Collection search - From the Hebrides to Cape Breton

Record information – Brief

1

From the Hebrides to Cape Breton

Item number (ISN):

281320

Series title:

Between Ourselves

Hierarchical level:

Item (Accession level)

Item number (ISN):

281320

Type of material:

Sound recordings

Found in:

Archives / Film, Video and Sound

Link to this record

Add to My Research

Link to this record

This link identifies the web page describing this particular record. Unlike the temporary link in your browser, this link will allow you to access, and reference, this page in the future. To link to this descriptive record, copy and paste the URL where ever needed (wiki, blog, document).

Sign in

Sign in to start saving records using My Research

Sign in
Record information – Details

Fonds/collection:

MCNEIL, Bill

Accession:

1998-0091

Media:

Sound

Part:

1 of 1

Release date:

1973-12-28

Production company:

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Production credit:

producer/script/host/interviewer, Bill McNeil; executive producer, Robert Weaver; announcer, Earl Cameron

Description:

Show detail Hide detail

Radio documentary about the Scots heritage in Nova Scotia and similarities of life and culture in Scotland. Host Bill McNeil talks about his family roots in Cape Breton, particularly Baddeck, Ingonish and Glace Bay. He also traces Scots history, starting with the defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745 at the Battle of Culloden, the harsh treatment suffered by the Scots supporters of Prince Charles after the defeat, the actions by the victors to crush the Highlanders, the destruction of the social structure of the Highlanders and the loss of power by the chieftains and their adoption of English ways, the rise of absentee landlords, the clearing of the settlers from the Highlands because it was cheaper to raise sheep, and the immigration by the evicted Highlanders to Canada, particularly Cape Breton. Interspersed with McNeil's commentary are traditional songs, music, and Gaelic speech.~Stephen Rory MacNeil of Iona, curator of a highland village museum now being built in Cape Breton, speaks about the history of the early settlers. His ancestors were cleared off the Isle of Barra as were Bill McNeil's. McNeil also visits Barra, the first of his family to go back for a visit in 200 years, where he tries to trace his family tree and find living relatives. He speaks to some MacNeils and Barra residents who still speak Gaelic. Also included are sounds of a Ceilidh of Scots music and song, an interview of Father McLellan about church records of ancestors, the stories handed down over the years about the Highland clearances, concerns shared by the people of Barra and of Cape Breton about the loss of the Gaelic language and the importance of teaching Gaelic, the declining economy in both places, and the push for more power to control local economies. Also interviewed is a woman from Barra who retired to a crofter's cottage on Barra and of a 90-year-old man from Baddeck about the love for the land. Mary Morrison, age 82, sings a waulking song, a song Scots women sang when they were pounding newly-woven cloth soaked in sheep's urine in order to shrink it. McNeil speaks to Isobel MacAulay of St. Ann's Gaelic College about the similarities of accents on Barra and Cape Breton. McNeil talks about the courses taught at the college to keep Scots culture alive, including the Gaelic language, dance and music. Mahor Calum MacLeod, Head of the Faculty of Gaelic at Saint Francis-Xavier University in Antigonish, about the only degree-granting course in Celtic studies in North America. The documentary also includes a recording of a waulking song as handed down in Cape Breton. <57mn>

Language:

English

Detailed holdings information:

Show detail Hide detail

Vault ISN:

317320

Format:

SOUND

Location number:

1998-0091/092

Vault code:

GAT

Number of items:

1

Kind of sound:

R/R

Technical description:

POLY

Duration:

56:30

Made from:

DEPOSIT

Status:

ORIG
Ordering and viewing options

Conditions of access:

Open

Reproduction access:

with written permission of copyright owner : no donor restrictions Copyright on CBC broadcasts belongs to the CBC. Copyright on pre-broadcast interviews belongs to Bill McNeil. Contact for Bill McNeil: Dawn McNeil Lemaire.Copyright on CBC broadcasts belongs to the CBC.Copyright on pre-broadcast interviews belongs to Bill McNeil.Contact for Bill McNeil: Dawn McNeil Lemaire.

You can order materials in advance to be ready for you when you visit. You will need a user card to do this.

Cannot visit us on site? You can purchase a copy to be sent to you. Some restrictions may apply.

Report a problem on this page

Date modified:: 2024-07-24