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The MacNeils at Greenhill farm in Tiree and Captain MacNeil....

Date 21 May 1970
Track ID 65648
Part 1

Track Information

Original Track ID

SA1970.107

Original Tape ID

SA1970.107

Summary

The MacNeils at Greenhill farm in Tiree and Captain MacNeil.

Lachlan MacNeil put in for Greenhill farm and he got it. Donald Sinclair had worked there as a cattleherd and they had always treated him very well because he was from Balephuil and they knew his people. He had two brothers named John and Malcolm and a sister named Marianne. He had a son who became a ship's captain, and one of his children married a woman from Balephuil. He was the captain of the Claymore when he was a young man, and there was a sailor named John Shaw from Jura aboard. They were both very strong men. On one occasion they were going to miss the tide in Oban, and they were offloading barrels. John Shaw stood on the gunnel and Captain MacNeil was handing him 40-gallon barrels and he was putting them on the pier, which was quicker than winching them out. Donald Sinclair had seen his clothes at the farm in Greenhill, and two men would fit inside his waistcoat. He met him on only one occasion when he was a boy, and the captain had asked him who his family was. When he answered, he told him to hold out his cap and he filled it with sweets. Donald was in service to his brother Neil in Greenhill, who was a very crabbit man. On one occasion a man came to Greenhill to argue with him, at which time Neil was a very old man. When he heard the man, he said to wait till he got on his feet, but before he could the man had fled. If he had got to his feet on time, he would have knocked him out, as he was a very strong man.

Item Subject/Person

MacNeil, Lachlan; MacNeil, Captain; Shaw, John; MacNeil, Neil

Item Location

County - Argyllshire

Parish - Tiree

Island - Tiree

Language

English

Collection

SoSS

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good