大象传媒

Bha mi ag innse dhuibh mu chairidhean. Bha gu le貌r dhiubh ann an Linne Fharair, siar air Inbhir Nis. Anns an t-seann aimsir bha Poll an R貌id air ann an G脿idhlig. Tha sin a鈥� ciallachadh 鈥渢he inlet of the rood or cross鈥�. 鈥橲 e sin an aon R貌id a th鈥� ann an Taigh an R貌id 鈥� Holyrood House 鈥� ann an D霉n 脠ideann.

Ciamar a fhuair Poll an R貌id ainm? Uill, thug R矛gh Alasdair II fearann do mhanaich ann an Inbhir Nis. Bha sin timcheall na bliadhna d脿 cheud dheug, trithead 鈥檚 a sia (1236). Thog iad manachainn anns a鈥� bhaile. Bha Inbhir Nis air slighe eilthireachd gu ruige Baile Dhubhthaich ann an Siorrachd Rois. Agus dh鈥櫭瞨daich an R矛gh r貌d, no crois, a chur suas faisg air Inbhir Nis.

Tha sinn a鈥� smaoineachadh gun robh a鈥� chrois air eilean beag anns an linne. Chan eil sgeul air an eilean no air a鈥� chrois an-diugh. Ach dh鈥檉h脿g a鈥� chrois a h-ainm air an 脿ite 鈥� Poll an R貌id. No, ann am Beurla, the Rood Pool.

Co-dhi霉, air ais do na cairidhean. Bha cuid dhiubh fada, barrachd na m矛le troigh a dh鈥檉haid. Cha robh iad air fad air an d猫anamh de chlachan. Bha bunait cloiche aca. Ach gu h-脿rd bha iad air an d猫anamh de fhiodh. Bha am fiodh mar chliath. Bha na daoine a鈥� d猫anamh obair-c脿raidh air na cairidhean gu tric.

A bharrachd air cairidhean bha muinntir an 脿ite a鈥� cur a-mach l矛n. Bha sgadain bheaga 鈥� no garbhagan 鈥� a鈥� tighinn a-steach. Th脿inig am facal garbhag bhon Albais garvie. Ach chaidh garbhag air ais don Bheurla ann an sg矛re Inbhir Nis mar garvack. Ann an seachd ceud deug, ceathrad 鈥檚 a naoi (1749) bha an Eaglais a鈥� gearain mu iasgach air an t-S脿baid. Sgr矛obh iad mu 鈥渂reach of the Lord鈥檚 Day for fishing for garvacks鈥�.

I was telling you about cairidhean/yairs. There were lots of them in the Beauly Firth, west of Inverness. In olden times it was called Poll an R貌id in Gaelic. That means 鈥渢he inlet of the rood or cross鈥�. That鈥檚 the same Rood as in Holyrood House in Edinburgh.

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 How did Poll an R貌id get its name? Well, King Alexander II gave land to friars in Inverness. That was around the year 1236. They built a monastery in the town. Inverness was on a pilgrimage route to Tain in Ross-shire. And the King ordered a rood, or cross, to be erected close to Inverness.

聽聽聽聽聽聽 We think the cross was on a small island in the firth. There is no sign of the island or cross today. But the cross left its name on the place 鈥� Poll an R貌id. Or, in English, the Rood Pool.

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Anyway, back to the yairs. Some of them were long, more than a thousand feet in length. They weren鈥檛 entirely made of stones. They had a stone base. But above that, they were made of wood. The wood was like a hurdle [ie interlaced]. The people were often doing repair work on the yairs.

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In addition to yairs the people of the place were putting out nets. Small herring 鈥� or garbhagan 鈥� were coming in. The word garbhag comes from the Scots garvie. But garbhag went back into English in the Inverness area as garvack. In 1749 the Church was complaining about fishing on the Sabbath. They wrote about the 鈥�breach of the Lord鈥檚 Day for fishing for garvacks鈥�.