Clan Lachlan Association of Canada  & Clan MacLachlan Society

clan lachlan  The Magazine of the Clan MacLachlan Society

Editor or Bard or Filidh

The Celtic culture was oral and expressed in poetry and often in song. A Highland Chief retained two bards each with their retinue of disciples:

• the Seanachaidh, the recorder, for genealogy and family history;

• the Filidh or Bard for inspiring warriors and extolling the dead; the Filidh was poet, philosopher and statesman as he could teach and influence the Chief, the Council and the clansmen through his poetry.

We now publish a 32 page issue of the "clan lachlan" bi-annually in Spring and Autumn. The ""clan lachlan" is the growing record of our collective history and is the main vehicle for informing our members world wide of the history of individual MacLachlan families and their experiences in Scotland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States or wherever fate took them.

Duncan MacLachlan (6) was the Bard of the Society from 1979 -1989 and developed it from a few typed pages of a newsletter to a magazine..

Chris MacLaughlin (460) was the next Bard of the Society. Chris, descended from an Islay family, and educated in Scotland took charge of the magazine in 1989. He developed it into a quality publication and produced it until 1997.

Duncan MacLachlan (41), a Canadian who was born and educated in Scotland but emigrated after his graduation from the University of Glasgow, has carried on this tradition. He developed the magazine in content and style to reflect our Celtic and Scottish Highland heritage. He produced the magazine from 1998 to 2005. He not only took over the role of Bard but also that of Publisher. He edited and produced the magazine in Canada for world wide distribution to our then 1,300 members. He researched and compiled  the clan lachlan CD  which could only be obtained by an appropriate donation to the Lachlan Trust. The structure of the magazine became :

 1.0   Message from the Chief ;

 2.0 Articles, well written with quality photographs, on the experiences of MacLachlans in the past or on some aspect of Highland tradition or culture;

 3.0   Your Family History (the popular biographies of the families of recently joined members and a good source for long lost cousins):

4.0   Branch News from the four corners of the world

Nan Beams took  over the position of editor in fall 2006.  PDF files are now produced and each Branch is responsible for publishing. The colour  edition of the magazine is available in the Lachlan Library on the same day that the PDF file is distributed to printers.

Duncan (41) has designed and compiled the new Lachlan Library.This includes the contents of the CD  and  complete copies of the magazine from 1998 to 2011  plus  a number of  articles from magazines prior to 1998.

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© , the Clan MacLachlan Society & the Lachlan Trust of Canada: Reg. 87231-0503-R0001