December 8, 2025Open Access

‘Dùisg thus’ às do chodal’ ‘Wake up from your sleep’: Catrìona nighean Mhic Aonghais, a fresh voice from nineteenth-century Greenock

Key Points

Key compositions address anti-landlord sentiments, enriching our understanding of the poetic landscape.
The important role of the press in amplifying women's voices in Gaelic poetry during the nineteenth century is emphasized.
Exploration of Catrìona's poetry provides insights into the Gaelic-speaking community of Highland and Lowland regions.
Understanding her contributions helps contextualize the cultural history of Gaelic literature in Scotland.

Abstract

Catrìona nighean Mhic Aonghais was a Mull-born poet living in Greenock in the later decades of the nineteenth century. No fewer than nine of her Gaelic compositions were published in the contemporary press between 1884 and 1895 but, despite this relatively sizeable corpus of verse, she has received no scholarly recognition to date. This article offers insights into the poet’s life based on what can be gleaned from this extant corpus and situates her within Greenock’s contemporary Gaelic-speaking community. It examines the content of her songs, with their strongly anti-landlord focus, and highlights some of their distinctive features, including the way in which the poet used her verse to forge connections with the wider Gaelic poetic community. In retrieving an overlooked female voice, the article highlights the importance of the press in offering a platform to women when other avenues for disseminating their verse in this period, such as concert platforms, were limited. Furthermore, it underlines the importance of Gaelic sources, such as these songs, for the historiography of the Highlands and Gaelic communities in the Lowlands.

Read Full Paperexternally

Mark Helpful

Bookmark

Relay

View Full Paper