• In Memoriam
• Message from COSCA
• Dates for 2014
• Scottish DNA
• Scots of the Antarctic
• Clan Contributions
• Scottish Ambassadors

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The year 2012 is the quarter centenary of the year of the birth of James Graham, fifth Earl and first Marquis of Montrose. He was one of Scotland’s most romantic and charismatic heroes. He was Scotland’s finest battlefield commander and earned for himself a reputation in his own lifetime as one of the finest generals in Europe. His political philosophy was centuries ahead of his time and he was something of a poet as well. His famous stanza;

“He either fears his fate too much,
Or his deserts are small,
That dares not put it to the touch,
To win or lose it all.”

could be expressed in modern English as “who dares wins”. General Sir Bernard Montgomery quoted this verse to inspire the troops of 21st Army Group on the eve of D Day, the greatest military enterprise ever.

James Graham was born to be the head of the powerful Graham family and he was educated conventionally for a young nobleman of the time by private tutor at home, at college in Glasgow and, after his father died in 1626, at St Salvator’s College, St Andrews. Montrose completed his education with a three year tour of the France and Italy, during which time he attended the School of Arms in Angers. On his return to Scotland in 1636 he found the country stirring in revolt against the King Charles I’s inept attempts to reintroduce episcopacy. Montrose, who was a member of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland was actively sought out to support the Kirk faction. He was an early and enthusiastic signatory of the National Covenant of 1638 and a member of the Table of Nobles on the ruling Committee of Estates of the Scottish Parliament. Montrose even commanded a Covenant army in the First Bishops’ War. However, over time Montrose became estranged from the Covenant movement and deeply suspicious of the political ambitions of the Earl of Argyll. He was principally concerned that the Covenanters were usurping the legitimate powers of the King over matters temporal. By 1643 Montrose followed his conscience and offered his sword to the King.

Charles I was able to offer Montrose his commission as his Lieutenant in Scotland but little else and eventually in August 1644 Montrose was reduced to invading Scotland with just two companions. Having reached the central highlands, he met up with a brigade of Irish musketeers previously promised by the Earl of Antrim and together with the Atholl clans he had an army. On 1st September 1644 he met and defeated a Covenant army which outnumbered him three to one at Tippermuir outside Perth. Other victories followed and he defeated five further covenant armies at Aberdeen, Inverlochy, Auldearn, Alford and Kilsyth. After his victory at Kilsyth in August 1645, Montrose called a Scottish Parliament to meet in Glasgow in October 1644. However, before it could meet Montrose, whilst recruiting a royalist army in the Borders, was comprehensively defeated at Philiphaugh by a Covenant army which outnumbered him six to one and which had been hastily withdrawn from England.

Montrose remained at large in Scotland but could not muster a significant force again and was ordered into exile by King Charles I in 1646. On hearing of the execution of Charles I in January 1649 Montrose offered to raise an army in the highlands in support of Charles II. He returned from exile in 1650 but the northern clans did not rise as expected. Montrose was defeated at the Battle of Carbisdale and was captured shortly afterwards. He was bought as a prisoner to Edinburgh and on 21st May 1650 he was hung drawn and quartered on the orders of the Scottish Parliament. He remains one of the most charismatic and romantic heroes in Scottish who deserves to be remembered in this anniversary year.

A Service of Commemoration

for the Life of the

1^st Marquis of Montrose

(1612-1650)

A Service of Commemoration will be held for the life of James Graham, 5^th Earl and 1^st Marquis of Montrose at St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh on Monday 21^st May 2012.  The Service will be led by the Very Reverend Gilleasbuig Macmillan, Minister of St Giles.  Admission will be by ticket only and tickets, at no cost, can be obtained from the Secretary of the 1^st Marquis of Montrose Society.

An application form can be downloaded here.

By  James Irvine Robertson

By 1400 the population was well settled. The isles had a strong dash of Viking blood but the Picts and the Scots had joined together and absorbed the more ancient Celtic tribes that had preceded them.

The Pictish kingdoms had evolved into earldoms. Royal power waxed and waned according to the effectiveness of the occupant of the throne. In the west the Lordship of the Isles was at its zenith. Great barons controlled much of the Lowlands but authority was weak in the Highlands and the people banded together in clans for mutual protection. Swords were the ultimate arbiters for the control of land. The people of the clans were those who were already living in its territory, but this was not necessarily true of the chiefs.

One of the best documented descents of clan chiefs is the Clan Donnachaidh – the Robertsons. They were Scots, incomers from Ireland during the Dark Ages. Their ancestors had been the Celtic earls of Atholl. In 1390 the clan tumbled into history when they joined with their Stewarts neighbours to raid Angus. By then the chiefs’ family had been in situ for, perhaps, 500 years and their blood had long mingled with the indigenous population to create a kinship grouping. It was the same with the Stewarts. In 1816 4000 people in Atholl knew of their descent from Alexander Stewart, the Wolf of Badenoch. All over the Highlands the chiefs’ blood mingled with that of their clan.

Some chiefs likely emerged from the ancient Pictish aristocracy, particularly in the far north – Sutherland, Mackenzie, Macrae, for example. Others were Gaels from Ireland – Ross, Lamont, Macgregor. Some come down from Vikings – Clan Donald, Macdougall, Macalister, Macleod, Sinclair. A great slew of them were continental adventurers who came north, particularly during the reign of David II, obtained estates and went native – Stewart, Lindsay, Fraser, Menzies, Murray, Gordon. The Campbells seem to have been of British stock from the kingdom of Strathclyde.

Sir Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk wrote that 30,000 Scots could trace their descent from King Robert Bruce, and that a million other Scots descended from him but could not show it. A glance at the record reveals that descendants of Margaret, daughter of Robert II, passed Bruce’s blood to the Macdonalds of Sleat, of Antrim, of Keppoch, of Glencoe, of Glengarry, of Clanranald, the Mcleans of Duart, the Sutherlands, the Macintoshes, the Macphersons, the Camerons and the Mackays. Granddaughters of Robert II married Duncan, Ist Lord Campbell and Fraser of Lovat. The Robertsons, Murrays, Gordons, the Drummonds, the Lindsays, Lyons, Dunbars, Hays, Douglas, Graham, Buchanans were all soon linked to the royal house of Stewart. And every subsequent marriage between members of such a family and another would carry the genes of Bruce into fresh kinship networks.

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Sunday 24^th July – A special civic Church service at 11.00 a.m. in the Kirk of St. Nicholas, Aberdeen, attended by most of the same people who were at the Dinner the evening before, together with the normal congregation of the Kirk. At the service, the first lesson was read by David Irvine of Drum and the second lesson by Sir Lachlan Maclean of Duart. Towards the end of the service, there took place a formal peace-making between the two Chiefs involving the exchange of swords.

The Harlaw battlefield and Monument is situated near the town of Inverurie, about 15 miles from the city of Aberdeen.

Six shields representing the following families and organisations have been added to the monument.

• The City of Aberdeen – some 40 citizens were killed in defence of the City
• Davidson – Robert Davidson the Provost of Aberdeen, killed in the battle
• The Earl of Mar – In overall command of the Lowland forces
• Maclean of Duart – Army commander of the Highland forces trying to take the City. Killed in the battle
• Donald of the Isles – In overall command of the Highland forces
• Irvine of Drum – Army commander of the Lowland forces defending the City. Killed in the battle.

Interestingly, the Maitland family who farm this land, known as Balhagarty farm, have been farmers on the same land since well before 1411, the year of Harlaw, and the present farmer, Robert Maitland, has been an interested and enthusiastic supporter of the project since it was first mooted over two years ago.

At 1.30 p.m. there was a short ceremony of re-dedication of the Monument, words spoken by the Lord Provost of the City of Aberdeen and the Provost of Aberdeenshire. David Irvine of Drum and Sir Lachlan Maclean of Duart were also asked to say a few words of reconciliation between the two families.

After lunch at Inverurie Academy, The Irvines of Drum and the Macleans of Duart returned to the battlefield, where flagpoles had been set up with the two family banners flying in a very strong wind.  There we held a private ceremony, just for the two families, with descriptions of the battle read in both Gaelic and English. The banners were dipped to half-mast out of respect for Sir Alexander Irvine of Drum and Hector Maclean of Duart, who both died of their wounds following a personal contest between the two Army Commanders six hundred years earlier. The ceremony concluded with another exchange of swords between the two present day Chiefs.

Family histories recount how for some generations after the battle, such a ceremony took place as a sign of reconciliation. However, many generations having passed, we decided that it would be appropriate on this special day, to reinstate this custom.

David Irvine of Drum.

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From the 24th June to the 4th July I had the honour and the pleasure to be Chief Guest for Scottish Heritage Week in New South Wales, Australia. These events were organised by the Scottish Australian Heritage Council whose members do an excellent job promoting and encouraging Scottish culture, tradition and heritage throughout Australia.

Alexander Brodie on parade

Scottish Heritage Week started off with the Grand Bannockburn Ball in Sydney. The Ball is a great favourite with Clan Broun, and, led by Sir Wayne and Lady Broun, the guests were piped in with banners before dancing the night away.

Later I joined His Excellency Mr Michael Bryce, husband of the Australian Governor General, at the Aberdeen Highland Games in to Hunter valley, New South Wales. Aberdeen is set in beautiful countryside, cattle and horse country with rolling hills and lovely old homesteads. His Excellency was made Chieftain and the games attracted sunny weather and a large crowd. I found the standard of competition, in the bands, the heavies and the tug of war to be first class, but I was most impressed with the warmth and friendliness of the locals from Aberdeen. After the games we all met up in the pub and, as the schooners of beer began to flow, the pipers and drummers pulled out their instruments and we were treated to an impromptu competition and display of talent.

Throughout Scottish week in Sydney several lectures on the ancient Pics, the Dál Riata, and the Vikings were given by Dr Alex Woolf. Dr Woolf, also a guest of Scottish Heritage Week, is professor of Scottish medieval at St. Andrews University. His passion for ancient Scottish history was contagious and his lectures were some of the highlights of these events. As a Scottish historian myself, I was struck by the degree of interest and the intelligence of the questions by the audience in these lectures.

There was a Kirkin’O’the Tartan in the sandstone Presbyterian church of Annandale, Sydney, and a Kirkin’O’the Tartan in the old wooden church of Aberdeen NSW. The parishioners brought their tartan and banners to be blessed and the churches were draped in tartan scarves, rugs and even the odd tie, and with further clan banners lined up around the altar, the whole ceremony made for some of the most colourful services I have attended.

With the assistance of the Mayor of Mosman, Anne Connon, I inspected the Scotland Australian Cairn in Mossman and found it to be in good shape. Set in spectacular surroundings, overlooking the Sydney bay, this monument is made from a patchwork of different types of stones individually sent from all the parishes of Scotland.
Other events included a lunch at the Sydney Parliament House, a luncheon at the Tattersalls Club with an informal Clan Brodie get together, and a cèilidh after the Aberdeen Highland games. One thing was for sure, the Australians knew how to enjoy themselves.

Clan Brodie Oz

I was pleasantly surprised to find the Scottish spirit so strong in Australia with a passionate clan felling, and I found the Scottish Australian Heritage Council to be superb organisers of a fantastic series of events; one was even suspicious that they were responsible for the good weather throughout. However, there is some sad news to report: Valery Smith officially announced her retirement as director of the Scottish Australian Heritage Council. Valery is well known throughout Scotland, its clan community and diaspora and we hope that, while she may be retiring from her official duties, she will continue to grace us with her presence and personality at future Scottish events.

Good morning. I have been asked to speak about the strengths and aspirations of the Scots abroad in the worldwide Scottish community as it establishes links to twenty-first century Scotland.

There are approximately 5 million Scots in Scotland and about 40 million Scots world-wide and the debate in Scotland is whether Scotland is a country of five million people or a global community of forty-five million Scots.

One of the great strengths of the Scottish Diaspora is a record of past and present accomplishments that are dramatically out of proportion to their numbers in all the countries to which they have emigrated. These accomplishments are in all fields of endeavour: science, literature, philosophy, the military, politics, the arts, diplomacy and the business world.

For purposes of our discussion, I have selected four countries where they have settled, followed by brief comments regarding their success. The numbers I have used have been very difficult to find and if there were two or more sources, they were often contradictory. Given the way Scots discuss these matters, this should give great credibility to the numbers presented.

Canada

Canada has a population of approximately 33 million, with about 4 million Scots, or about 14% of the population – the third largest ethnic group behind the English and French.

The Scots were prominent in the founding and development of all their provinces. Nova Scotia and Cape Breton have the highest concentration with pockets of Gaelic still spoken and with the purest of early Scottish music.

The first two Canadian Prime Ministers were native Scots – John A. MacDonald and Alexander MacKenzie. MacDonald was the new nation’s principal founder. Since the Confederacy was formed in 1867, eight men and one woman of Scottish ancestry have been prime ministers covering more than two-thirds of the time. Five different Scots founded five of the first six colleges.

There are more than 50 Clan societies and a great number of other Scottish societies particularly Burns Clubs and 64 games and festivals. Ontario Province has 27 games alone.

All the Provinces in Canada have Provincial Tartans.

In Canada there are four organisations representing the Clans, and there are other Scottish organisations that assist in improving communication between the groups.

Clans and Scottish Societies of Canada in Ontario was founded in 1976. The federation of Scottish Clans in Nova Scotia started in 1982, There is the United Council of Scots of Atlantic Canada and on the West Coast, Sons of Scotland, who recently bought a centre for better communication between organisations. These are centres of information with quarterly newsletters and other means to enhance communication within the Scottish community. There are 14 Scottish Regiments in the Canadian Army Reserve.

Australia

Australia has a population of 21.5 million, with 1.5 million claiming Scottish ancestry. The early history of Australia is practically all Scots. During the first nine decades of the Commonwealth, Scots have been prime ministers for more than half of the time. The face of five Australian bank notes feature Scottish individuals who made a difference in the history of the country.

There are about 75 clan societies, with a great number of other groups also listed. The Scottish Australian Heritage Council, formed in 1981, is the centre for communication among the various organisations.

There are several regional tartans and one of the world’s largest Highland games is at Bundamoon, which is one of about 19 games in Australia.

New Zealand

The population of New Zealand is 4.3 million, with 12,791 Scots population. Scots were prominent in the settlement of New Zealand. There are approximately 40 clan societies as well as numerous other Scottish Societies listed by the Combined Council of Scottish Societies in Auckland, which was formed to promote communication among the various Scottish groups.

New Zealand Scottish culture, which is quite a bit different from the culture at home, is very much dominated by pipe bands, Scottish Highland dancing and several Highland Games.

United States

The 1990 census indicates that there are about five million Scots and about five million Scots-Irish for a total population of around ten million, or about two percent of the population. The five largest states with Scottish descendants are listed below with approximate figures from various sources:

California – 542,000. About ten percent of the US Scots live in California, with Scots-Irish 1,193,170. Florida has 294,000; Texas – 285,000; Michigan – 224,000; North Carolina – 255,825.

The United States was build by the Scots as far as we American Scots are concerned, and for an ethnic group making up about two percent of the population we have a greatly disproportionate presence for our numbers.

Woodrow Wilson, one of our US Presidents with Scottish ancestry, said “Every line of our strength in our history is a line coloured by Scottish Blood”.

The Highlander Magazine in its Annual Directory lists 170-plus clans and family associations plus 285 other Scottish societies such as the St. Andrew Societies, the Caledonian societies, Burns Clubs, local Scottish societies and societies with special Scottish interests. All fifty states have at least one society with other than clan connections.

There are about 225-plus Highland games and Scottish Festivals in the United States. The largest number of games is found in California, with about 28 games in Pleasanton across the Bay from San Francisco, probably the largest in the US with about 50-to-60 attendees, followed by the Texas Scottish Games in Arlington with about 45,000. Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina with 45,000 to 50,000, and Loon Mountain in New Hampshire and the Stone Mountain games in Georgia having about the same figures. These games and several others with fewer attendees have around 100-plus Clan representatives at their games.

We now have a Scottish Caucus in the US Congress, both in the House of Representatives and in the Senate. There are 36 states that have an official state tartan. All our Armed Forces have either an official or unofficial tartan.

In 1969 during the inauguration of President Nixon, a news commentator with a Scottish bent, watching the ceremony on television, mentioned that on the inaugural platform, standing together, were President Lyndon Johnson, President Richard Nixon and American Evangelist Billy Graham – all descendants of the Border Reivers families, known for their lawlessness family feuds, lifting cattle and stealing women. Now 300 years later they are running and influencing one of the most powerful countries in the world.

The following is an anecdote of our strength in science taken from Duncan Bruce’s book “The Mark of the Scots” which every Scot ought to have in his library.

During the early part of Nixon’s Presidency, the United States landed a manned spacecraft on the moon. Neil Armstrong stepped off the ladder of the spacecraft and became the first man on the moon. He then gets a call from President Nixon, who’s family came from Dumfries-shire via Northern Ireland to the US (those we call “Scots-Irish” in the US), congratulating him on his accomplishment. Both were members of the Armstrong clan and might have been distant kinsman.

The conversation between Armstrong and Nixon was made possible by Alexander Graham Bell, another Border family and Gugliemo Marconi, whose mother was of Scots-Irish ancestry. And if was all shown on television – invented by another Scot, John Logie-Baird. And just to make sure that things would go right, five of the original seven American astronauts were of Scottish ancestry, and five of the original 12 men who have walked on the moon had Scottish ancestry.

Another astronaut on that flight with Armstrong with Scottish ancestry was Edwin Aldrin. On a subsequent trip Alan Bean brought the MacBain tartan to the moon and in 1991 Jerry Ross wore a Clan Ross tartan patch into space. Astronaut Navy Captain Laurel Clark was an avid Scot descendant who died when the Columbia spacecraft broke up on its return flight. She had arranged with NASA to have “The Black Bear” and “Amazing Grace” recoded by The Black Watch Pipe Band played as a morning wake-up music during Columbia’s flight.

As my children said: “How cool is all that!”

It has been said that if you took all the Scots out of the world it would collapse. So one can say of the Scottish Diaspora that it is of great strength and as the old saying goes “There is no Scot so Scottish as a Scot abroad.” We Scots in the Midwest of America relate to Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon residents who state that “All our women are beautiful, our men are good-looking and all of our children are above average.”

So what strengths do Clan Societies have that would help Scotland be part of that worldwide community in the 21st Century. Here are some of the things the Clan Societies do: They help individuals establish a connection with Scotland and a Scottish clan affiliation. They introduce that individual to their Clan history and to the history of Scotland that has been lost or forgotten by the family.

They help individuals research their family genealogy and point out the resources for ancestry research.

They provide advice on things Scottish such as Scottish weddings, dinners, recipes, funerals, a Burns supper, what to wear, when to wear it, where to buy it, how much to pay for it and how to wear it. “No, the pleats go in back”.

They introduce him or her to the Scottish movement in the community.

They help raise funds for the preservation and restoration of former and current clan properties in Scotland – 20,000 acres in the Clan Donald Lands Trust, now enjoyed by all Scots worldwide, plus additional acreage recently acquired.

The foster new pride in the individual with his family name, increasing his self-esteem as a result of his finding out that despite his humble circumstances, he is a member of an ancient and honourable family with the blood of heroes and greatness running through his veins.

They create a pool of educated, motivated individuals who are willing to volunteer countless hours of time and money to support the clan, to hold office in the clan and accept the responsibility of helping to administer it and increase its presence in the Scottish movement and happy to further the clan, other societies, and Scotland’s interests in the world community.

The members of the 170 Clan societies and those of the 285 other societies in the US are the main pillars in supporting the 250-plus games in the United States. All volunteers.

The clans have created a huge clan network of members all over the United States with members in every state, most of whom attend their local games. Some of these games attract 40,000 to 60,000 attendees. The combination of the large nationally intermingled clan networks and the numerous locations of the game sites have assisted in providing a venue for their members to purchase Scottish goods and provide places, like no other, for Scottish merchants to sell “Scotland the Brand.”

So what are some of the aspirations of the Clans relative to their chiefs, The Standing Council, Scottish Government agencies, and other organisations.

I will mention some suggestions I have received for this occasion. Some of these are quite incendiary and maybe we should have a fire drill before continuing, but please remember I am only the messenger. We have no desire to change ancient customs – only help create new ones.

The Clan Chiefs

Treat overseas clan societies as an integral part of the clan in the traditional sense of belonging.

The head of each clan organisation outside of Scotland should be officially recognised by the Clan Chief and appointed to be his personal representative during his or her term of office. This adds much prestige to the office.

The Chiefs should visit the countries where they have member associations as often as possible to encourage this, the Clans should pay or help pay for the trip where possible. Chiefs should let the Clan know when they are in a country so that a dinner or other gathering could be held.

Chiefs should bring the heir apparent along on visits to his clans outside of Scotland whenever it is convenient and affordable so that his clan gets to know his possible successor and he or she gets to know them. Do some short-term fostering and have the heir apparent stay for a short time with some of the overseas families.

Help find a certified genealogist who is familiar with the intricacies of the clan history and who can train a local clan genealogist in the clan history and help the clansmen draft petitions to the Lord Lyon for Coat of Arms.

Chiefs at games should make a point of taking a walkabout to visit all of the clan tents or as many as possible. It gives the people in other clan tents a good feeling.

The Chief might participate in the board meetings at the Annual General Meeting of overseas clans either personally or by telephone or video conferencing where the electronics permit his hearing everything that is being said and can be heard by everyone when talking.

Possible use of Facebook and Twitter pages to communicate with clan leadership worldwide. This is one of the principal means of communication among youth around the world.

An annual statement published in the Clan newsletter of the Chief’s views of things that happened during the year, including the Chief’s future expectations of the Society.

The Chiefs could help persuade the local tourist councils covering the clan’s traditional lands to work with members of the clan to come and visit the clan’s former lands and buildings. Provide a list of good quality places to stay with reasonable prices in these same areas.

Chiefs could persuade their local tourist councils to visit the US and attend some of the most popular games in the US and Canada in order to promote their tourist areas.

The Chief in each clan to persuade the clan to have a Standard Manual of Operating Procedures and Policies which the Chief might help in drafting.

Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs

Wouldn’t it be interesting if each clan had a worldwide headquarters, providing access for their representatives and commissioners from any of the countries where the clan had a presence.

What about a worldwide Council of Scottish Clans and Associations with permanent headquarters and a website and a full-time administrator paid by all the clan organisations.

Provide a Mediation Service to resolve internal conflicts in the clans and associations. Help avoid the formation of two or more associations.

I have just attended the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games in North Carolina, which I mentioned earlier. Their profit each year is substantial and goes to the non-profit organisations in their surrounding communities and to scholarships so that the children in these rural areas can go to college. To run those games, they have over 500 volunteers and a couple of part-time paid employees who work part-time around the year. All the Clans and the 250-plus games and other US Organisations except two, that I am aware of, are all volunteers.

We all pay a great deal out of our pockets for the privilege of working for the Scottish Movement in the US.

Establish working committees among Standing Council members and later include delegates from member clans to participate in the committee work.

Recognition of good works done by the clan societies in Scotland, such as donations to the Culloden restoration project, donations to reforestation.

Recognition of the thousands of hours of volunteer time put in by clan society members. Some clan societies do this, but not all of them.

In arranging Clan tours, include properties of The National Trust for Scotland as well as Historical Scotland and others such as the National Museums of Scotland and the many nature preserves.

What about an International conference every two or three years held in different countries with workshops on “Best Practices” and leadership techniques?

Work with clans and games to get commercial airlines to have a presence at the larger games with offers of most favourable fares during the off-seasons of spring, fall and winter.

Help persuade local Tourist Councils to introduce their Scottish tourist areas at some of the most popular games in the US and Canada.

Standing Council and Scottish Government agencies (Lord Lyon’s Office) streamline and update the process of having a clan chief recognised, not to weaken the selection process but to make it more workable in this day and age.

Persuade the larger, better organised clans to help the smaller or newer clans get organised. Help sponsor “How-To” forums for all clans.

Standing Council to have individuals who stay in touch with Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and US Clan and Society Associations such as COSCA, CASSOC and the other societies who publish newsletters about what is going on in their country.

Chiefs of the Standing Council have an annual or semi-annual conference devoted to discussing common problems. This could be done telephonically.

In the United States we have two Scottish forums – one presented by The Caledonian Foundation USA, Inc. each year which presents speakers from the US and Scotland to discuss topics of special interest – similar to a “think tank” program. The other forum is put on by the Illinois St Andrew Society, probably the largest Scottish Society of its kind in the US. In conjunction with the American-Scottish Foundation, Inc. and is called the North American Scottish Leadership Conference. The program provides a blend of Best Practices in the running of a Scottish organisation, to include such topics as How to pick the best Board of Directors, How to increase your membership, How to raise money, How to develop good public relations. These “How To programs” are mixed in with presentations from Scottish universities, Scottish Government Agencies, private Scottish organisations that deserve a presence and support in the United States as well as American-Scottish organisations in the US.

The 1987 Symposium of the Caledonian Foundation USA saw the formation of The Scottish Coalition USA, an organisation of the seven major Scottish organisations in the United States, and the creation of Tartan Day observance in the US. The American-Scottish Foundation helped acquire funding for both the New York Tartan Day weekend and the first observance of Tartan Day in Washington DC. both conferences had wonderful programs where US Scots were able to listen to outstanding presentations by Scottish speakers on a variety of subjects – cultural, business, as well as Scottish government organisations. The interest and input of Scottish Government agencies and Scottish companies and other organisations as well as that of the US organisations have made this program an outstanding success in terms of the attending organisations acquiring best Practice Techniques and getting to know the native Scot. So how can The Standing Council participate in and help facilitate these successful programs to a worldwide clan audience?

The Standing Council and the Clans help support funding that would be used to create a Centre for Scottish Studies in countries where none now exists, using Canada’s Guelph University as a model.

Scottish Government Agencies

Scottish Tourist Boards and Visit Scotland could have representatives in other countries that are not connected to or working for private tourist companies.

Visit Scotland could attend the four or five major games in the US just to evaluate the potential for Scottish tourism.

The University of the Highlands and Islands could have a Tourist industry training program. Students could be placed in intern programs where they would come to the United States and Canada to see the potential for Scottish tourism.

Plan to support The Scottish District Families Association that was created to recognise the families who were not in a Clan or Family Association but whos families were known to have lived in certain Districts of Scotland. The Districts would have an association that would be open to families who had traditionally come from that District. This would give these families a stronger, more meaningful focus regarding their connection to Scotland – somewhat similar to a Clan affiliation. The Council of Scottish Clans and Associations Inc., and the Scottish District Families Association have a computer bank of potential members that have been collected at the games over many years.

“No question the birthplace of valor-crazy. Quixotic, unquestioned valor; the blind valor that drove the Clansmen, hungry and freezing and exhausted at Culloden

“But let’s face it, valor often squandered in a history just as full of schemes and betrayal, blood feuds, cowardice, greed for land.

“Yet they have obviously passed on to us something extraordinary and mysterious, something magnificent and magnified over the generations, and romanticised, and sentimentalised and commercialised. It’s an industry now, but as real as our needs are real, as Scottish pride, something that transcends all the nastiness there may have been in history.

“It is mysterious but it is real enough to bring us all here: to reassemble your membership annually for 230 years – incredible, with misty eyes and proud hearts to celebrate a piece of each of us that resides outside the land we live in because, in a sense, we of Scottish descent inhabit not only this real land, but as well a psychic land where we are all brave and daring and loyal and chivalrous, where we are better than ourselves.

“And if we boast to tell the rest of the world that this is Scottishness, well, we’re a’right for a’ that”

Thank you, ladies and gentleman, for your attention.

-Robert McWilliam

None of them had inherited their success but, if anything, it was their backgrounds, and the need to be taken seriously, that spurred them on in their chosen careers. The late John MacLeod of Macleod, 29th Chief of Clan Macleod, trained as an opera singer, and the late Ninian Brodie of Brodie, 25th Chief of Clan Brodie, was an accomplished Shakespearian actor. Both fulfilled their Chiefly duties with enormous dedication.

The talents inherent in good Scottish genes are there for all to see, not least in the current generation. The 15th Earl of Home, son of Lord Home of the Hirsel, is Chairman of Coutts Bank. John MacLeod’s son, Hugh, 30th Chief of Macleod, is a freelance director of film and television feature films. Of Sir Iain’s two sons, the eldest, the 24th Earl of Errol, 32nd Chief of Clan Hay and Hereditary Lord High Constable of Scotland, an Honorary Colonel in the Territorial Army and today a marketing and computer consultant while his younger brother, the Hon. Peregrine Moncreiffe of that Ilk, Chief of the Name of Moncreiff, is one of the City of London’s leading financial experts.

And the threads of ability continue to emerge as you sift through the ranks, from Danus Skene, Chief of the Name and Arms of Skene, who has been the principal of schools in Israel and Kenya, to the Reverend Peter Lamont of that Ilk, Chief of the Name and Arms of Lamont, a parish priest in New South Wales.

Until only recently, the 13th Duke of Argyll, Chief of Clan Campbell, was the Brand Ambassador for Chivas Brothers in Australasia; the 15th Duke of Hamilton, Head of the House of Hamilton, was a test pilot with Scottish Aviation before becoming the designer of off-road vehicles for third world countries; the 20th Earl of Caithness, Chief of Clan Sinclair, is the only hereditary peer to have worked as Minister of State in the British Government departments of the Home Office, the Environment, and the Treasury, and the South Africa domiciled11th Duke of Atholl, Chief of Clan Murray, is a land surveyor who helped to build the Kariba Dam.

The Chiefs of Clan Donald are a kenspeckle collection: the 8th Lord Macdonald of Macdonald, High Chief of Clan Donald, is a successful Isle of Skye hotelier; Sir Iain Macdonald of Sleat, 25th Chief of Sleat, works as Chartered Surveyor in Land Management; Aeneas MacDonnell of Glengarry, 23rd Chief of Glengarry, is a retired metalurgist; Ranald Macdonald of Keppoch, whose claim to the Keppoch chiefship was recognised by the Lord Lyon in 2006, was previously a hearing aid specialist and remains an accomplished singer, while Ranald Macdonald, Younger of Clanranald, son and heir to the 24th Chief and Captain of Clanranald, owns the fashionable London restaurant Boisdale’s.

Sir Crispin Agnew of Lochnaw, Chief of the Name and Family of Agnew, is a prominent Edinburgh-based advocate; Sir Wayne Broun of Colstoun, Chief of the Name and Arms of Broun, is a film producer and distributor in Australia; Andrew Durie of Durie, Chief of the Name and Arms of Durie, was a top executive in the Scotch Whisky Industry and a former Chairman of the Confederation of British Industry in Scotland, and of the Seafish Industry Authority; the 13th Marquess of Lothian, Chief of the Name and Arms of Kerr, is best known as Michael Ancram, a senior Conservative politician, and Sir Malcolm Macgregor of Macgregor, 24th Chief of Clan Gregor, is a leading UK photographer.

Having entered the British Diplomatic Service, Donald MacLaren of MacLaren, Chief of the Name and Arms of Maclaren, served as British Ambassador to Georgia until 2007. Ian MacNeil of Barra, 45th Chief of Clan Macneil, is a former Professor of Contract Law, and so on, and so on.

Since the days of the Highland Clearances, there has been a politically motivated tendency to discredit Scotland’s Chiefs by suggesting that they have collectively sat back to enjoy their inherited acres. This is simply not true since the greater proportion of such acres, while still retaining their clan associations, have been unavoidably depleted and dispersed through the passage of time.

Of course, there are still landowners within the ranks of the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs, but increasingly their energies are channelled into diversification or conservation. Others inevitably find themselves burdened with crippling financial commitments in order to keep their Clan heritage intact.

Such challenges in themselves should justify their existence in a world increasingly preoccupied with its own future survival. Make no mistake about it, Scotland’s Clan Chiefs have come a long way from wielding battle axes and duffing each other up on bleak moorlands north and south of the Highland line.