Oighrig Bealag
Effie Bella Currie
Eachdraidh-bheatha | Biography
Effie Bella Currie (Oighrig Bealag) was born in Sydney Mines, Cape Breton. At aged thirteen, she was adopted by a family in Frenchvale and it was there she went on to meet and marry Dougall Currie of MacAdam’s Lake, a neighbouring community in the hills of Boisdale.
Effie and Dougall raised a family of thirteen children in a home steeped in the Gaelic tradition. One of Effie and Dougal’s sons, Angus (Aonghais MacDhùghaill 'ic Aonghais 'ic Mhìcheil Lachlainn), was also recorded for the Cainnt Mo Mhàthar project.
Effie enjoyed music and was a noted Gaelic singer who was often recorded. There are 46 separate recordings of her in the Cape Breton Gaelic Folklore Collection, almost all of them songs. They include many popular classics of the Nova Scotia Gaelic tradition, some locally composed and others originating in Scotland.