Little is known of his upbringing or education but the Gaelic language was in common use in the area and John was a fluent speaker in both English and Gaelic. Facebook sets this cookie to show relevant advertisements to users by tracking user behaviour across the web, on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.

Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.At one stage he was on the payroll of the Duke of Argyll’s Rosneath Estate, making, among other things, fence posts. He spoke with many storytellers, often recording several different versions of the same story before combining them to make the most complete, definitive version. It is also, without any doubt, the largest and most significant collection of Gaelic tales ever compiled in the country. Also sign me up for newsletters so I can get special offers, recommendations, and expert advice to my inbox!

This cookie is set by Rubicon Project to control synchronization of user identification and exchange of user data between various ad services.Seven volumes are kept with the Argyll archives in Inveraray whilst the remaining three are at the National Library in Edinburgh.