MacNeil of Barra – Buaidhi no bas (To conquer or die)

A land ownership storm is brewing on the islands of Barra and Vatersay in the Outer Hebrides. The late Ian MacNeil, 46th Chief of Clan MacNeil, announced in 2003 that he had agreed to donate the 9000-acre crofting estate on the islands to the Scottish Government. However it was made clear that if the islanders wanted the land at a later date, they were to be given the estate free of charge.

Over 1000 residents of the islands are involved in meetings to discuss the offer of possible community ownership made by the late chief. If the plan goes forward, the majority of the length of the Outer Isles would be community owned. The islanders also have in their sights 7000-acres already owned by the Government, which includes 440 crofts and two working quarries.

Barra councilor Donald Manford said the reason the islanders are considering community ownership is so the area can be administered locally. “There is a very clear view from many on Barra and Vatersay that they should take more control to engage in the development of important infrastructure on the islands. We can’t depend on the local authority to do these things as they did historically. If we don’t do it ourselves, nobody else will.”

When the MacNeil land transfer to the ministry was completed in 2004, the then rural affairs minister Ross Finnie said: “We intend to manage this land with a view to its transfer, along with our own properties, to community ownership at a time appropriate to the islanders of Barra.”

However, a statement released recently by the Scottish Government claims the opposite: “The Transfer of Crofting Estates Act sets out that any Government-owned land sold would be subject to the independent valuation applied by the District Valuer.”

In an article published by Herald Scotland Highland Correspondent David Ross, acclaimed Highland historian Professor Jim Hunter challenged the Government’s view, based on a piece of Tory legislation. “It’s not the case that the Transfer of Crofting Estates Act stipulates a purchase price based on valuation. What the act really says, in Section 1(4) is: ‘The disposal of property under this act shall be on such terms as the secretary of state, with the consent of the Treasury, may agree with the body acquiring the property’.” In this case, the Scottish Government now takes the place of the secretary of state.

Hunter also stated that the Tory Government foresaw circumstances where land could be passed for no monetary value when the Crofting Act was being passed in 1997. Lord Lindsay, then Scottish Minister, said flexibility was needed on a case by case basis between local crofters and the taxpayer. “The Government is prepared to consider transfer at no consideration, where this is necessary, to make sure the trust (community or crofting) gets off to a good start.”

Islanders have called for this issue to be cleared up as quickly as possible, as discussions regarding the future of Barra and Vatersay continue.

Clan MacNeil ties go back more than 1000 years on the islands. The land was granted to the Clan by Alexander, Lord of the Isles in 1427, and was held until the 19th century when the island suffered severe hardships. 40th Chief Roderick MacNeil sold the island to Colonel Gordon of Cunly in 1838, who cleared the island of inhabitants to make way for sheep farming. Displaced MacNeils ended up scattered across the globe; namely in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. When Roderick died in 1863 the chieftainship was passed to a cousin who had emigrated to Canada in the mass emigrations of 1802.

American citizen and trained architect Robert Lister MacNeil succeeded the chieftainship in 1915, and was able to purchase Barra and the ruinous Kismil Castle in 1937. He immediately began work restoring the castle, aided by a grant from the British Government. By the time of his death in 1970 the castle was restored, and since 2001 has been leased for a term of 1000 years to Historic Scotland at £1 per year and a bottle of Talisker Whisky.

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Read our 2010 article on the late Clan Chief Ian MacNeil here

And for more information on the MacNeils of Barra, check out our page at ScotClans.com

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Clan MacNeil

I came across some MacNeil legends, would be interested in finding out more about them, oranyone else knows any MacNeill of Barra/MacNeill of Colonsay tales?

• “There is a Saying in the Highlands of Scotland That in the long genealogy of the MacNeils, The biblical Noah is not to be found. For it is said; ‘The MacNeil had a boat of his own!’ “
• “Legend has it that every evening, the 35th Chief, Rory the Turbulent, would send a herald and trumpeter to the battlements of Kisimul to proclaim to each point of the compass: ‘Hear, oh ye people, and listen oh ye nations! The Great MacNeil of Barra having finished his meal, the princes of the world may dine!’ “
• The first incidence of the name Neil was not Niall Noigiallach, but instead it was Niul, and ancient ancestor of the Celtic race mentioned in the lineage of the Irish High Kings as held traditionally by Poets in Ireland. It is purported that Niul was a King of Scythia and at one point lived in Egypt and Married an Egyptian Princess (Scota, but not the same Scota married to Mil Espaine). Because of his relationship to the Egyptian Royal family and his work in regulating the flow of the Nile, it is said that the Nile river is named for him.

The post A collection of MacNeil Legends appeared first on ScotClans | Scottish Clans.

Iain MacNeil

Tuesday saw the sad loss of Iain MacNeil, chief of The MacNeils of Barra. He was 80. A popular Chief he will be missed greatly, especially by the people of Barra. He was a remarkable man who led one of the oldest Clans in Scotland.

Born in New York, Iain was also educated in the US, and was a graduate of both Vermont and Harvard universities. Later on he returned to Harvard, but this time to teach, and one of the students in his contract law course was the future President of the US, Barack Obama. It is said that during his time teaching at Harvard, he suggested to his wife Nancy that he may have America’s first black president in his class. And he turned out to be correct.

MacNeil had a home in Edinburgh, but he lived on Barra, where he was able to talk some Gaelic with the locals. He spent the past 35 years dividing his time between Barra and the US, and he held a law appointment at Edinburgh University. Iain was also a greatly liked and admired colleague on the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs. His title is one of the very few in Scotland which is preceded with the honorific ‘The’.

Kisimul Castle, Barra

The MacNeil put a lot of time and effort, and personal resources to help with the upkeep of Kisimul Castle, the clan’s seat on Barra. The castle dates back to the 1200s, and sits on an islet, surrounded by the sea. On one occassion, when faced with more repairs to the castle someone asked why he continued with it all, and Iain referred to his motto ‘Buaidh No Bas’, meaning to conquer or die, as an explanation to the perpetual effort put in to the castles restoration. However, in 2001, he leased the ancestral seat of Kisimul to Historic Scotland for 1,000 years in return for the annual sum of £1 and a bottle of malt whisky. In 2003 Iain MacNeil also transferred over 9,000 acres of his land to Scottish ministers with the intention that they will end up in the possession of the residents. At the time, a local councilor, Jessie MacNeil, was quoted as saying that this act placed the islanders in charge of their own destiny. She added,

“He could have put the island on the open market at a time when Scottish estates are changing hands for millions of pounds. That in itself speaks worlds about the man and how we see him.”

Western Isles MSP Alasdair Allan has paid tribute to the late Chief, calling him a remarkable person.

“Iain had a notable career as a professor of law in the States, a knowledge which he put to formidable use in defending the interests of Barra.”

“That could take many forms, whether it was in arguing for the interests of the island’s fishermen or its crofters. Indeed, to Iain’s immense credit he secured public ownership of the island itself.”

The MSP went on to say: “People in Barra, I know, are very sorry to hear of his passing.”

Iain MacNeil is survived by his wife, Nancy, their children Rory, Jenny, and Sandy, and grandchildren.

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