But my trip to the Scottish Highlands to the headwaters of my genealogical roots was not only about bloodlines. In truth, little is known in most literary circles or is taught in classrooms here in the United States about the ancient traditions or the rich contemporary wealth of writers carrying on and expanding that Celtic bardic legacy. The literary arts are a high national priority with respect to the governmental funding of publishing houses, magazines and literary cultural institutions in these three Celtic countries. Even those who don't read as much as they might or might like to seem to support the funding of programs or people who serve to keep these literary traditions alive. Unlike in America, where the idea of culture is that which will replace anything old, in Ireland, Scotland and Wales the past is alive in the present.
Memory is long.
Cultural loyalties deep. As deep as Loch Ness. She is said to be Elizabeth Davidson's youngest daughter who, so the story goes, fell down a back stairs of the castle to her death in flight from having walked into an upstairs bedroom to find her father in bed with one of the maids. The story becomes even more mysterious in relation to the family portrait which hangs in the large dinning hall. Having done all the necessary ghostbusting, and with my formal arrival ceremonials out of the way, I struck out for the Isle of Skye in search of Scotland's greatest living bard, Sorley MacLean.