Murdo Mackenzie

This article is in English. The Gaelic version can be read here.

Biography
Murdo MacKenzie, ‘The Pilot’, was from Shader. He was the brother of William MacKenzie, and although his poetry did not become as widely known as that of his brother’s, he was a very skilled poet all the same. He was apparently unceasing in composing poetry, writing comic verse about happenings in and around the village. He had a sharp tongue and his poetry was witty. He was a shepherd, looking after the sheep of Point when they were on the moors, but after that he was the ‘whipper-in’ for Aird School, making certain that children attended school.

Two of his sons fought in the Boer War, and he wrote in-depth poetry about that conflict, giving a detailed account of the battles. Donald, one of his sons, died in South Africa, and he wrote a powerful lament for him.

His son Sandy was deputy harbourmaster in New York. Part of a song that Sandy wrote is in existence – a song that details how his uncle’s ashes would be taken home from Canada to the Eye Church.