Màiri Anna NicCoinnich: Nighean Sgoile na Gàidheltachd, 1895

by Claire Pepper

Beachdaich air: Coiseachd dhan sgoil casruisgte agus gun chòta, fiù ’s air an latha as fhuaire sa gheamhradh;
Ionnsachadh ann an cànan nach robh thu riamh air a chluinntinn no air a bhruidhinn mus do thòisich thu san sgoil;
Eagal ort an-còmhnaidh ro pheanasachadh le iall airson mearachd a dhèanamh nad obair, bruidhinn nad chànan fhèin no a bhith fadalach airson clàradh.

B’e seo eòlas Màiri Anna NicCoinnich agus mòran chloinne eile a chaidh dhan sgoil ann an Alba faisg air deireadh an naoidheamh linn deug.
Air a h-innse tro shùilean Màiri Anna NicCoinnich, a tha naoi bliadhna a dh’aois, tha an sgeulachd seo na cunntas tarraingeach air latha-sgoile agus beatha dachaigh pàiste a bha a’ fuireach air Sgoraig, coimhearsnachd chroitearachd iomallach ann an iar-thuath Gàidhealtachd na h-Alba ann an 1895.

Tha an t-ùghdar, Claire Pepper, a’ ceangal cuimhneachain Màiri Anna air a h-òige le rannsachadh farsaing, dealbhan agus earrannan bho chlàran na sgoile, a’ toirt leanabachd Albannach Bhictòrianach beò.

Imagine: Walking to school barefooted and without a coat, even on the coldest winter’s day;
Learning in a language you had never heard or spoken before starting school;
Constantly in fear of being punished with a strap for making a mistake in your work, speaking in your own language or being late for registration.

This was the experience of Mary Ann Mackenzie and many other children who went to school in Scotland towards the end of the nineteenth century.
Told through the eyes of nine-year-old Mary Ann Mackenzie, this story is an engaging account of the school day and home life of a real child who lived on Scoraig, a remote crofting community in the north west Highlands of Scotland in 1895.

The author, Claire Pepper, combines Mary Ann’s recollections of her childhood with extensive research, photographs and extracts from the school records, bringing Scottish Victorian childhood vividly to life.