Annotation:Cross of Bowmore
X:1 T:Cross of Bowmore, The M:C| L:1/8 R:Reel B:Alexander Mackay – A Collection of Reels, Strathspeys and Slow Tunes… B:Chiefly composed by Alexander Mackay, Musician Islay (c. 1822, p. 19) B: https://digital.nls.uk/special-collections-of-printed-music/archive/104487947 N:Dedicated to the Right Hon. Lady Elinor Campbell of Islay and Shawfield. N:Mackay was born c. 1775 and was a fiddler-composer from Islay. Many of his N:tune titles are reflect Islay settings. N:Printed in Glasgow by J. MacFadyen, 30 Wilson St. Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:G E|(DG)BG dGBG |(DG)BG EAAB|(DG)BG dGce|dcBA {A}G2F:| g|(dg)bg agbg|dgbg ageg|(dg)bg afge|dcBA {A}G2 Gg| (dg)bg agbg|dgbg agef|gbeg deBg|dcBA {A}G2G||
The 'Bowmore' of Mackay's title (he did not claim composition of the tune) is a village in Islay established around 1770, when the inhabitants of the village of Killarow were induced by the Campbell laird to move to the newly laid out (on Scotland's first grid-pattern village) Bowmore, across the sea-loch, Loch Indall. Bowmore became one of the larger villages of the island, anchored by a unique round church (according to legend, selected so that the devil can't hide in the corner) built by Daniel Campbell in 1767-69. There is a stone celtic cross in front of the church.
