the birlinn had a significant symbolic and thematic place in gaelic literature. examples can be found in the songs of màiri nighean alasdair ruaidh (mary macleod) (c.1615 – c.1705), an important poet in the hebridean lordship of the macleods. in a lament she describes a ship wrecked by storm, with the wind ripping the sail in a way that defied the strength of the crew: