Dhòmnaill Choir – Rory MacLeod

A Dhòmnaill Choir Rory MacLeod (1984)

Rory MacLeod composed the following poem (‘Dear Donald’ in English) in honour of his father Donald MacLeod (1957) on Donald’s passing in September 2020 (see obituary p 176). (The photograph on the right shows Donald and Rory on the day when they both collected their MAs from the University of Cambridge in July 2015.) A Dhòmhnaill ‘ic Chailein ‘ic Dhòmhnaill ‘ic Dhòmhnaill ‘ic Chailein mac an t-Seanaileir ri linn Iain a’ Chùil Bhàin, deicheamh ceann-cinnidh Chloinn ‘icLeòid, tha sinn uile gad ionndrainn! Ged a bha thu beag nad àirde agus màlda nad mhiannan, sheas thu gu h-àrd nar spèis a’ cur mar fhiachaibh oirnn ar meas.

Nad òige, bu tu am fiadh: clis, sgiobalta, uasal. Srùth do thiodhlacan gu nàdarra, torrach mar a’ chraobh ubhal.

Cho maireannach ’s a bha e luath, bha d’ shuirghe le Ròs-Màiri seunta, a’ tionndadh paidhreadh a thàinig o nèamh gu dachaigh thalmhaidh làn gaoil. Ged a fhritheil sibh banrigh is dùthaich, còmhla agus air feadh an t-saoghail, b’ e an rud bu mhotha a choilean sibh ath-stèidheachadh ar teaghlach san Eilean. Sruth fìon aosta na h-aoigheachd bhon taigh aig Ceann Loch Follairt, ’s gun a bhith a’ dìochuimhneachadh roinnean fialaidh aran na fàilte.

Thèid an reis air adhart, tha an fhuil fhathast làidir, agus tha thu nad òige a-rithist mar a chunnaic mi lem shùilean fhìn…

… agus bha thu a’ coimhead eireachdail! Donald son of Colin son of Donald son of Donald son of Colin, son of the General, of the line of fair-haired John, tenth chief of Clan MacLeod, we all miss you! Though you were small of stature and modest in your appetites, you stood tall in our estimation commanding our respect. In youth, you were a deer: nimble, quick, noble. Your gifts flowed naturally, fruitful like the apple-tree As enduring as it was fleeting, your courting with Rosemary was enchanted turning a match that was made in heaven into an earthly home full of love. Though you served queen and country, together and around the world, your greatest achievement was re-establishing our family on the Island. The fine wine of hospitality flowed from the house at Kinlochfollart, and not to be forgotten were the generous helpings of the bread of hospitality. The race continues, the blood is still strong, and you are young again as I have seen with my own eyes… … and you looked magnificent!

MA Degree

The following information concerning the MA degree may be useful to members of the Society: Standing: a Bachelor of Arts may be admitted Master of Arts six* calendar years after the end of his or her first term of residence, provided that (which is usually the case) at least two years have elapsed since taking the B.A. degree. Fees: a fee of £5 is payable by those who took their BA degree in 1962 or earlier. Please give at least four weeks’ notice before the Congregation at which you wish to take your degree. Correspondence should be addressed to the Praelector. * For affiliated students, five years.

Dining Rights and Guest Rooms

Dining rights Members who hold an MA or other Master’s degree or a higher degree from the University, or are qualified for an MA, are welcome to dine in College during Full Term or the period of residence in the Long Vacation. For the academic year 2021–2022, ‘Full Term’ means 5 October –3 December, 18 January to 18 March, and 26 April to 17 June; residence in the Long Vacation runs for five weeks from early July. • There will be no High Table dining until the start of Michaelmas Term 2021; kindly see notices in due course via email or the College’s website (www.pem.cam.ac.uk) for further information as the situation develops over the course of the Academic Year. • Dining for Members is available on Fridays and Sundays during term or Long Vacation Residence except on occasions when large College events take place. • A Member may dine as a guest of the College at High Table up to four times each academic year (once a term and once in the Long Vacation Residence), provided a Fellow or other authorised person is present to preside. On one of those occasions, overnight accommodation is free of charge for the Member if it is available. It is regrettably not normally possible for spouses/partners to dine at the High Table. However, for the academic year 2021–2022, the College is intending to hold four ‘Members’ Evenings’, when up to ten Members and their guests (twenty people in all) may dine at the College’s expense. It is recommended that large parties of Members, or Members and their spouses/partners, should seek to use these evenings as particularly good opportunities to dine in the College. Pending confirmation of the reopening of the High Table, the dates of these occasions in 2022 will be: Monday 24 January, Sunday 20 February, Wednesday 4 May, and Sunday 5 June. Attendance by a Member and their spouse at such Evenings is now restricted to one per annum for this particular academic year, so as to allow as many Pembroke Members as possible to avail themselves of this opportunity. On the evening that you have booked in to dine, we would be grateful if you could arrive at the Senior Parlour no later than 7.15 pm for drinks before dinner. The dress code is smart but it is not obligatory to wear a gown.

Guest rooms • Overnight accommodation may also be available in College, at a reasonable charge (one person £61, two people £90 per night). • Accommodation is available for a maximum of two consecutive nights. • Guest rooms may only be booked by Fellows or Pembroke Members. If a Pembroke Member books the room, he or she should be the one, or one of the people, to stay in it. It is not normally possible to reserve rooms for nonPembroke members. • If available, overnight accommodation is free of charge for the Member, once a year, when a Member dines as a guest of the College at High Table. • The College regrets that children under the age of fourteen are unable to stay overnight at Pembroke. The College has three en-suite guest rooms (one twin-bedded room in H staircase and two double-bedded rooms in G, H and K staircases). Given these limited facilities, early notice is strongly advised when making inquiries. The College would be grateful to be informed at the earliest opportunity if a Member’s plans to visit have to be amended. Pembroke regrets that it will be necessary to charge a Member for the full cost of the room in the event that that Member should cancel his or her visit without giving at least 24 hours’ notice. College accommodation is usually available from 2.00 pm on the day of arrival; kindly observe any protocol which the porters may ask of you. Guests are asked to check out and remove their luggage before 9.30 am on the day of departure (but the Porters’ Lodge can store luggage until later in the day if necessary). Breakfast is not included in the charge but Members are welcome to have breakfast in the Buttery (usually open Monday to Friday in term time between 8 am and 10 am and for brunch at the weekend between 10 am and 1.15 pm, 11.00 am – 1.15 pm out of term). Payments are accepted by card only.

How to book Arrangements for dining or for staying in a guest room should be made by completing and submitting the Accommodation and Dining Online Booking Form (https://www.pem. cam.ac.uk/alumni-development/connecting-pembroke/dining-rights-and-guest-rooms/ accommodation-and-dining-online). Bookings can be made between 8.00 am and 4.00 pm, although urgent enquiries will be dealt with outside those hours. If you experience any difficulties using the online form, please phone the Development Office on 01223 339079 or email dev@pem.cam.ac.uk. A provisional guest room booking will be made on receipt of the enquiry. We ask that payment be made within one working day to confirm the booking by telephoning 01223 339079 with your payment details. A full refund can be provided if the booking is cancelled with at least 24 hours’ notice.