Ailean Ruairidh Aonghais Dhòmhnaill Uilleim

Ailean mac Ruairidh (1928 - 2016) was born and raised in New Boston, Cape Breton County, a community of Gaelic immigrants from the isle of Lewis. He later settled in Catalone and worked as a carpenter for many years at the nearby Fortress of Louisbourg. Allan was one of eight children 一 four boys and four girls 一 born to Roddy MacLeod (Ruairidh Aonghais Dhòmhnaill Uilleim) and Louise (née Wilberham). He married Kaye Bishop and together they had three children.

Allan learned many of his songs from his father who was an exceptional tradition-bearer with an extensive repertoire from different Gaelic genres. Among them were a great number of puirt-á-beul that he would sing for step dancers, including Allan’s mother who was a great dancer and singer in her own right. When Ruairidh Aonghais tired of singing puirt he'd play for the dancers on the Jew's harp. Allan recounted that his father’s singing was so popular that people would walk a great distance to hear him. Their house was often full of visitors in the evenings, so they kept stumps and planks in the kitchen to make extra seating.

In an interview for Cape Breton’s Magazine (), Allan recalls how he didn’t consciously ‘learn’ his songs, but absorbed them from listening to others: “I never really learned them, just listened to the rest. Father singing them and whoever’d be around singing songs. You’d pick them up so easy then.” Despite this, he remembers ruefully that as a boy he was more interested in being outside than picking up songs 一 “I could have learned a lot more than I did” 一 and said his brother Donald, who had a real interest in learning the songs, picked up many more than Allan himself did.

The considerable number of songs Allan did learn, however, he shared generously with others, enlivening many milling frolics over the years with his energetic, driving style of singing and his warm sense of humour. He is remembered by many as a kind individual and a fine singer. His voice, preserved through recordings at the Beaton Institute and in the Cape Breton Gaelic Folklore Collection, continues to bring enjoyment and inspiration to listeners today.