The Canadian Gaelic poet Iain mac Ailein's 1826 poem Òran a' Bhàil Ghàidhealaich ("The Song of the Gaelic Ball"), was composed for and first performed at a gathering organized by David Murray at Merigomish and to which only Gaelic speakers were invited.[1] The song remains very popular among Gaelic-speakers in both Scotland and Nova Scotia and is often referred to by its first line, Bithibh Aotrom 's Togaibh Fonn ("Be Light-hearted and Raise a Tune").[2]
The name Merigomish comes from the Mi'kmaq meaning "A place of merrymaking".[citation needed]
^Edited by Natasha Sumner and Aidan Doyle (2020), North American Gaels: Speech, Song, and Story in the Diaspora, McGill-Queen's University Press. Page 296.
^Edited by Natasha Sumner and Aidan Doyle (2020), North American Gaels: Speech, Song, and Story in the Diaspora, McGill-Queen's University Press. Page 299.