Scottish Authors > Duncan Ban Macintyre Poet 1724-1812

Duncan Ban Macintyre, Donnchcadh Ban Mac an t-Saoir, was born in Glenorchy in 1724 and died in Edinburgh in 1812. In 1746 he was present at the Battle of Falkirk about which he wrote a humorous poem. He lost his sword at the battle in which he fought though perhaps not with great conviction on the government side against Prince Charles. The poet never learned to read or write and had to trust his memory for the reproduction of his own compositions. The Rev. Donald MacNicol, Minister of Lismore, helped with the transcription of the poems.

Though Duncan Ban wrote many poems including Oran an t-Samhraidh (Summer Song), satires, love songs and drinking songs, his most memorable work is in the poems he wrote about the Argyll-Perthshire borders, and about the deer in the glen of which he was gamekeeper. The chief of these poems is Moladh Beinn Dobhrain (The Praise of Ben Doran). This is a wonderful poem of fidelity of description and love of the deer, of the food they eat, of the guns that shoot them and the dogs that harry them.

The poem has a happy and sunny atmosphere and there is no doubt that this period was the most joyful and creative of Duncan Ban's life. Unlike Wordsworth, he does not philosophise about nature nor does he sentimentalise the deer. His other famous nature poem is Oran Coire a Cheathaich (The Song of the misty corrie) where he deals with the natural description of the corrie, grasses, berries, flowers, birds, trees, bees and so on.

In 1767 Duncan moved to Edinburgh and became a member of the City Guard and served in the Breadalbane Fencibles. He composed prize poems on Gaelic and the bagpipes in 1781, '82-'85, and '89. In 1789 he competed with Donald Shaw for the post of Gaelic Bard to the Highland and Agricultural Society, but was not successful though his poem was highly commended. He retired from the City Guard in 1806, and six years later he died in Edinburgh, and was buried in Geyfriars Churchyard. It can be said that his true inspiration lay in the country, and it did not bloom in Edinburgh.

A monument to the poet marks his grave in Greyfriars Churchyard and another stands south of Dalmally overlooking Loch Awe (see photo at top of page).

Hugh MacDiarmid has translated Ben Doran and so has Iain Crichton Smith whose translation can be found in his Collected poems (Carcanet, 1992). A number of Duncan Ban's poems can be found translated in Professor Derick Thomson's Gaelic poetry in the eighteenth century - a bilingual anthology (published by the Association for Scottish Literary Studies, 1993). They include a part of Ben Doran, Summer song and the Song of the misty corrie.

Duncan Ban's reputation remains high and surely Ben Doran will remain as one of the great poems in Gaelic, musical, fertile, sunny and joyful.

Iain Crichton Smith

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