Dòmhnall mac Sheonaidh Dhòmhnaill Òig 'ic Aonghais

Donald William "Donald W." MacEachern was a respected tradition bearer from Northside East Bay, Cape Breton County. His paternal ancestors immigrated to Prince Edward Island from Lagan, in the Arasaig district of Scotland, (and were formerly from South Uist) in the late 18th century before settling in Cape Breton. His great-great-grandfather Donald MacEachern acquired a total of 1200 acres of land at East Bay—600 acres on each side of the Bras d’Or Lake.

Donald W. was one of five children born to John and Mary Anne (MacVarish) MacEachern, and later stepfather Michael S. MacNeil.

He married Ellen MacDonald of Grand Lake Road, and together they raised a family of seven children. Donald W. worked as a carpenter, and worked as a supervisor and estimator. He served in the Second World War. Deeply engaged in Gaelic cultural life, he served as chief of Comunn Gàidhlig Cheap Breatainn | The Cape Breton Gaelic Society.

Over the years Donald participated in a number of Gaelic language radio broadcasts. In the early 1980s he cohosted two radio céilidhs with Norman MacDonald which were jointly produced and broadcast by CBC Cape Breton and BBC Scotland as New Year's Eve specials. These joint broadcasts were a unique opportunity to unite Gaeldom on both sides of the ocean on a special night of the year.

He was widely admired for his deep knowledge of local history and family connections, and he was a gifted storyteller—preserving and sharing the cultural memory of his community with humour, warmth, and insight.