Glendaruel

Glendaruel is a valley in Cowal, Argyll, Scotland, in the PA postcode area. It is thought to be one of the valleys praised in The Lament of Deirdre [ [http://www.electricscotland.com/history/literat/lamentof.htm The Lament of Deirdre] , "Electric Scotland". Accessed September 25 2007] , a Gaelic poem dating back to at least 1238, in which reference is made to a "Glenndaruadh". Deirdre is a tragic heroine in Irish mythology, and in the poem she is lamenting the necessity of leaving Scotland to return to Ireland.

The main village in Glendaruel is the Clachan of Glendaruel. The Scottish mathematician Colin Maclaurin was born here in 1698 to the Reverend John Maclaurin, who was minister to the parish of Kilmodan. The present Kilmodan Church was built in the Clachan of Glendaruel in 1610.

The Clachan of Glendaruel is the current location of Kilmodan Primary School, and the ground of Col-Glen Shinty Club.

Dunans Castle is also to be found in Glendaruel, while Glendaruel Wood and Crags and the Ruel Estuary are both included in the List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Mid Argyll and Cowal.

Glendaruel is the inspiration for a number of bagpipe tunes, including The Glendaruel Highlanders, and The Sweet Maid of Glendaruel.

References