Derick Thomson and Ireland

25 DERICK THOMSON AND IRELAND Petra Johana Poncarová DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/2571452X.2023.65.3 Abstract: This essay examines the diverse manifestations of a lifelong interest in Ireland in the work of the Scottish Gaelic poet, scholar, and activist Ruaraidh MacThòmais (Derick Thomson, 1921-2012). It touches upon Thomson’s academic engagement with Irish-related topics and follows his comments on the situation of the Irish language and revitalisation efforts in his “manifesto” essay “The Role of the Writer in a Minority Culture” (1966) and other articles, where it serves as a source of inspiration and a point of contrast. Detailed attention is paid to the generous space which was devoted to Irish affairs and literature in the Gaelic quarterly magazine Gairm which Thomson cofounded and steered for fifty years (1952-2002), including his reviews of Irish-related publications. Drawing on references in Gairm and in Thomson’s poetry collections, the essay also brings together evidence of his personal contacts with Irish writers and intellectuals, including Máirtín Ó Direáin, and of his sustained engagement with W.B. Yeats. Keywords: Ruaraidh MacThòmais (Derick Thomson), Ireland, revival, Gairm, Máirtín Ó Direáin, William Butler Yeats The link between Ireland and Gaelic-speaking Scotland has been a vital and complex one for centuries, and across the sea, Belfast from Kintyre and Co. Antrim from Islay seem closer and more accessible than Edinburgh. From the thirteenth up to the eighteenth century, the countries shared a high literary bardic culture and a language in which it was produced. There is evidence of “bardic circuits” that brought Irish poets to Scotland and vice versa from the fifteenth century,1 including Giolla Críost Brúilingeach, and comparable cultural exchanges have continued, both in an informal and official manner, in the twentieth and twentyfirst century. 1 Derick Thomson, An Introduction to Gaelic Poetry (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1989) 21. Petra Johana Poncarová 26 The closeness of the languages and cultures coincides with some notable differences in religion and politics. The strong links with Catholic Ireland were to an extent severed by the Scottish Reformation and by the Evangelical movement in the Highlands and Islands in the nineteenth century,2 but were retained in prevalently Catholic islands in the Hebrides and also in Glasgow. The Irish struggle for devolution and independence, the establishment of the Republic of Ireland, and the new possibilities for language and cultural revival it brought about have served as a source of inspiration for Scotland, a close model to look up to but also to learn from unsuccessful steps. Many twentieth-century Scottish Gaelic intellectuals and authors kept an eye on the developments in Ireland. Author and activist Ruaraidh Erskine of Mar (1869-1960) had personal contacts with Irish radicals, most notably Patrick Pearse, and closely followed cultural trends, including the activities around the Abbey Theatre. Poet Somhairle MacGill-Eain (Sorley MacLean, 1911-1996), who had a keen interest in Irish radical politics, manifested in poems such as “Seamus Ó Conghaile” (James Connolly) and “Àrd-mhusaeum na h-Èireann” (The National Museum of Ireland) which celebrate Connolly,3 the Edinburgh-born socialist and one of the leaders of the Easter Rising, and also in the works of W.B. Yeats, whose poetry addressing unfulfilled love and political commitment constitutes one of the most important intertexts to MacLean’s Dàin do Eimhir (Poems to Emer, 1943). However, the connections to Ireland in the diverse work of Ruaraidh MacThòmais (Derick Thomson, 1921-2012), although less generally known, were just as important and took on even more forms. Thomson was one of the personalities who shaped Gaelic Scotland in the second half of the twentieth century as a poet, scholar, editor, and organiser, and he combined commitment to Gaelic revitalisation efforts and Scottish political independence with consistent pro-European orientation and focus on high standards and cosmopolitan impulses. This essay outlines the main areas in which Thomson’s interest in Ireland manifested itself, including his academic work, journalism, translations, and his own poetry. 2 Ian Grimble, “Introduction,” The Future of the Highlands, ed. Derick Thomson and Ian Grimble (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1968) 12. 3 See Niall O’Gallagher, “MacLean in the Museum: James Connolly and ‘Àrd-mhusaeum na h-Èireann,’” in Scotland and the Easter Rising: Fresh Perspectives on 1916, ed. Kirsty Lusk and Willy Maley (Edinburgh: Luath, 2016) 149-52. Derick Thomson and Ireland 27 Essays and Academic Work In the essay “The Role of the Writer in a Minority Culture” (1966), Thomson consistently refers to examples from other countries and regions.4 He devotes most space to Wales, where he lived and taught at the beginning of his academic career, and his engagement with Welsh literature, culture, and revitalisation efforts would be a fitting subject for a detailed separate discussion, but Ireland comes next in frequency. When commenting on the degree to which a minority culture comes to terms with its majority neighbour(s) and with contemporary world, he brings together the Aran Islands and the Hebrides: “If the minority culture is conservative and backward-looking it may conserve its ethos in isolation for a time – as, let us say, in the Aran Isles (off the west coast of Ireland) until the 1930s, or parts of the Scottish Hebrides until the last war.”5 Thomson is well-aware of the impact of political independence on cultural and linguistic revitalisation efforts, and argues that in the situation when information and instruction is disseminated in a language other than that of the minoritized culture, part of the bread and butter may be taken out of the writer’s mouth in a country which gives no official recognition to its minority language or languages. This situation is not closely linked to the number of speakers of these languages, for we see that Ireland employs many people to translate the proceedings of its legislature, and the edicts of Civil Service, into Irish, and some of these are also creative writers of note […].6 He does not mention any specific examples, but since a number of notable writers pursued a career in the Irish civil service, he could have easily had in mind Brian Ó Nualláin (Flann O’Brien), Séamus Ó Grianna, and Máirtín Ó Cadhain, but most likely the reference is to Máirtín Ó Direáin, whom Thomson knew personally, as discussed later in this essay. In his deliberations about the writer’s role, Thomson considers not only those who choose to participate in revitalisation efforts and adopt the minoritized language, but also the situation of authors whose work is influenced by the close coexistence of two cultures, noting examples where this pull has enriched English4 Derick Thomson, “The Role of the Writer in a Minority Culture,” Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness XLIV (1964-1966): 256-71. 5 Thomson, “The Role of the Writer” 261. 6 Thomson, “The Role of the Writer” 260. Petra Johana Poncarová 28 language literature in Ireland and Britain, including W.B. Yeats. He mentions Seán Ó Faoláin (1900-1991), the acclaimed short story writer and co-founder of The Bell as one of those who reflect the bilingualism of their lives in using two languages in their work,7 and chooses Seán O’Casey, for “venting his spleen on Mother Ireland,”8 to illustrate the tendency in which the fiercest attacks on the minoritized culture occur in the border zones. The English-born poet, scholar, and translator from Irish Robin Flower (1881-1946) is singled out by Thomson as an example of a writer “attracted to a culture not their own” who made a productive contribution to it.9 Thomson thus showed appreciation of the role of second-language users in the promotion of minoritized languages, which also characterised the outlook of the magazine Gairm. In parallel to the term Anglo-Irish, Thomson considers the usefulness of employing the term Anglo-Scottish to differentiate between the Scottish culture produced in English and the traditions of Gaelic and Scots. Both major research concerns which run through Thomson’s academic career have an Irish dimension: one is the work of the eighteenth-century poet Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair (Alexander Macdonald), whose most famous poem “Birlinn Chlann Raghnaill” (The Birlinn of Clanranald) follows a sea journey from South Uist to Carrickfergus. Macdonald was also personally involved in the 1745 Jacobite rising, which received support from Ireland and strongly influenced Irish history and politics. Thomson’s other major academic interest are the Ossianic publications by Seumas Mac a’ Phearsain (James Macpherson), which draw on the shared lore and ballads of Scotland and Ireland.10 The awareness of this shared tradition also comes forward in Thomson’s poetic tributes to two Irish colleagues, which are discussed below in more detail. Another topic Thomson followed in his scholarly capacity was Gaelic poetry up to the eighteenth century, the manuscripts in which it survived, such as the Books of Clanranald and the Book of the Dean of Lismore, and the poets represented in these collections, in particular the MacMhuirich bards. He contributed entries on these topics to The Companion to Gaelic Scotland, which he edited, and wrote a number of substantial essays on them, including “The MacMhuirich Bardic Family” (Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness XLIII: 1966), “The Poetry of Niall MacMhuirich” (TGSI XLV: 1971), and “Niall Mòr 7 The choice of Ó Faoláin is curious, as he is not known for working extensively in both languages, and his main output in fiction is in English only. 8 Thomson, “The Role of the Writer” 269. 9 Thomson, “The Role of the Writer” 269. 10 For an overview of Thomson’s publications, see the bibliography in James Gleasure and Colm Ó Baoill, ed., Fèill-sgrìbhinn do Ruaraidh MacThòmais – Festschrift for Professor Derick S. Thomson, Scottish Gaelic Studies XVII (Aberdeen: University of Aberdeen, 1996). Derick Thomson and Ireland 29 MacMhuirich” (TGSI XLIX: 1977).11 Niall MacMhuirich, who died in 1722, was the last poet to write in Classical Gaelic in Scotland, and his passing epitomizes the end of this particular chapter of cultural links between the two countries. Irish Influences and Content in Gairm It is likely that Irish initiatives, such as the small independent publishing house Sáirséal agus Dill (founded in 1947), which significantly contributed to the development of modern Irish-language literature, and the magazine Comhar (established in 1942), which published new writing in Irish alongside cultural and social commentary and also brought out several books each year, could have inspired the all-Gaelic quarterly Gairm (1952-2002). Thomson co-founded the magazine with producer and author Fionnlagh I. Mac Dhòmhnaill (Finlay J. MacDonald, 1925-1987) and continued to steer and edit for the fifty years of its existence. Gairm played a fundamental role in promoting modern poetry and short story in Gaelic, and it also provided space for literary criticism, discussions of current affairs, both Scottish and international, and translations from other languages into Gaelic, as part of the effort to strengthen the links between Gaelic Scotland and the world. Given this commitment to a broad cosmopolitan perspective and the strong impact of Thomson’s own interests on the magazine, it is no surprise that throughout the decades, Gairm featured a substantial amount of Irish-related content. In the article “Blàth Ùr air an t-Seann Stoc (A’ Ghàidhlig an Èirinn)” [New Blossom on the Old Stump (Gaelic in Ireland)], which appeared in Gairm 29 (1959), Thomson discusses language revitalisation efforts in Ireland in some detail. He points out how difficult it is to assess the success of these initiatives: according to some estimates, only 35,000 people in Ireland used Irish naturally in their daily life, and in that case, Irish as the language of family communication would be in grave peril, and in much worse a state than Gaelic in Scotland, with almost 90,000 users. However, Thomson notes that hundreds of thousands of people in Ireland have some command of Irish, be it basic or advanced, which they acquired thanks to the diverse learning opportunities, with many of them equally competent in both languages. He also mentions the importance of the recently published English-Irish dictionary, edited by Tomás de Bhaldraithe and brought out by the Irish Stationery Office, and singles it out as one of the most important books to have appeared for years, in the sense of practical impact on the future of the language. 11 “Bibliography,” Fèill-sgrìbhinn do Ruaraidh MacThòmais 4-23. Petra Johana Poncarová 30 Thomson also uses Ireland as a point of contrast in the essay “Tìr na Gàidhlig ann a Linn na h-Ola” [The Land of Gaelic in the Age of Oil] from Gairm 87 (1974), which proposes practical steps and policies that would help Gaelic in the transformed conditions after the discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s: Tha sinn ann a suidheachadh annasach an dràsta a thaobh staid na Gàidhlig ann an Albainn. Tha a’ Ghàidhlig, mar gum b’ eadh, a’ fàs ’s a’ crìonadh aig an aon àm, agus a rèir ’s dè an t-sùil a bheir sinn oirre gheibh sinn dà shealladh dhi a tha glè aocoltach ri chèile. Gheibh duine an dà shealladh sin ann an Èirinn cuideachd, far a bheil Gaeilge a’ crìonadh air taobh an iar na dùthcha agus nas trice air beul an t-sluaigh na shaoileadh tu an iomadh àite, oir thug na h-Èireannaich rud math de dh’urram dhi ’nan obair riaghlaidh, anns na pàipearan ’s mar sin. Cha robh iad ga cumail a dh’aon ghnothaich airson Là an Naoimh Pàdraig, ach ga cur ri d’ aghaidh gach uair a thadhladh tu Oifis Puist no bus-àros. [We are in a strange situation regarding the state of Gaelic in Scotland at the moment. It is as if Gaelic was growing and withering at the same time, and depending on our perspective, we will get two very dissimilar views. The same two views can be observed in Ireland too, where Irish is withering in the west part of the country, but more than one would expect, it is spoken by people in a number of other places, for the Irish have given the language a good deal of recognition in legislation, in the papers, and in other fields. They were not keeping the language for St Patrick’s Day, but rather put it in people’s face every time they visit the post office or the bus station.]12 The editorials to Gairm, in most cases either co-authored by Thomson or written by him and from 1977 onwards basically his opinion column, often discussed the situation of Gaelic in Scotland and made frequent references to Irish revitalisation policies and initiatives, such as the emergence of Irish-language films, book clubs that help to increase the number of volumes published every year, and provisions for Irish in the media, especially in relation to broadcasting and television. In the editorials, Ireland is presented as a commendable example and a source of readily adoptable steps and policies. 12 Ruaraidh MacThòmais, “Tìr na Gàidhlig ann a Linn na h-Ola,” Gairm 87 (1974): 209. All translations from Gairm in this essay are my own. Derick Thomson and Ireland 31 In the editorial to Gairm 76 (1971), Thomson commented on the continuation of bardic circuits in Scotland and Ireland, and notes that three Irish poets, namely Máirtín Ó Direáin, Caitlín Maude, and Seán Ó Tuama, and likely also Eoghan Ó Néill, will be coming to Scotland in October, thanks to the support of the Scottish Arts Council, in order to read alongside Scottish colleagues in several cities, and that this visit follows on a preceding tour of Scottish poets in Ireland. The editorial mentions the warm welcome they received in Ireland, especially the involvement of young people with the Irish language and the surprising but encouraging fact that they were “a’ gabhail ri bàrdachd mar gum b’ e T.V. no pop a bh’ ann” [taking to poetry as if it were TV or pop music].13 The visit of the Scottish poets to Ireland was reported on in more detail in the article “Bàird Ghàidhealach ann an Èirinn” [Scottish Gaelic Poets in Ireland] by Eoghan Ó Néill, which appeared in the same issue. Gairm 171 (1995) was something of a special Irish issue, featuring the article “Na Bàird Normanach-Gaeilge an Èirinn” [The Norman-Irish Bards in Ireland] by Uilleam Néill (William Neill) and translations of thirteen poems by Ó Direáin by Rody Gorman. Both Neill and Gorman were prominent contributors of Irishrelated content to Gairm, as discussed below in more detail. In the editorial to the issue, Thomson emphasises the longstanding and strong links and equally important distinctions between the two countries – “tha an ceangal eadar Albainn is Èirinn a’ dol air ais co-dhiù còig ceud bliadhna deug, agus a’ Ghàidhlig agus a’ Ghaeilge a’ nochdadh ceanglaichean is sgaraidhean fad na h-ùine sin” [the link between Scotland and Ireland goes back at least fifteen hundred years, and Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic reveal connections and differences all this time],14 noting in particular that despite the contentious view of some Irish scholars that Scottish Gaelic is a mere dialect of Irish, they are in fact two separate languages both evolved from Old Irish, and while one learned language was used by poets in both countries for centuries, the spoken idiom and folk literature started to diverge long before the sixteenth century. The fact that many Irish users read Gairm is noted with satisfaction, and Thomson encourages users of Scottish Gaelic to pay similar attention to Irish periodicals, but finishes with the reminder that cooperation and mutual support should not preclude a strong hold of Scotland and Ireland on their own affairs. Some discussions of topics related to the revitalisation of Irish and developments in Irish-language writing were also supplied by Irish contributors,15 13 Ruaraidh MacThòmais, “Air an Spiris,” Gairm 76 (1971): 297. 14 Ruaraidh MacThòmais, “Air an Spiris,” Gairm 171 (1995): 201-202. 15 Also in this sense, Gairm followed on the activities of Erskine of Mar, who managed to involve several Irish contributors in his quarterly Guth na Bliadhna (The Year’s Voice), including Patrick Pearse and Pádraig Ua Duinnín. Petra Johana Poncarová 32 such as “An Coimisean mu Ath-Bheothachadh na Gàidhlig Èireannaich” [The Commission on the Revitalisation of Irish] by Donncha Ó Laoire, “An tÉireannach in Albain (Ann an Gàidhlig na h-Èireann)” [An Irishman in Scotland (in Irish Gaelic)] by Breandán Ó Doibhlin, and “Sgrìobhadh anns an Nòs Ùr an Gaeilge na h-Èireann” [Modern Writing in Irish] by Pádraig Ó Conchúir.16 In the 2000s, Gairm also ran advertisements for Irish-language courses in Belfast, promoting practical understanding between the users of the two languages and thus broadening the readership for publications in both. Irish Literature in Gairm Over the years, Gairm published a number of translations of Irish literature into Gaelic. The individual texts were not commissioned by the editors but rather reflect the interests and inclinations of the individual authors, who were often second-language users of Gaelic. One of the most active contributors of Irishrelated content was poet William Neill (1922-2010) whose translations include some of the most famous works of eighteenth-century Irish poetry, including Brian Merriman’s “Cùirt a’ Mheadhain-Oidhche” (Midnight Court), “Am Bunnan Buidhe” (The Yellow Bittern) by Cathal Buí Mac Giolla Ghunna, the lament of Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill, and poems by Eoghan Rua Ó Súilleabháin and Seán Ó Conaill. Irish topics inspired Neill’s own poetry, including “Aisling Shuibhne” (Sweeney’s Dream) which appeared in Gairm 73 (1970), and he also wrote an article about “Turas nam Bàrd ann an Èirinn” [The Poets’ Tour of Ireland] for Gairm 83 (1973). The Dublin-born poet and translator Rody Gorman (1960), who has been based in Scotland for decades, reported on new Irish-language books and contributed translations, including the already-mentioned selection of Ó Direáin’s poetry and also poems by Michael Davitt, Donnchadh Mór Ó Dálaigh, Colette Ní Ghallchóir, and Alan Titley. Irish fiction was represented in Gairm thanks to Steaphan Camhlaigh, who in the 1990s and early 2000s prepared Gaelic versions of three short stories by Pádraic Ó Conaire and also “A’ Bhuille” (The Blow) by Liam Ó Flaithearta,17 and Dennis King translated an extract from An Béal Bocht by Myles na gCopaleen.18 16 The references to the individual articles are available via the project Gairm Air-Loidhne / Gairm Online, https://dasg.ac.uk/gairm. 17 The stories by Ó Conaire were: “Nell,” “Mo Bhàrd Caol Dubh” (My Poet Dark and Slender), and “A’ Bhean air an do Leig Dia a Làmh” (The Woman on Whom God Laid His Hand). Another story by Ó Conaire, “Anam an Easbaig” (The Bishop’s Soul), appeared in a translation by Peadar Morgan in Gairm 163 (1993). 18 The complete overview of the contributions by Camhlaigh, Neill, and Gorman, including references, is available via https://dasg.ac.uk/gairm. Derick Thomson and Ireland 33 Some of these translations were later republished as part of the anthology Bàrdachd na Roinn-Eòrpa an Gàidhlig / European Poetry in Gaelic, which Thomson instigated and edited.19 The volume is divided according to languages. The section “Gaeilge” includes “Is Mise Raifteri” (I Am Raftery), attributed to Antaine Raiftearaí, translated by poet and polyglot Deòrsa Mac Iain Dheòrsa (George Campbell Hay), Neill’s Gaelic version of the Old Irish poem “Lon-dubh” (Blackbird) and an extract from Merriman’s Midnight Court in his Gaelic rendition. Thomson himself contributed two translations of anonymous Irish poems, “Líadan is Cuirithir” (Líadan and Cuirithir) and “Aoibhinn, a leabhráin, do thriall” (Delightful, Book, Your Trip), and four poems by W.B. Yeats.20 The reviews section in Gairm also testifies to the effort to keep up with developments in Ireland, and many contributions that deal with Irish topics were written by Thomson himself. For Gairm 13 (1955), he reviewed Drámaíocht in Éirinn (Drama in Ireland) by Micheál Mac Liammóir (1899-1978),21 and examples of Irishrelated publications covered in the review section over the years include a wide selection of material, from dictionaries and educational materials to poetry and fiction.22 Apart from Gairm reviews, Thomson also wrote about Irish literature for 19 Derick Thomson, ed., Bàrdachd na Roinn-Eòrpa an Gàidhlig / European Poetry in Gaelic (Glasgow: Gairm Publications, 1990). 20 I discuss Thomson’s translation-related activities in the forthcoming monograph Derick Thomson and the Gaelic Revival (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2023). 21 Gairm 38 (1961) brought out a substantial review of Mac Liammóir’s memoir Each Actor on His Ass by Finlay J. MacDonald, which shows detailed awareness of Mac Liammóir’s career, and applauds his voluntary adoption of Irish identity. I discuss the connection to Mac Liammóir in more detail in Derick Thomson and the Gaelic Revival (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2023). 22 Over the decades, Thomson reviewed: Studies in Irish Literature and History by James Carney (Gairm 19, 1957), the philosophical dictionary Foclóir Fealsaimh by Colmán Ó hUallacháin (Gairm 30, 1959), Dónall Óg, Taighde ar an Amhrán (Dónall Óg, Research of the Song) by Seosamh Ó Duibhginn (Gairm 34, 1960), the school publications Atlas a hAon do Scoileanna na hÉireann and Atlas a Dó do Scoileanna na hÉireann (Gairm 98, 1977), the biology textbook An Domhan Beo (The Living World) by C.N. Ó Ceallacháin (Gairm 106, 1979), the bilingual publication Dúlra agus Dúchas / Our Heritage by Mícheál Mac Ginneá with illustrations by Mairéad Ní Nuadháin, issued to commemorate the centenary of Padraig Pearse’s birth (Gairm 109, 1979), Blind Raftery: Poems Selected and Translated by Críostóir Ó Floinn (Gairm 184, 1998), a selection of Gaelic short stories translated into Irish by Colm Ó Baoill Feoil an Gheimhridh agus Scéalta Eile as Albain (Winter Meat and Other Stories from Scotland) (Gairm 117, 1981), the short overview of the development of Irish-language writing Literature in Irish by Proinsias MacCana (Gairm 117, 1981), Thomas Kinsella’s The Dual Tradition, which outlines the development of Irish poetry in Petra Johana Poncarová 40 ann an uamh gun fhosgladh, do dhòrd fo ghlais, gun cheannsachadh do Gholiat. I haven’t been in Dublin since you came down to earth leaving your green suit behind you, going into the shade that was not your element, and we must hang – we have no choice – your picture on the wall since your features are not to be seen in pub, or street, or cool library, and since your friendship lives only in short-lived hearts. Survivors of the Fian, it is little wonder we are sad: the conundrum remains obscure to us, the language lacks explication; your hearty laugh raises an echo in an unopened cave, your trumpet-roar is locked up under the green, your Goliath is still untamed. 31 Although it is mostly a personal farewell and a tribute to the man relatable to those who knew him, it transcends its occasional nature by playing with the Ossianic references and with the given name and surname of the deceased, and by employing the powerful image of laughter echoing in a sealed cave.32 In the original, the appearance of “An Fhéinne” [Fian] and “dòrd” [call, roar] brings to mind “An Dord Féinne,” the fighting song of the Fianna from the Fenian cycle. 31 Thomson, Smeur an Dòchais 76-77. 32 Thomson also uses the imagery of confinement in a green cave in “Ged a Thillinn ANis” (Though I Were to Go Back Now) from An Rathad Cian (The Far Road, 1970): “A’ chuimhne ga mo bheathachadh, / a’ toirt orm fàs / anns an uaimh dhorch seo, / a’ feitheamh tilleadh mara, / ’s a’ crùbadh fo m’ eallach / anns an uaimh uaine seo gun ghealach.” [Fed by memory / which makes me grow / in this dark cave, / awaiting the turn of the tide, / and crouching under my load / in this green cave without moon.] Creachadh na Clàrsaich 172-73. Derick Thomson and Ireland 41 Thomson and Yeats In a review of the festschrift Memoirs of a Modern Scotland, a tribute to the author and poet Eachann MacÌomhair (Hector MacIver, 1910-1966), which Thomson wrote for Gairm 71 (1970) and which is more of a personal essay about the deceased friend than an evaluation of the volume, he gives MacIver credit for introducing him to a lasting poetic influence: “Tha mi an dùil gur h-e a las ùidh dhomh ann am bàrdachd Yeats nach deach às an t-sealladh fhathast” [I think he kindled in me an interest in the poetry of Yeats which has not disappeared to this day].33 There are indeed a number of manifestations of this preoccupation. In the foreword to his first collection, An Dealbh Briste (The Broken Picture, 1951), Thomson acknowledges inspiration by Sorley MacLean, and thus, indirectly, also by Yeats, in poems dealing with unfulfilled love and the way it fuels poetry, in some cases in a perceived conflict with political commitment, such as “Seann Òran” (Old Song), “’N e Seo an Dàn Deireannach Dhutsa?” (Is This the Final Poem for You?), “Mur B’ E ’n Saoghal Is M’ Eagal” (But for the World and My Fear), echoing both Yeats’s works that concern his unrequited love for Maude Gonne, and MacLean’s Dàin do Eimhir, which address a similar predicament.34 “Ghluais an Raoir an Trom-laighe Mo Chuimhne” (Last Night Nightmare Moved My Memory), included in the same volume, actually mentions Yeats’s name: Chan abair mi nochd – bu bheag a b’ fhiach leam – athchuinge Yeats air madainn an iargain, e smaointinn oirre-se agus ag iarraidh freasdal do-gheibhte air cuan nam blianntan [...] I shall not say tonight – I little care to – Yeats’s prayer on the morning of longing, as he thought of her and wished for a providence unobtainable on the sea of the years […]35 The dark and oblique poetry from Thomson’s fourth collection Saorsa agus an Iolaire (Freedom and the Eagle, 1977), which fuses religious and political imagery in discussions of Scottish politics and prospects of independence, comes especially 33 Ruaraidh MacThòmais, “An Sgeilp Leabhraichean,” Gairm 71 (1970): 281-83. 34 For a discussion of Yeats and MacLean, see Peter Mackay, Sorley MacLean (Aberdeen: AHRC Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies, 2010) 44-45, 47-49. 35 Derick Thomson, “Ghluais an Raoir an Trom-laighe Mo Chuimhne” (Last Night Nightmare Moved My Memory), Creachadh na Clàrsaich 56-57. Petra Johana Poncarová 42 close to Yeats. The poem in “Strì Fhada” (A Long Haul) from Thomson’s Smeur an Dòchais features an epigraph from Yeats’s “Parnell” from New Poems, and his following volume Meall Garbh / Rugged Mountain (1995) includes the poem “Do Yeats” (Remembering Yeats), which makes references to his most famous poems, including “The Lake Isle of Innisfree,” “Sailing to Byzantium,” and “The Second Coming,” surveying both Yeats’s works and Thomson’s relationship to him. The last mentioned is one of four poems by Yeats, together with “The Scholars,” “A Prayer for Old Age,” and “Easter 1916,” which Thomson translated into English and published as part of the aforementioned anthology Bàrdachd na Roinn-Eòrpa an Gàidhlig. These show Thomson’s skill as a translator of poetry, which comes forward in the accuracy of metre, closeness of meaning, and the exquisite sound qualities, and also his intimate knowledge of the texts and regard for them. Conclusion Thomson’s involvement with Ireland constitutes another part in the centurieslong close cultural exchange between Gaelic Scotland and its south-western neighbour. The different strands of Thomson’s engagement with Ireland, be it translations from Irish literature or academic engagement with Irish writing, find continuation in the work of contemporary Scottish Gaelic poets and scholars, including Niall O’Gallagher, who has translated the works of Biddy Jenkinson and other Irish-language poets into Gaelic for the magazine STEALL, or in the creative work of Rody Gorman, one of the prolific Gairm contributors. Thomson’s engagement with Ireland is inspiring in its commitment to follow developments in Irish culture and politics and to learn from successes and productive policies, in balancing close cooperation between the countries with regard for their distinctiveness, and in refusing to idealise Ireland which however does not preclude warmth and regard. More detailed biographical research into Thomson’s life is bound to shed more light on his personal contacts with Irish authors and intellectuals mentioned in this essay, and likely reveal many others. This essay sought to provide a preliminary map of the subject. BIBLIOGRAPHY Archival Sources and Databases (online) Gairm Air-Loidhne / Gairm Online. DASG: Digital Archive of Scottish Gaelic. University of Glasgow. https://dasg.ac.uk/gairm. Derick Thomson and Ireland 43 Other Sources Ascherson, Neal. Stone Voices: The Search for Scotland. London: Granta, 2003. “Bibliography.” In Fèill-sgrìbhinn do Ruaraidh MacThòmais – Festschrift for Professor Derick S. Thomson. Scottish Gaelic Studies XVII, edited by James Gleasure and Colm Ó Baoill, 4-23. Aberdeen: University of Aberdeen, 1996. Ferriter, Diarmaid. “Greene, David William.” Dictionary of Irish Biography. Last modified October 2009. https://doi.org/10.3318/dib.003606.v1. Grimble, Ian. “Introduction.” In The Future of the Highlands, edited by Derick Thomson and Ian Grimble, 1-26. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1968. Mackay, Peter. Sorley MacLean. Aberdeen: AHRC Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies, 2010. MacThòmais, Ruaraidh. “Air an Spiris.” Gairm 76 (1971): 297. MacThòmais, Ruaraidh. “Air an Spiris.” Gairm 171 (1995): 201-202. MacThòmais, Ruaraidh. “An Sgeilp Leabhraichean.” Gairm 13 (1955): 87. MacThòmais, Ruaraidh. “An Sgeilp Leabhraichean.” Gairm 71 (1970): 281-83. MacThòmais, Ruaraidh. “Tìr na Gàidhlig ann a Linn na h-Ola.” Gairm 87 (1974): 209-216. O’Gallagher, Niall. “MacLean in the Museum: James Connolly and ‘Àrdmhusaeum na h-Èireann.’” In Scotland and the Easter Rising: Fresh Perspectives on 1916, edited by Kirsty Lusk and Willy Maley, 149-52. Edinburgh: Luath, 2016. Thomson, Derick. An Introduction to Gaelic Poetry. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1989. Thomson, Derick, ed. Bàrdachd na Roinn-Eòrpa an Gàidhlig / European Poetry in Gaelic. Glasgow: Gairm Publications, 1990. Thomson, Derick. Creachadh na Clàrsaich / Plundering the Harp. Edinburgh: MacDonald, 1982. Thomson, Derick. Smeur an Dòchais / Bramble of Hope. Edinburgh: Canongate, 1991. Thomson, Derick. “The Role of the Writer in a Minority Culture.” Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness XLIV (1964-1966): 256-71.