h-Aibhne’, (‘Clyde – a River Recovery’) was performed in the Burgh Hall, Dunoon last October.  She was joined on stage by fellow professional musicians, guitarist Finlay Wells and piper/whistle player Lorne MacDougall.  The pupils from the Gaelic-medium units at Sandbank and Whinhill performed a song they had developed in workshops with Mary Ann, while a song in the Cowal dialect of Gaelic was performed by two children whose family are committed to keeping this minority dialect alive.

The concert was opened by SNH Vice-Chairman, Angus Campbell and Allan Campbell, President of An Comunn Gàidhealach.

The concert was opened by SNH Vice-Chairman, Angus Campbell

The concert programme followed the river downstream, blending the key themes of nature, industry and people together.  The upper reaches of the river and the Falls of Clyde NNR; an ‘epic voyage’ on a ferry crossing the Clyde in Glasgow and the city itself, ‘Mother Glasgow’, provided the focus for the opening songs and newly-written instrumental pieces.

Broadening out towards the Firth, the themes included the recovery of salmon in the river and its tributaries, which was the focus of a newly-created piece; the community regeneration work of GalGael, celebrated in their own words put to music; the revival of the Gaelic language on Clydeside and a celebration of the overwintering redshank of the Inner Clyde estuary.

This song, Pilililiu – reminiscent of the bird’s call, was a piece created, rehearsed and sung by the pupils of the schools either side of the river, following workshops during which they learnt more about the redshank wintering on the nearby mudflats.

This song, Pilililiu – reminiscent of the bird’s call, was a piece created, rehearsed and sung by the pupils

The second half continued downstream, with a song about a race homewards between three Clyde-built tea clippers, reflecting the importance of shipbuilding on the river.  A song collected in Cowal and beautifully sung by Caoimhe and Saorsa O’Bròin was appreciated by descendants of the family from whose repertoire it came and who were able to attend the event.

This was followed by a Prayer for Seaweed, celebrating not only the richness of seaweed and maerl habitats, such as those in the no-take-zone round Arran’s maerl beds, but also the importance of seaweed as a soil enricher on hard ground.  Arran’s whitebeams were celebrated in a newly-written instrumental piece, which was followed by a traditional Gaelic song, celebrating marine life from little fish to whales and including visuals of the Orca seen recently off Dunoon.  A voyaging song referenced Ailsa Craig and its seabird populations, and a ‘parting glass’ song brought the evening to a close.

The performance was accompanied throughout by superb visuals, blending archive film and photography with contemporary clips and imagery, primarily based on the natural heritage, but also featuring a vibrant mix clearly demonstrating the interrelatedness of people, nature and industry.