THE COUNTESS OF DUNMORE’S REEL  (R8x32) Deirdre MacCuish Bark  RSCDS Book 49  1- 6 1s set, dance down through 3s & cast up to 2 nd  place (2s step up 3-4)  7- 8 1s set advancing, passing LSh, to face 1 st  corners  9-16 1s   turn   1 st    corners   RH,   pass   partner   RSh,   turn   2 nd    corner   RH,   pass partner   RSh   to   face   out   in   2 nd    place   own   sides   (corners   dance   for   4 bars each) 17-24 2s+1s+3s   dance   a   Chaperoned   Chain   Progression,   all   finishing   facing clockwise 25-28 3s+1s+2s chase clockwise ½ way 29-32 2s+1s+3s set & cross RH

In   the   mid   19 th    century,   the   Earl   of   Dunmore   owned   the   whole   of   the   Island   of Harris. After   the   passing   of   the   1872   Education   (Scotland) Act,   Catherine,   Countess Dowager   of   Dunmore,   gave   lands   in   favour   of   the   School   Board   of   the   Parish   of Harris    for    the    building    of    schools.   These    included    Finsbay    School,    which    was attended by members of Deirdre’s family. Lady   Catherine   Herbert   was   a   daughter   of   George   Herbert,   11 th    Earl   of   Pembroke and   his   second   wife,   the   former   Countess   Catherine   Vorontsov,   daughter   of   the Russian Ambassador to the Court of St. James's.   On   27   May   1836,   Lady   Catherine   married   Alexander   Murray,   Viscount   Fincastle   and   Fincastle   acceded   to   his father's   earldom   of   Dunmore   a   few   months   later.   In   1841,   Lady   Dunmore   was   appointed   a   Lady   of   the   Bedchamber to   Queen   Victoria   but   resigned   upon   her   husband's   death   four   years   later.   Following   his   death,   she   inherited 150,000   acres   of   the   Dunmore   estate   on   the   Island   of   Harris.   She   made   several   improvements   to   the   estate village, building a school and laying out a new village green. During   the   economic   difficulties   of   the   Highland   Potato   Famine   of   1846-7,   Lady   Dunmore   was   instrumental   in   the promotion   and   development   of   Harris   Tweed,   a   sustainable   and   local   industry.   Recognising   the   sales   potential   of the   fabric,   she   had   the   Murray   family   tartan   copied   in   tweed   by   the   local   weavers   and   suits   were   later   made   for the   Dunmore   estate   gamekeepers   and   gillies.   Proving   a   success,   Lady   Dunmore   organised   and   financed   training   in Alloa   for   the   Harris   weavers   to   remove   the   irregularities,   caused   by   dyeing,   spinning   and   weaving   (all   done   by hand),   in   the   cloth   to   bring   it   in   line   with   machine-made   cloth.   By   the   late   1840s,   a   London   market   was established, which led to an increase in sales of tweed. The   Dowager   Countess   died,   aged   71,   on   12   February   1886   at   Carberry   Tower,   Inveresk,   East   Lothian   and   was buried at Dunmore, Falkirk.