A SCOTS version of Sorley MacLean’s seminal work, Dàin do Eimhir, has been published by Stornoway-based publishing company Acair.

Sangs tae Eimhir is written and translated by Scots language expert Derrick McClure and is the first complete version of Sorley’s great lyrical love poems to have been brought out in Scots and Gaelic, bypassing an English translation.

Sorley MacLean’s original Dàin do Eimhir collection was published in 1943, with a selection translated into English in 1971 by Iain Crichton Smith.

The poems speak of love but also about political considerations, in particular the Spanish Civil War and the rise of Fascism in Europe at the time.

Acair manager Agnes Rennie called Dàin do Eimhir a “landmark in Gaelic poetry, which has never been surpassed in terms of the impact it had” and added they were “delighted” to have brought out this Scots-Gaelic version.

She added: “I think it’s a wonderful book; it’s got a very contemporary feel to it – but the subject matter is still as relevant today as the day it was written.”

Mr McClure, who is convener of the parliamentary working group on the Scots language, said Sangs tae Eimhir had been the natural result of a long-standing interest in translation.

He said: “Translating has been a hobby of mine for a very long time. Having done some translating of modern Gaelic poetry, I thought I would try the most difficult one of them all — Dàin do Eimhir.

“MacLean uses traditional metres and rhyme schemes and I have tried to convey this in my translations, though I felt myself at liberty not always to use perfect rhymes.”

Mr McClure, who knows five languages and is “learning Chinese for fun”, said he had been drawn to the challenge, though, as well as to the poems themselves.

He said: “I would say Sorley MacLean is one of the greatest poets of the 20th Century, there’s no doubt about that. The intense emotional conflicts that he describes – they are timeless.”

Of Sangs tae Eimhir, he said: “It’s a contribution to what I like to see as the building of bridges between Scots and Gaelic, the two sides of the national culture.

“Until now, there’s been not much understanding between Scots and Gaelic. The Lowlands and the Highlands are not particularly well acquainted with each other’s poetic tradition.”

Given Scotland’s changing political landscape, though, Mr McClure believes a renewed interest in Scots and Gaelic could be on its way.

He said: “National awareness and national self-confidence has been steadily increasing since we got the parliament and is going to increase at an exponential rate now that we’re on the way to becoming independent, although it won’t happen overnight.

“I think there is going to be a lot more interest in Gaelic and Scots and their literatures and cultures.”

Western Isles MSP Alasdair Allan, who wrote his PhD thesis in Scots and is now a government education minister with responsibility for Scots and Gaelic, said Sangs tae Eimhir was “important because it makes a connection between Scotland’s two traditional languages in a way that doesn’t often happen.

“It promotes better understanding of Scotland as a multi-lingual country but, above all else, it makes people aware of the magnificent achievement of Sorley MacLean as one of Europe’s great poets of the 20th Century.”

He added: “I know Derrick well; he was my supervisor at Aberdeen University. He speaks many languages and I’m sure this will have informed the translation he’s produced.”

Sangs tae Eimhir is available from Acair and all good bookshops, priced £11.95.