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Mary Matheson (Màiri ’ain ’ic Sheumais), with her grandson John, c. 1912. Mary Matheson, Sorley’s paternal grandmother, was a tradition bearer of rare quality. Her family brought with them many of the old songs of Kintail and Lochalsh, and she also knew songs from the areas of Skye in which they had lived. Sorley MacLean described the influence of his grandmother on him in this way: “I think that the first great artistic impact on me was my father’s mother singing some of the very greatest of Gaelic songs, and all in her own traditional versions.” (The MacLean family)