John Roy Stuart - Latha Chuilodair - Falkirk Muir 280th Anniversary

The Rising of 1745 produced many villains: the Butcher Cumberland, Hangman Hawley, and the sadistic Captain Caroline Scott, to name but a few: but perhaps only one true hero – John Roy Stuart, Warrior, Bard and Colonel of the Edinburgh Regiment.

Fiercely loyal, courageous and compassionate, at times impetuous and hot-headed, always driven by the dictates of his heart, John Roy was a partisan whose support for his cause and his people never wavered, even in his darkest hours.

This is his story, told in his own words to mark the 280th anniversary of his last and perhaps greatest victory at Falkirk Muir on January 17th 1746 - Latha Chuilodair, Culloden Day. The narrative is driven by words from seven of his poems.

In his story, John Roy remembers the people whom he met on his journey through life and gives his account of what happened on the fateful day of April 16th 1746. He recalls the follies of his youth; his great friendship with Lady Christian Macintosh to whom he dedicated a beautiful lament; his encounters with his friend Lord Lovat; his romantic life; his exile and his return to Scotland in 1745. He describes his confrontation with Colonel Shugborough Whitney at the Battle of Falkirk Muir on January 17th 1746. The story concludes with an account of the Night March on Nairn three months later, the dispute he had on the morning of April 16th with Lord George Murray, the final denouement on Drumossie Moor later that same day, and his escape to France on board the ‘Heureux’ with Prince Charles.

“Great are the depths of my sorrow as I mourn for the wounds of my land.”

Doors are open from 2:00 PM with a start time at 2:30 PM.

The premiere was in Edinburgh on April 16th 2025, anniversary of the Battle of Culloden. Reviewing the premiere in the 'Scotsman', Joyce McMillan wrote that,

"the profound sorrow of John Roy Stuart's historical story, and the depth of his love for the Gaelic culture and language that met its greatest defeat at Culloden, sings clearly through his own poetry, and also through fine works by William Neill, Andrew Lang and Alfred, Lord Tennyson. And it's easy to imagine how this simple model could be developed into a slightly richer combination of live performance and visual presentation, which would help reintroduce the sound of John Roy Stuart's Gaelic poetry to audiences, and with it a vital dimensional of our history and culture, too long unappreciated and denied."

The performance will be accompanied by vocals and music from the time, performed by Màiri Callan. Màiri won the An Comunn Gàidhealach Gold Medal for Gaelic singing at the Royal National Mod in 2021, and she is widely recognised as one of the most gifted Gaelic vocalists and harpists of her generation. Integrated within John Roy's narrative, she will play:

An Fhìdeag Airgid, a Jacobite song composed as a welcome to Charles Edward Stuart when he landed on Eriskay on 18th July 1745.

Cumha do Bhaintighearna Mhic-an-Tòish, the melody to which John Roy’s Lament to Lady Macintosh is traditionally sung.

Òran Eile air Blàr na h-Eaglaise Brice, composed by Duncan Bàn MacIntyre who was at the Battle of Falkirk Muir, serving as a soldier in the Argyll Militia.

‘Mo rùn real og’ , composed by Christina Fergusson for her husband, William Chisholm, who was killed at the Battle of Culloden.

A 95-second clip covering the play's Edinburgh Premiere on April 16th 2025 can be viewed on BBC Alba at:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/naidheachdan/bhidio/cly2ld7344vo

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