Beinn Dorain

Beinn Dorain (Scottish Gaelic: Beinn Dòbhrain, 'hill of the otter'),[2] is a mountain in the Bridge of Orchy hills of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is the subject of Duncan Ban MacIntyre's best known Gaelic poem, Moladh Beinn Dòbhrainn (English: "In Praise of Ben Doran"); MacIntyre had spent his youth and had worked as a gamekeeper in these parts.

An t-urram thar gach beinn
Aig Beinn Dòbhrain;
De na chunnaic mi fon ghrèin,
'S i bu bhòidhche leam…
"Ben Doran" redirects here. For the Aberdeen trawler that wrecked on the Ve Skerries, see SS Ben Doran.

Beinn Dorain
Beinn Dorain viewed from the south.
Highest point
Elevation1,076 m (3,530 ft) [1]
Prominence332 m (1,089 ft)
Parent peakBeinn a' Chreachain
ListingMunro, Marilyn
Naming
Language of nameScottish Gaelic
PronunciationScottish Gaelic: [peɲ ˈt̪ɔːɾɛɲ]
Geography
LocationArgyll and Bute, Scotland
Parent rangeBridge of Orchy Hills, Grampian Mountains
OS gridNN325378

English translation:

Honour beyond each ben
for Ben Doran;
Of all I have seen beneath the sun,
she is the most glorious for me[3]

The mountain is easily accessible from the Bridge of Orchy railway station, from where a path leads up to the bealach separating Beinn Dorain from Beinn an Dothaidh: the two hills are frequently climbed together from this point.

The Scottish composer Ronald Stevenson composed a work for full chorus, chamber chorus, symphony orchestra and chamber orchestra based on MacIntyre's poem, entitled Moladh Beinn Dobhrain (In praise of Ben Dorain) in 2007. In this lyrical, tonal work, Stevenson used the original text and Hugh Macdiarmid's English translation of the verse. It was premiered on 19 January 2008 in Glasgow with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Opera Chorus, Glasgow University Chapel Choir and The Edinburgh Singers.[4]

References
  1. "walkhighlands Beinn Dorain". walkhighlands.co.uk. 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  2. Am Faclair Beag - http://www.faclair.com/: "dobhran" or "dòbhran" = "otter," with "dobhrain" or "dòbhrainn" being the genitive form; see also, "dòbhran", Mark, Colin, The Gaelic English Dictionary, p. 237
  3. Ban MacIntyre, Duncan (1866). "Ben Dorain (English translation)". Selections from the Gaelic bards: Metrically translated with biographical prefaces and explanatory notes, also original poems. Glasgow: Archibald Sinclair. pp. 53–57. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  4. Gasser, M., "Ronald Stevenson, Composer-Pianist : An Exegetical Critique from a Pianistic Perspective" (Edith Cowan University Press, Western Australia, 2013)


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