Recorded by Hamish Henderson and Peter Kennedy, these must be the oldest stories still in oral tradition in Britain. They were told by the blind bard, Alec Stewart, in his bender tent on the seashore outside Bettyhill near the Dunreay Nuclear Power Station in Sutherland. His family included two adopted children, said to be that of a local laird, and, in order to ensure that the stories were being kept in memory, Alec used to make a deliberate mistake and, sure enough, the youngsters would jump in straight away to correct him. Hamish believed these stories to be at least as old as the Homeric legends.

1. AM MAIRACH MAIRN EALACH (THE KNOWING SEAMAN) - part 1 - 14'01"

2. AM MAIRACH MAIRN EALACH - part 2 (with overlap) - 5'28"

3. Story told in English - 20'31"

4. OSSIAN AND HIS BRIDE - in Gaelic - 10'51"

5. OSSIAN - Told in English - 16'02"

Recorded by Hamish Henderson and Peter Kennedy, Bettyhill, Sutherland 3rd July 1955. Reprocessed at Soundpost Studios and first published on CD by Folktrax in 2003.