Kintyre: The Hidden Past - Softcover

Martin, Angus

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1845301501 ISBN 13: 9781845301507

Publisher: Grimsay Press, 2014

Synopsis

This social history of the 'ordinary' people of the south-western peninsula of Argyll, in western Scotland, has become a classic since its original publication in 1984. It is reprinted here with a new Introduction by the author, a native of Kintyre who knows its geography intimately. The greater part of the book is based on original research from a wide range of sources, from nineteenth century registers of the poor to material passed on through the oral tradition. Angus Martin traces the evolution of the extraordinarily mixed stock of Kintyre from the Gaelic settlement in the fifth century AD through the subsequent settlements of the Lowlanders and Irish, and explores the nature of these diverse cultural legacies. The darker aspects of social history - epidemic diseases, sanitary and housing conditions and destitution - are also explored, and the sinister activities of grave-robbers in nineteenth century Kintyre are substantiated for the first time. There is also information on Irish immigrant families, the anglicisation of native surnames and surviving Gaelic elements in the local dialect.

About this title

About the Author:

Angus Martin is a poet and historian, and edits the historical journal 'The Kintyre Magazine'. His knowledge and interests encompass archaeology, local history, language and genealogy, natural history, hill-walking, and reading. Born in Campbeltown, he followed family tradition by becoming a fisherman when he left school, later working for many years as a postman. He is married with three daughters.

About this edition

• Publisher: Grimsay Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1845301501
• ISBN 13: 9781845301507
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 270