📷 by Somhairle MacDonald

Mairearad and I are cousins and grew up playing music together in informal settings as well as performing as part of Fèis Rois. Mairearad is from Achnahaird in the North West Highlands. I’m from Edinburgh and spent my school holidays up in Achnahaird at our Grandparents’, just up the road from Mairearad’s house. In fact, several of the houses in Achnahaird are inhabited by members of our family and it was always a lot of fun spending time with a big group of cousins growing up. The next generation of kids are around now and it’s nice to see them all heading off to the beach in a gang like we did when we were younger.

Achnahaird, a few miles from Achiltibuie, is part of a peninsula called Coigach, around 20 miles north west of Ullapool. I might be biased, but I think it’s one of the most scenic parts of Scotland, with a dramatic backdrop of mountains overlooking a long sandy beach. Our Grandfather was from Achnahaird and our Grandmother was from Polbain, just on the other side of the Coigach peninsula. They were native Gaelic speakers and their house was always a hub of activity. My mum Jessie was the eldest of 6 children, Mairearad’s mum Sheila being the second.

We’ve always known about the Coigach Resistance and that our family played some part in it, but it wasn’t until recently that we really looked into it. The Coigach Resistance was a series of events that took place in 1852/3 over a period of 18 months where local people managed to successfully resist the serving of summons to remove from their land. It was one of the few successful resistances during the Highland Clearances in the lead up to the Napier Commission and the Crofting Act of 1866. What really struck us about these events is that they were often led by women. Four young women in particular are named in various accounts and one of those women is our Great Great Grandmother Anna Bhàn.

Recently there have been plans by the organisation Coigach Heritage to commission a sculpture by Will Maclean RSA and Marian Leven RSA to commemorate those who led the resistance. The landmark monument is to be set on the hillside above Acheninver. Central standing stones will be encircled by walls sourced from local ruins with pathways and seating. Granite, slate and bronze highlight other elements of the story. Every stone will symbolise the women and men who made a stand against injustice. This really galvanised us to set about on our own path of commemorating and celebrating this story and our personal connection to it.

We spent a week last summer up in Achnahaird writing the music and doing research. We then went on to record the music at Gran’s House studio near Biggar with engineer and producer Andy Bell. Andy really helped us combine our individual styles and make something that we felt represented us both while at the same time creating a new sound.

Mairearad is also a visual artist and wherever possible, enjoys combining her two passions – art and music. Her impressionistic painting style is very much a visceral response to the land she grew up in and for this album, she created a unique series of ten mixed media artworks to accompany each track. The originals are available from her website and the artwork features in our C.D. and Vinyl booklet.

It was really special and very emotional to return to Coigach last week for our album launch show. We were very touched that so many turned out for the gig and showed us so much support. We’re currently having a great time on tour around Scotland bringing our music to live audiences and sharing the story of the Coigach Resistance.

annabhan.bandcamp.com/album/anna-bh-n

www.coigach-heritage.org/lorg-na-coigich