ANNIE SHIRER (1887-1915)

One doughty but little remembered champion of Doric language and tradition was Miss Annie Shirer of Kininmonth, who collected several hundred traditional rhymes and songs of the Mintlaw area, sharing 260 of them with collector Gavin Greig who dubbed her ‘a Kininmonth lassie’ when publishing her contributions in the ‘Buchan Observer’. She shared 130 more rhymes and riddles with the Rymour Club of Edinburgh, who published them 120 years ago as ‘Rhymes From Mintlaw District’, saying they were selecting only some of her ‘large and remarkable collection’. Annie died aged 38 in 1915, and her great treasury of Doric language and culture was lost in ‘two family clearouts’, but her great-nephew Jim Shirer [1937-2007] of Rho-Mar, 1 Cruikshank Court, Elrick, Westhill, was able to preserve much in a 2000 self-published booklet titled ‘Gaitherins Fae Annie’s Kist’.

Jim Shirer said ‘As a boy I spent my summer holidays at Eastloch Hills Kininmonth. I was allowed to rake through a box called Annie’s Kist. In this box were innumerable items from bygone days. Names I remember now meant nothing to me then, names like Peter Buchan, Gavin Greig, Jessie Saxby and John Stuart Mackie, places such as Shetland, Dysart, Edinburgh and even Whitehill New Deer, a mere twelve miles away were wondrous places to a young boy. This collection of poems and sayings is based on a small part of the collections of Annie Shirer, a cousin of my grandfather James Shirer (1856-1934) and are totally separate from the massive collection of material she gave to Gavin Greig.

‘Annie was born in Atherb, in the parish of New Deer, the illegitimate daughter of William Shirer (1826-1906) who was known as Auld Cyarnie, he farmed at Cairncummer Auchnagatt, and one of his servants Jessie Fiddes. It took me years to find her birth, as she was registered as Annie Innes Fiddes. As a baby she was taken to be brought up by my great grandparents Kenneth McLean Shirer (1822-1913) and Margaret Clarke (1835-18920) at Cairncummer.

‘Annie and her cousin Maggie Shirer, her senior by ten years, were dressmakers, and my aunt Mary often spoke of a lot of people visiting Loch Cottage at Kininmonth where the women got fitted. She also mentioned that Annie “raked the countryside” collecting various songs and poetry for Gavin Greig.
‘Annie was also a member of the Rymour Club in Edinburgh, a group of people interested in preserving the historical songs and literature of Scotland. This is obviously how Annie got in touch with some of the notable authorities in the field, who not only wrote to her but visited her at Kininmonth.

‘Of particular interest was her friendship with Millie, Duchess of Sutherland, another enthusiast, and daughter of the Earl of Roslyn, and in one volume of the “Transactions of the Rymour Club” we find Annie described as “The Marchioness of Mintlaw”.’ Jim Shirer

Here are just a few of Annie’s findings in ‘Gaitherins’.

Yule has come, and Yule has gane, and we’ve aa fared weel
Jockie’s at his flail again, and Jenny’s at her wheel
And aa the loons and lassiekies are back to the skweel

An, tan, toose Joe, up the hill and doon ye go
First a shoe, and syne a boot, I choose you oot [counting-out rhyme]

A little spark mak’s a muckle wark
And a little dog mak’s a muckle bark

It’s ye’ll shear the fur, lass, and I’ll shear the riggin
And when ye cam tae ca a ruck, it’s I’ll dae the biggin

Riddle – Four-an-twenty white kye stanin in a raw
Oot cam the red bull an lickit owre them aa [teeth and tongue]

When the breakers roar at Rattray Heid, we ken the weather will be gweed
But when they roar at Auchentum, aa the ill weather is to come

Wash weel your fresh fish, and scum weel your bree
For there’s mony a foul-fitted beast swims in the sea.

Annie Shirer was a remarkable collector of Doric and Scots lyrics, contributing invaluable songs and rhymes to the Rymour Club and the Greig-Duncan collection, preserving cultural heritage for future generations.

Her extensive work included gathering songs from her family and local singers for Gavin Grieg, and enriching the Rymour Club's archives with rhymes, riddles and proverbs, and delighting members with her diverse contributions to Scottish lyrical tradition.

Annie Shirer's Legacy

Yes, I will rescan the above images to make them look even.

The below page is from Volume 8 of the Greig Duncan Collection, showing finding references for songs Annie sent to Gavin Greig.

Rymour Club Contributions

Below are a few pages of the extensive rhymes, riddles, and proverbs Annie Shirer sent to be printed by the Edinburgh-based Rymour Club.

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