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Tha Naomh Ceasag ainmeil ann an dualchas nan Tròisichean agus Loch Laomainn. Rugadh e ann an Èirinn anns an t-siathamh linn. Tha sgeulachdan ann mu dheidhinn ann an Èirinn agus Alba. Tha iad ceangailte ri uisge agus bàthadh.

Ann an Èirinn, nuair a bha Ceasag òg, bha cuirm aig athair. Bha Ceasag na phrionnsa. Thàinig prionnsachan eile. Dh’fhàg na balaich am baile agus chaidh iad gu loch. Bha a h-uile duine aca, ach Ceasag, air am bàthadh. 

Bha athraichean nan gillean dhen bheachd gun robh a’ chùis amharasach. Bha iad ag ràdh gun do dh’adhbharaich Ceasag bàs nan gillean. Mhaoidh iad air athair Cheasaig gun loisgeadh iad an caisteal aige gu làr. Ge-tà, rinn Ceasag ùrnaigh fad na h-oidhche. Anns a’ mhadainn, bha na gillean uile beò a-rithist.

Thàinig Ceasag a dh’Alba. Bha e a’ fuireach air Innis Taigh a’ Mhanaich air Loch Laomainn. Tha Ceasag aithnichte cuideachd fada gu tuath air Loch Laomainn – ann an Inbhir Nis agus san Eilean Dubh. Tha bailtean air gach taobh dhen chaolas ainmichte air Ceasag – no Kessock ann am Beurla.

Thathar ag ràdh gun robh Ceasag air a’ bhàt’-aiseig an sin. Bha e a’ dol gu tuath. Bha am bàta làn daoine. Bha Ceasag a-nise na bhodach. Dìreach mus do ràinig iad an cladach, dh’èirich a’ ghaoth gu h-obann mar sgàl. 

Chaidh am bàta fodha. Chaidh a h-uile duine air bòrd a bhàthadh. A h-uile duine ach Ceasag. Ach rinn Ceasag ùrnaigh. Thàinig na daoine bàthte beò a-rithist. Air sgàth na mìorbhaile, chaidh an t-àite ainmeachadh ‘Aiseag Cheasaig’ no ‘Kessock Ferry’. Tha an t-ainm beò fhathast.

Tha caochladh shoithichean air daoine aiseag a-null ’s a-null thar a’ chaolais. Bha seirbheis aiseig ann eadar an còigeamh linn deug agus naoi ceud deug, ochdad ’s a dhà (1982). ʼS ann an uair sin a dh’fhosgail Drochaid Cheasaig.

Ann an ochd ceud deug, naochad ’s a ceithir (1894) bha droch thubaist ann. Chuir stoirm Bàt’-aiseig Cheasaig fodha. Rinn maoir-chladaich cobhair air na daoine. Chaill sianar am beatha – criutha agus maoir-chladaich – anns an tubaist. Is mòr am beud nach robh Naomh Ceasag ann airson an sàbhaladh.

Saint Kessock is famous in the heritage of the Trossachs and Loch Lomond. He was born in Ireland in the sixth century. There are stories about him in Ireland and Scotland. They are connected to water and drowning.

In Ireland, when Kessock was young, his father had a feast. Kessock was a prince. Other princes came. The lads left the settlement and went to a loch. They were all drowned, with the exception of Kessock.

The lads’ fathers reckoned that the matter was suspicious. They were saying that Kessock caused the death of the lads. They threatened Kessock’s father that they would burn his castle to the ground. However, Kessock prayed all night. In the morning, the lads were all alive again.

Kessock came to Scotland. He was living on Inchtavannach on Loch Lomond. Kessock is also known far to the north of Loch Lomond – in Inverness and the Black Isle. Settlements on either side of the channel are named for Ceasag – or Kessock in English.

It’s said that Kessock was on the ferryboat there. He was going to the north. The boat was full of people. Kessock was by now an old man. Just before they reached the shore, a blast of wind suddenly arose.

The boat sank. Everybody on board was drowned. Everybody except Kessock. But Kessock prayed. The drowned folk came alive again. Because of the miracle, the place was named ‘Aiseag Cheasaig’ or ‘Kessock Ferry’. The name lives on.

Various vessels have ferried people across and back over the narrows. There was a ferry service there between the fifteenth century and 1982. That’s when the Kessock Bridge opened.

In 1894 there was a bad accident. A storm sank the Kessock Ferry. Coastguards assisted the people. Six people lost their lives – crew and coastguards – in the accident. It’s a great pity that Saint Kessock wasn’t there to save them.