‘Feith Mhoire’
Ditch of Mary,
Ditch of Mary;
Heron legs,
Heron legs;
Ditch of Mary,
Ditch of Mary;
Heron legs under you,
Bridge of warranty before you…
“Flat moorland is generally intersected with innumerable reins, channels and ditches. Sometimes these are serious obstacles to cattle, more especially to cows, which are accurate judges. When a cow hesitates to cross, the person driving her throws a stalk or a twig into the ditch before the unwilling animal and sings the Feith Mhoire, Vein of Mary, to encourage her to cross, and to assure her that the bridge is before her.”
p.162 and p.613 ‘Carmina Gadelica’, Alexander Carmichael, Edinburgh 1899
Robin A Crawford 