Tuesday, April 16, marks the 273rd anniversary of the Battle of Culloden. At the site of the battle, four miles east of Inverness, the annual memorial service organised by the Gaelic Society of Inverness will take place tomorrow, Saturday, April 13, between 10:30 and 13:30.
It is an event that gets more popular each year and tomorrow over 1,000 people from many countries are expected to assemble. Last year’s event saw a new poem read by bard Maoileas Caimbeul in addition to a rendition of Pàdraig Mòr MacCrimmon’s majestic Cumha na Cloinne (Lament for the Children) by Euan MacCrimmon.
The Battle of Culloden was, of course, where the last battle was fought on British soil and readers will be familiar with the events surrounding it. Here, we simply wish to bring to your attention to an article [below] written by the late Bruce Campbell, ex-Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, that was printed in the Piping Times in 1983 on the subject of the pipers of what was the last Jacobite rising. Mr Campbell’s article mentions some of the well known pipers and tunes of the period. It is by no means comprehensive but a good read nevertheless.