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Leanabh an àigh, an Leanabh aig Màiri,

Rugadh san stàball, Rìgh nan Dùl;

Thàinig don fhàsach, dh’fhuiling nar n-àite

Son’ iad an àireamh bhitheas dhà dlùth!

A bheil sibh ag aithneachadh nam briathran sin? ʼS e sin a’ chiad rann de laoidh a tha gu math ainmeil agus eachdraidheil ann an saoghal na Gàidhlig – Leanabh an Àigh. ʼS e laoidh brèagha, fonnmhor a th’ ann, ach bha riamh ceist agam mu dheidhinn aon fhacail. Mar as trice, ʼs e Moire no Muire a chanas sinn ann an Gàidhlig ri màthair Ìosa. Ach, anns an òran, ʼs e ‘Màiri’ a sgrìobh an t-ùghdar.

Agus cò bh’ innte? Tè à Muile air an robh Màiri mar ainm – Màiri NicDhùghaill. Bhuineadh i don Ros Mhuileach faisg air Bun Easan. Na bu tràithe dhen t-samhradh seo, bha daoine a’ comharrachadh ceud gu leth bliadhna on a chaochail i ann an ochd ceud deug, seachdad ʼs a dhà (1872). 

Mar a thuigeas sibh, bha Màiri na Crìosdaidh. Bha a h-athair na shearmonaiche Baisteach agus bha Màiri fhèin na Baisteach fad a beatha. Phòs i fear Niall Dòmhnallach agus bha iad ri croitearachd faisg air Bun Easan. Cha chreid mi gun robh Beurla sam bith aice.

Ged a sgrìobh Màiri na briathran airson Leanabh an Àigh, tha e coltach gun robh am fonn mòran na bu shine. Bha e gu math aithnichte am measg muinntir Mhuile. Canaidh daoine ‘Bunessan’ ris an fhonn. Seo agaibh an dàrna rann:

Ged a bhios leanaban aig rìghrean na talmhainn,

An greadhnachas àrd is anabarr mùirn

ʼS geàrr gus am falbh iad, ʼs fàsaidh iad anfhann

An àilleachd ʼs an dealbh aʼ searg san ùir.

Tha e coltach gun do chruthaich Màiri òrain gu leòr ach gur e glè bheag dhiubh a th’ againn an-diugh. Nochd Leanabh an Àigh ann an clò an dèidh a bàis. Agus bha e air eadar-theangachadh gu Beurla cuideachd. Seo an treas rann dheth, co-dhiù mar a tha an t-òran air a ghabhail gu minig an-diugh:

Cha b’ ionnan an t-uan a thàinig gar fuasgladh

Iriseal stuama ghluais e ʼn tùs.

E naomh gun truailleachd, Cruithear an t-sluaigh

Dh’èirich e suas le buaidh on ùir.

Ann an naoi ceud deug, trithead ʼs a h-aon (1931), nochd faclan Beurla co-cheangailte ris an aon fhonn. B’ e sin ‘Morning has Broken’, laoidh a bh’ air a sheinn gu tric aig tiodhlacaidhean. Rinn an seinneadair Cat Stevens – no Yusuf Islam mar a th’ air an-diugh – an laoidh sin ainmeil anns na seachdadan. Bha sin timcheall air ceud bliadhna an dèidh bàs Màiri NicDhùghaill. Chlàir luchd-ciùil ainmeil eile an t-òran, leithid Neil Diamond, Nana Mouskouri agus Daniel O’Donnell. 

Seo agaibh, ma-thà, an rann mu dheireadh aig Leanabh an Àigh. Mura h-eil sibh eòlach air an fhonn, cluinnidh sibh e gun duilgheadas sam bith air an eadar-lìon.

Leanabh an àigh mar dhʼaithris na fàidhean

ʼS na h-aingealan àrd, b’ e miann an sùl

ʼS e ʼs airidh air gràdh ʼs ar n-urram thoirt dha.

Sona an àireamh bhitheas dha dlùth.

Faclan na Litreach: laoidh: hymn; fonnmhor: tuneful; Màiri NicDhùghaill: Mary MacDougal; croitearachd: crofting; chlàir: recorded; aingealan: angels.

Abairtean na Litreach: Leanabh an àigh: child of joy; Rugadh san stàball: born in the stable; Rìgh nan Dùl: King of the Universe; Thàinig don fhàsach, dh’fhuiling nar n-àite: came to the wilderness, suffered in our place; Sona iad an àireamh bhitheas dhà dlùth: happy are those who are close to him; bhuineadh i don Ros Mhuileach faisg air Bun Easan: she belonged to the Ross of Mull near Bunessan; na bu tràithe dhen t-samhradh seo: earlier this summer; a’ comharrachadh ceud gu leth bliadhna on a chaochail i: marking 150 years since she died; bha a h-athair na shearmonaiche Baisteach: her father was a Baptist preacher; gun robh am fonn mòran na bu shine: that the tune was much older; An greadhnachas àrd is anabarr mùirn: in great pomp and much joy; ʼS geàrr gus am falbh iad ʼs fàsaidh iad anfhann: they leave soon and grow weak; an àilleachd ʼs an dealbh aʼ searg san ùir: their beauty and form withering in the soil; nochd X ann an clò an dèidh a bàis: X was published after her death; co-dhiù mar a tha an t-òran air a ghabhail gu minig an-diugh: at least how the song is often sung today; Cha b’ ionnan an t-uan a thàinig gar fuasgladh: nothing is equal to the lamb who came to free us; Iriseal, stuama ghluais e ʼn tùs: humble and modest when he first moved; naomh gun truailleachd: saintly and without impurity; mar dhʼaithris na fàidhean: as the prophets foretold; ʼs e ʼs airidh air gràdh ʼs ar n-urram thoirt dha: it is he who deserves our love and respect.

Puing-chànain na Litreach: bha Màiri fhèin na Baisteach fad a beatha: Mary herself was a Baptist all her life. The Baptist Church, while hardly visible among the Gaels of the Western Isles, was and is an important component in some Gaelic communities elsewhere, such as on Mull and Tiree. Baisteach is based on the verb baist ‘baptise, immerse in water, which likely derives from Ancient Greek through Latin, with the loss of an original ‘p’ (a sound not found in early Gaelic) – making it distantly cognate with English ‘baptise’ (which retained the ‘p’). Na Baistich ‘the Baptists’; An Eaglais Bhaisteach ‘The Baptist Church’; ʼs e Baisteach a th’ ann ‘he is a Baptist’.

Gnàthas-cainnt na Litreach: b’ e miann an sùl: he was the apple of their eyes (lit. ‘their eyes’ desire’).