Rebecca's Reading Room“Herried Oot” by John Quinn
A poem arrived from across the ocean that carries the weight of centuries in its few short lines. Herried Oot by John Quinn tells of a Highland family evicted from their home in Tongue, Sutherland. It was the year 1855, a moment within the Highland Clearances that reshaped not only Scotland’s landscape but the destinies of those who sailed to Canada.
Written in the Scots language, Herried Oot gives voice to the voiceless. To women, children, and communities uprooted without mercy. Its rhythms echo the cries of the dispossessed, its words shaped by the very soil from which those people were torn.
John Quinn, a Dundonian poet, playwright, and guide at the Verdant Works Museum, has devoted years to preserving the stories of Scotland’s working people: mill workers, weavers, and the forgotten. Here, he turns his compassion northward, toward the Highlands and the long shadow of exile.
Reading Herried Oot aloud, one feels the ache of language itself, the strength of endurance in every syllable. John Quinn restores dignity to those who had none in their final moments on the land they called home. The Scots language here does more than tell a story. It keeps memory alive. It reminds us that heritage is not static; it breathes in the words we choose to remember.
HERRIED OOT
By John Quinn
(Published in Poetry Scotland, 2025)
Bairned times three
fower was dree*
no affy weel
affy no weel
should be abed
gart tae be redd*
awa like stour*
trauchled an puir
bum-bailies* staund
midgies on laund
hoose dichtit* oot
lick ma dowps telt
thare’s nae shame felt
nae ruif nae ruit
happed in a sheet
cowpt in the peat
Sutherland’s glaur
fae naur tae faur
man said na na
howdie* an a
deifies get slung
sic* fowk are dung
on tae the neist
for an unbeast*
barn wis bield*
fae nicht in field
Guid sauf the quean*
for aye unseen.
Glossary
• dree – suffering
• redd – tidied out
• stour – dust
• bum-bailies – sycophants
• dichtit – wiped
• howdie – midwife
• sic – such
• unbeast – monster
• bield – shelter
• quean – young woman
About the Poet
John Quinn is a Dundonian poet, playwright, and long-standing volunteer with the Dundee Heritage Trust. For over a decade, he has served as a guide at the Verdant Works Museum, where he shares the intertwined stories of Dundee’s people and the jute industry. His creative work, including the play O’ Halflins An Hecklers A Weavers An Weemin’, performed in the historic High Mill, honours Scotland’s industrial past and the everyday lives that shaped it. His poetry, often written in Scots, seeks to preserve both language and memory, capturing the resilience of those whose stories are too often lost to time.
Dundee, Scotland (Rebecca Budd Photo Archives April 28, 2015)For those who would like to hear more from John Quinn, I had the pleasure of speaking with him on Tea, Toast & Trivia about his play O’ Halflins An Hecklers A Weavers An Weemin’. It’s a conversation that brings history to life through storytelling, humour, and the enduring spirit of Dundee’s people. Listen to our conversation on Tea, Toast & Trivia
John Quinn on the Play, “O Halflins an Hecklers an Weavers an Weemin’” – Tea. Toast. & Trivia.
S6 E11: John Quinn on the Play, “O Halflins an Hecklers an Weavers an Weemin’”“To my Scots and Irish forebears who came to the Tay and the Jute and whose endurance and sacrifice bequeathed the precious gift of an education. To my family for copious love and laughter down the years and especially to my wife Marion, a Dundee girl, and as goes with the territory, a dancer in the rain.” John Quinn, Poet, Writer, PlaywrightWelcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in. I am your host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you.What does “O Halflins an Hecklers an Weavers an Weemin’ mean, you may ask? Come travel virtually with me to Dundee Scotland to meet up with John Quinn who wrote and produced the play that we will be discussing on this episode of Tea Toast and Trivia.I invite you to put the kettle on and add to this exciting dialogue!‘One of the things that I think a lot of people overlook is that the story of Dundee and jute is actually a worldwide story… Although it’s a story about Dundee, it’s also a story about the wider world.’ John Quinn, Poet, Writer, PlaywrightListeners, thank you for joining John and me on Tea Toast and Trivia. You can find information on John’s work with the Dundee Heritage Trust in a recent interview.A very special thank you, John for sharing your insights and your commitment to the city of Dundee and the memory of all those who came to the Tay and the Jute.Until next time we meet, dear friends, safe travels wherever your adventures lead you!Music by Epidemic SoundOld Scottish Town by Trabant 33 https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/POZUIxpxOG/Fountain of Miracles by Trabant 33 https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/hBLXkhqXiS/Some stories endure not because they are easy to hear, but because they must be remembered.
Until the next page turns,
Rebecca
#Dundee #HerriedOot #JohnQuinn #Poetry #PoetryInTheMorning #Scotland
Tea Toast & Trivia