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Sileas NicDhomhnaill
Sileas NicDhomhnaill was a Scottish Gaelic poet in the 17th and 18th century from Loch Abar. She is mostly known for her poem "Laoidh Mhoire Mhaighdeann" (English: Hymn Of Mary Maiden), which is still sung today by many people.

Life
Sileas NicDhomhnaill (Anglicised: Sileas MacDonald, also known as Sìleas na Ceapaich) was born in 1660 and died around 1729.

Scholar Colm O Baoill recalls what we know about her from oral tradition:

"[...] in her youth she was rather frivolous, frolicsome as it is written in English: and it is not known that there is no truth; there are people who believe that her eldest son was an illegitimate son. The mouth will not tell[,] tell us what effect Siléas's marriage (in 1685) had on this beadra [probably from Gàidhlig "beadarach" meaning "full of fun, playful"), but it is said that she had a 'meeting' with death. Later she changed her habits, became religious and began to compose hymns. It is not known what the truth is in this story, or if there is any truth at all"

Family
Her father, Archibald of Keacap, was the leader of the MacDonalds of Keacap in Loch Abar. He died in 1682. Her husband Alexander Gòrdan, who came from Camdell, a place near Tom an t-Sabhail, was a chamberlain to the Duke of Gordon who owned Cape Town. Because of this, he often visited Loch Abar. They married in 1685 and lived in north-east up until 1700, when they moved into Bail Dorney Castle in Banffshire. It is assumed that they had at least five sons and three daughters.

Work
She was the main poet in the first Jacobite rising of 1715 but is also known for her spritual poems like the "Hymn On The Death Of Her Husband And Daughter".

Poems by Sileas NicDhomhnaill

 * "Alasdair À Gleann Garadh" (English: Alexander Of Glengarry) ,
 * "Laoidh Air Bàs A Fir Agus A H-Ighne" (English: Hymn On The Death Of Her Husband And Daughter)
 * "Laoidh Mhoire Mhaighdeann" (English: Hymn Of Mary Maiden).

Renditions of poems by Sileas NicDhomhnaill

 * "Alasdair À Gleann Garadh" interpreted by Rachel Walker
 * "Alasdair À Gleann Garadh" interpreted by James Ruff
 * "Laoidh Mhoire Mhaighdeann" interpreted by Maggie MacInnes
 * "Laoidh Mhoire Mhaighdeann" interpreted by Fiona Mackenzie