Taghadh à lèirmheas a chaidh a sgrìobhadh mun bhàrdachd aig Rob Donn, cuide ri beachdan air an clàradh air bhidio agus ann an earrainnean fuaim.
Grimble, I. (1979)
The World of Rob Donn, dd. 207-209

Many have speculated on what Rob Donn's achievement might have been, had he been literate in a society that could have given full rein to his talents. With his gift for dialogue and his eye for dramatic situation he might have been another Euripides among the Greeks, for he possessed the same irreverence for conventional beliefs combined with a strong moral sense, an equal preoccupation with what lies beneath the surface of human relations. His voice is perhaps the most modern and relevant today of all that still echo from the eighteenth century Highlands, and this might appear to place him in the company of Strindberg amongst modern dramatists. But while Rob Donn could shock his audience, both for fun and in the interests of truth, he was a well-balanced extrovert. Who looked into peoples hearts to explore what was good there, as well as what was evil or diseased.
...
Rob Donn remains the last and greatest of those who were in a position to interpret and illuminate the traditional, tribal way of life of Scotland before it was destroyed. His picture bears scant resemblance to those of the lowland writers who have ignored his testimony and that of other people who's circumstances they have described with such assurance. One thing the bard evidently could not bring himself to do. He left no comment on the disintegration of his society that he witnessed during his last years, and we can only guess at the reasons for his silence.
But the corpus of poetry that he did bequeath to posterity entitles him to the highest place amongst the illiterate peasant poets of Europe. "He stood alone," wrote Donald sage. "His poetry is history – a history of everyone and everything with which he at any time came into contact in the country in which he lived. His descriptions do not merely let us know what these things or persons were, but as things that are."
In that vanished world the figure of Rob Donn still stands, telling us of things that are.
Macleod, D. J. (1971)
"The Poetry of Rob Donn Mackay", Scottish Gaelic Studies, 12, dd. 19-20
The economy and precision of his language is one of the most distinctive features of Rob Donn's poetry. Strings of epithets – so common in bardic eulogy, invective and nature-description – are very rare in his work, as is ornamental language. His is a lean and athletic language, remarkably similar to that of the modern Gaelic poet, Iain Crichton Smith (reflecting the similar role of the intellect in their work). This language lacks music and richness, which are also virtues, but it would be silly to condemn it on that account – as has been done. Rob Donn's style is justified, for him, by its fitness for the task he sets it; it also has many important intrinsic merits, and, importantly, added a new dimension to Gaelic literature.
...
Rob Donn Mackay is an extremely important figure in the history of Gaelic literature, introducing new subjects, attitudes, and styles. But his work did not become a part of the mainstream of Gaelic tradition and so it is only quite recently that his influence has become at all detectable. The main importance of his work is intrinsic. He brought to his analysis of character and motives a subtle and exploratory mind and the gift of precise description. Consequently, he gives us an important picture in depth of Gaelic society at a period of crucial significance for the present day, and tells us much about basic human nature which is still relevant. Ultimately, Mackay's importance is that his poetry – unlike that of many more famous Gaelic poets – is still a useful tool in our attempts to create a better life for ourselves, and this – at the risk of my sounding simultaneously sententious and over-worldly – is the only valid test for any sector of human endeavour.
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Bha dà ghluasad sònraichte a' tachairt
Bha dà ghluasad sònraicht' air tòiseachdainn ann an Cataibh ri linn Rob Duinn. Bha e dol a sgapadh air feadh na Gàidhealtachd as na bliadhnaichean as dèidh sin 's dol a thighinn gu ìre, 's dòcha greis mhath an dèidh dha-san bàsachadh.
Agus 's e tè dhiubh sin an gluasad soisgeulach a bha tachairt as an eaglais. Bha daoine mar Rob Donn dhen a bheachd gu robh tòrr dha na ministearan a bh' aca, gur e, 's e clann uaislean a bh' annta, no fir-tac, mar as trice, 's bha iad a' coimhead air a' mhinistrealachd mar dìreach dòigh air a stìpein air airgead fhaighinn no air talamh fhaighinn, agus cha robh an taobh spioradail mar sin a dèanamh a leithid sin a dhragh dhaibh, sin a' faireachdainn a bh' aig daoine co-dhiù.
Agus bha 'n gluasad sin a' tòiseachdainn aig an àm sin agus sin a' rud a thàinig às a' linn as a dhèidh, an naoidheamh linn deug, thàinig e gu sgaradh as an eaglais, cuir air chois an Eaglais Shaor is rudan mar sin, ach bha e tòiseachdainn aig an àm ud agus 's e th' air cùl, tha mi smaoineachadh, gu robh Rob Donn a' sgrìobhadh an seòrsa bàrdachd mhoralta a bha e sgrìobhadh, gu robh daoine a' bruidhinn smaoineachadh tòrr air na ceistean sin – dè bha moralta, dè bha ceart, agus bhiodh e-fhèin a' bruidhinn ri tòrr dhe na ministearan. Chan e mhàin an fheadhainn a bha faisg air mar Mgr Murchadh Dòmhnallach, air a' robh e glè eòlach, 's bha 'd glè chàirdeil ri chèile, ach bhiodh e dol fad is farsaing, tha e coltach gu robh e san Eilean Sgitheanach aon turas a' coimhead air ministear ann a' sin, mar eisimpleir, 's bhiodh e tha mi cinnteach a' bruidhinn air na ceistean sin. 'S e sin aona ghluasad a bha dol aig an àm.
Gluasad eile bha glè chudromach cuideachd, 's e gu robh e feadh na Gàidhealtachd aig an àm sin. Tòrr dha na cinn-cinnidh a bh' ann, 's na h-uaislean a bh' ann bha 'd a' fàs air falbh bho na daoine gam buineadh iad. Glè thric bha iad a' fuireach tòrr dhan a' bhliadhna air falbh, 's dòcha ann an Dùn Èideann, 's dòcha fiù 's ann an Lunnainn, agus bhiodh iad a' gluasad às na bailtean sin am measg dhaoine eile aig an robh uaisleachd eile aig a' robh airgead, agus bha iad ag iarraidh gum biodh an aon dòigh-beatha aca fhèin 's bha iad a' coimhead air an oighreachd na h-oighreachdan aca mar dhòigh air airgead a dhèanamh a chumadh suas a ghabhas gun cumadh iad suas an dòigh-beatha a bha 'd a bha sin, agus cuideachd a' coimhead 's dòcha air na daoine a bh' air na h-oighreachdan mar cnap-starra as an rathad air iad a' dèanamh airgead prothaid a-mach às an talamh aca.
Bha iad air gluasad bho bhith nan ceann-cinnidh os cinn an t-sluaigh, 's a' toirt cuideachadh dhan t-sluagh 's a' toirt cuideachadh do chàch-a-chèile, gu bhith nan luchd-gnothaich, mar gum biodh, a bha sireadh airgead a dhèanamh. Nise, tha Rob Donn a' bruidhinn air a' sin mar eisimpleir, as a' mharbhrann ainmeil a rinn e do dh'Iain Mac Eachainn, ach cuideachd ann am bàrdachd eile. Tha e bruidhinn air na rudan sin na h-atharraichidhean sin a bha tachairt, mar a bha na daoine sin a' call ùidh as na daoine, 's a' call a cheangal a bh' aca ri na daoine, 's nach robh càil air an aire nach robh cogais ac' ach dìreach dèanamh airgead 's dèanamh airgead 's dèanamh airgead. Agus tha sin cudromach chionn 's ann ann an Cataibh a bu mhiosa a bha na fuadaichean, tha mi creidsinn.
Cha robh fuadaichean ann ri linn Rob Duinn fhèin, cha robh iad air tòiseachdainn, ach bha esan mothachail air gu robh atharraichidhean a' tachairt as an dòigh-beatha, agus tha fhios againn bhon uair sin gun tàinig na h-atharraichidhean sin gu rud gu math sgriosail as dèidh sin. As dèidh sin bha e mothachail air rudan a bha tachairt nach tàinig 's dòcha gu ìre gu greis as a dhèidh, an dèidh a bheatha-san, ach bha e bha e mothachail chionns sin an seòrsa fear a bh' ann, bha sùil gheur aige 's bha e coimhead, 's air an inntinn gheur aige, 's bha e coimhead air dè bha tachairt mun cuairt air.
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