Clan Currie see unveiling of Lachlan Mor MacMhuirich stone at Makar’s Court

The MacMhuirich Symposium, – the first of many -  which ended on Sunday 24th July 2011,was  held in Edinburgh’s Royal Scots Club.

It brought a new perspective to the role of the MacMhuirichs in Scottish literary history. The MacMhuirichs, a name later anglicized to ‘Currie’, served for over 700 years as professional poets to the Lords of the Isles, and later to the MacDonalds of Clanranald.

The programme began on Friday 22nd July with the unveiling of a commemorative stone installed in the Makars’ Court of the Scottish Writers’ Museum, sponsored by the Clan Currie Society and dedicated to one of the clan’s most celebrated Bards, Lachlan Mòr MacMhuirich.

The unveiling of the Makar’s Stone took place on the eve of the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Harlow. Lachlan Mòr MacMhuirich’ is said to have delivered his Harlaw Brosnachadh, – or ‘Incitement to Battle’ – on the eve of the Battle of Red Harlaw on 24 July 1411 to inspire the army of the Lord of the Isles to victory on the following day. The first lines of MacMhuirich’s war poem, The Harlaw Brosnachadh, have been etched on the stone.

To mark the occasion, Simon Chadwick, a clarsach player specialising in the medieval Gaelic harp music of Scotland and Ireland, played a number of medieval ceremonial harp tunes, including “The Battle of Harlaw“; and RSAMD graduate, Hazen Metro, played the bagpipes to open the ceremony.

On the following day Saturday 23rd July, the symposium heard a distinguished group of Scottish historians celebrate Lachlan Mòr MacMhuirich, shedding new light on the seldom heard story of Scotland’s literary heritage. They were: Professor Hugh Cheape of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig UHI (and formerly of the National Museums Scotland) joined by speakers Dr John Purser of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Dr Donald William Stewart of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig and University of Edinburgh, Dr Wilson McLeod, of the Celtic and Scottish Studies department of the University of Edinburgh, and Dr David Caldwell, National Museums Scotland

Professor Hugh Cheape said: “This is an appropriate place and time to mark the achievements of one of the greatest of Scotland’s medieval poets. We know that such a distinguished gathering of speakers will do honour to Lachlan Mòr and the MacMhuirichs as a famous dynasty at the symposium’.

Robert Currie, President of the Clan Currie Society in New York, commented: “It is a great honour to have such an eminent group of Scottish historians come together to celebrate Lachlan Mòr MacMhuirich – I am humbled and thrilled to have their input.

The 2011 symposium is seen by Clan Currie as the inaugural event of what is to become an increasingly important annual event.

Robert Currie made that clear, saying: ‘It is intended that this will become an annual event, joining the ranks of other established symposiums contributing to the greater understanding of our literary heritage. As it grows and develops, hosted by cities and academic institutions across Scotland and beyond, there is also the potential for an associated research prize to be established.’

The photographs accompanying this article show, from the top:

• Robert Currie addressing the crowd at the unveiling of the stone
• The Makar stone for Lachlan Mor MacMhuirich
• Simon Chadwick playing the clarsach at the unveiling
• Robert Currie and the Lord Provost unveiling the stone