Birth Place
Mòr ni'n Mhurchaidh Dhòmhnaill
Skir Dhu, Victoria County
Sadie Mae is very proud to open her kitchen to any visitor who comes, and the teapot will be on the moment she sees a car coming up the drive. The table must be set just so, with folded napkins, cups and saucers, and three or four plates of different snacks. It's a fine art, loose leaf tea and all. She is an inspiration to any Gaelic learner struggling to find opportunities to speak the language. Sadie and her brother D.J. spoke Gaelic together for decades, long after their friends had stopped. She says that if they hadn't kept practicing, she wouldn't be the speaker she is today; she knew there would come a day when the language would be valued again. And so, Sadie has taught me many things about what it means to be a Gael. Some stories have been told many times so I won't forget. She works patiently with me while I try to remember the fine network of kinships stowed in her mind back ten generations. I struggle to keep up, but one of her tricks is to recite stories the same way each time they are told, and like a poem, they are easier to remember that way. We always have a giggle remembering her big photo session. Ryan came in with a suitcase and all her gear, including a giant tripod. Sadie asked, "Are you going to do exercises with that thing?" - Shannon
Interviewed by Jim Watson
Camera operated by Shamus Y. MacDonald
November 17, 2006
Total Play Time: 1:01:18
00:19 Sadie Mae introduces herself and where she's from
03:39 her family
05:08 her father fished
05:45 the little communities of the North Shore
08:46 the Bird Islands
09:39-12:20 schoolhouse; Gàidhlig spoken at home; how they learned to read the Bible View | Listen
14:43-16:57 Halloween, Oidhche na Challainn, Christmastime View | Listen
17:17 food they ate in the house
17:56 making butter
21:03 milk
22:32 her father fished; the boat he used
27:07-29:31 ceann gropaidh - stuffed cod head View | Listen
29:31 types of food
33:08 more types of food; dulse
35:29 stapag
38:34 Jim is asking questions about photographs, and the people who are in them
57:00-1:01:18 weaving, knitting View | Listen
Sadie Mae MacInnis and Jean MacKay
Interviewed by Hector MacNeil
Camera operated by Frank King
March 27, 2008
Disc One
Total Play Time: 37:36
02:03 Sadie and Jean introduce themselves, where they are from
04:35 the house they lived in when they were young; the livestock they had
13:04 the local store - DB MacLeod's; the first car
18:21-26:25 fishing View | Listen
26:28-29:50 Angie Thomais who built caskets; the wake house View | Listen
31:31-37:36 church services; the Ceist at the church View | Listen
Disc Two
Total Play Time: 34:40
00:00-05:57 talking about the church, praying, precenting View | Listen
06:00-12:37 neighbours helping each other: Sadie tells story; milling frolics on the North Shore View | Listen
13:15-18:50 stories: poor fellow at the milling frolic; the fish truck; girl coming down the ladder View | Listen
19:20 the last reiteach
21:19-24:41 when Sadie's house was moved; story about two lambs View | Listen
26:43-34:37 food that is common View | Listen