All Roads Lead Back to Barra – An Interview with The MacNeil

The flag of the MacNeil flies at Kisimul Castle, Barra.

On the Isle of Barra in Scotland's Outer Hebrides, you'll come across the surname Macneil an awful lot. Home to Clan Macneil of Barra, the links to the island's rich clan history are still to be found today - from surnames and clan association memorial plaques, to the stunning Kisimul Castle, ancient seat of the chiefs of Clan Macneil, which rises up out of the ocean at Castlebay.

I visited Barra in order to interview the 47th chief of Clan Macneil - Roderick "Rory" Wilson Macneil, The Macneil of Barra and Baron of Barra. "Of course people joke about how many Macneils there are in Barra. My father spent two summers here in '38 and '39 when he was 8-9 years old. He went to school here, and there was a visiting school teacher one day, who said to the class 'Just out of interest how many of you are named Macneil?' Half the kids raised their hand. And then she asked 'How many of you have mothers who are named Macneil?' And the other half raised their hand. So at that time that's how prevalent the Macneil surname was. But there are also Mackinnons, Macleans, Campbells, and they're all considered part of the community and part of the clan. The original meaning of clan is family. It wasn't based on someones surname it was based on physically where they lived."

Earlier this month the finalisation of the conservation plan of Barra's iconic Kisimul Castle, the home of Clan Macneil was confirmed by the clan and Historic Scotland. A ceremony was held at the castle to commemorate the deal, with Historic Scotland Chief Executive Ian Walford and the MSP for the Western Isles Alasdair Allan in attendance. It's quite a trek getting out to the remote isle - from Oban on the western coast of the mainland the ferry takes around five hours through generally rough seas. Or for a truly remarkable experience, flights take one hour direct from Glasgow, landing on a beach runway that is washed by the tide twice daily. Traigh Mhor beach is reputed to be the only beach runway in the world to handle scheduled airline services.


Historic Scotland Chief Executive Ian Walford, MSP for the Western Isle Alasdair Allen and The MacNeil at Kisimul Castle

The best preserved medieval castle in the Western Isles, Kisimul's is variously estimated by scholars to have been constructed between the 12th and the 15th centuries. However the decline of the clan system in the 18th century echoed the decline of the castle, and a fire in 1795 led to the abandonment by the chief at the time in favour of more comfortable quarters on the island.

In 1838 the 41st chief, General Roderick Macneil, was forced to sell Kisimul and Barra to a notorious highland landlord as a result of bankruptcy, and it seemed as if the clan had lost the castle forever. The general died in 1863 leaving no legitimate heir, so the chieftainship passed to a Canadian branch of the family who had move to Nova Scotia during the mass emigrations of 1802, just as many Barra folk had done before. The chiefship eventually passed to Robert Lister, who was born in Michigan. Lister matriculated arms as the MacNeil of Barra in the Court of Lord Lyon in 1915, and with the help of his second wife Marie was subsequently able to reacquire the Estate of Barra (including Kisimul) in 1937.

"My grandfather purchased the island and the castle in 1937 and then spent the rest of his life restoring it. He died in 1970, and then my father became chief and took over the responsibility of the castle. It's a huge responsibility and it's extremely expensive and it's just not viable for an individual or family to look after it properly. Also my father was getting older, and I think actually one of the main reasons he had thought about doing the deal was that he didn't want me to have the burden that he'd had."

In 2000 a deal was struck between Historic Scotland and the clan. The lease, which cost Historic Scotland £1 and an annual rent of a bottle of Talisker, was provisional upon the government agency putting forward an acceptable conservation plan. Finally in July of this year the plan was agreed to by both parties.

A series of community involvement projects and Gaelic language initiatives have already taken place, and more are planned over the next few years, including lime mortar workshops attended by the island's school children. "(The workshops) were really Historic Scotland's initiative. The Castle is now the centre of the relationship between the clan, the community on Barra and Historic Scotland, which is incredibly exciting for everyone involved."

Funding to the tune of £100,000 for the much needed conservation work at Kisimul was donated by Historic Scotland, with Clan Macneil members around the world also matching the amount. "My grandfather estimated there were 60,000 Macneils around the world in the 1960s, and of that maybe a few thousand who are actually interested. Kisimul is a really important symbol of the clan, and they all want to come and see it. It's like their Mecca or Jerusalem."

"We have a gathering every two years so people can come back to Barra. And the gatherings are designed to facilitate as much interaction with local people as possible. So attendees are not just coming to some convention centre - the point of Macneil gatherings is you're not just interacting with the place but with the people."

"I think that's the crucial point about what's so special about (Barra). It's the only modern case where first of all, you still have a traditional community, who are still Gaelic speaking, and who are an evolution of the historical community. Secondly, there is an intimate and deep relationship between the community, the chief and his family. Because in other cases, the chiefs have left and they no longer live in these communities, or the communities are no longer Gaelic speaking."

The next international gathering of the Macneils will be held on Barra in August 2014. The gatherings used to be held every ten years, but are now held every two years. "They're small but that's actually quite nice. Because if you have two or three hundred people at a gathering, attendees will only talk to each other and they won't meet anyone else. So it's actually the smaller ones that seem to work quite well."


Clan MacNeil - Buaidhi no bas (To conquer or die)

The Macneil spoke of his role as chief as two different aspects - responsibility on the island, and responsibilities to the overseas Macneils. His role includes assisting with the organisation of the gatherings, and writing a column or book review for various clan association publications. Occasionally he meets with a MacNeil who is visiting Scotland from abroad. "My largest responsibility relates to the community of Barra. My main involvement is voluntary and more political, for example helping with the fight against the Special Area of Conservation, and the possible community buyout of the island."

Earlier this year the Sound of Barra was designated a site of Special Area of Conservation, potentially restricting fishing activity and damaging the islands economy. "We lost the fight against the establishment of the SAC. It was a long battle in which I was actively involved... At the moment the issue is who is going to manage the area. The local people are the ones who actually have the ecological expertise to do it. Not some distant bureaucrat. The current minister says that he's sympathetic to that view, so right now there's discussion about how the governance is going to happen and how it's going to be constituted."

The Macneil is an American, Canadian and UK citizen, but has been living between Edinburgh and Barra for the last twelve years. He's also learning Gaelic and is pleased that the language is a core part of Kisimul's conservation plan. "It's actually in the lease that Gaelic is to be given prominence."


Castlebay, Isle of Barra

When the Macneil was 16 he spent a summer on the island, while his father who was chief at the time tended to the Macneil land and and castle responsibilities. "That really was the beginning of my association with Barra. It made a deep impression on me and I loved it. Before then the Macneil said his eventual chieftainship hadn’t played a major role in his thinking. "We used to stay in the castle, that was our house. But the castle is extremely isolating for obvious reasons - no one's going to drop in and see you. Also the weather can make it very hard to get in and out. A crofter sold us a plot of land in the early 90s and my father built a house inside the old house on the plot." Being based ashore helped make it easier for the Macneil and his family to develop closer relationships with people in the community.

"I have two children, one's turned 19 and the other is 16. They've been coming here frequently since they were more or less born. So they have a much more natural association with the island because they have friends here and are part of the community in a way that I wasn't. This was intentional on my part."

“The older one is going to be chief so he’s more interested in a way, but they both have a deep feeling for Barra. Ruari, well he’s 19 so at the moment friends and clubbing are among his main interests, but he has looked forward to being chief from quite a young age, and he takes an interest, for example in the kinds of things I’m doing with Historic Scotland, and the clan gatherings.”

During my time on the isle I thought a lot about the thousands of people who had left Barra during the 19th century, either through voluntary emigration or involuntary clearances, and what became of them. From Canada, the chiefly line of the Macneils went to America, and then in a nice mix of historical happenstance and synchronicity, ended up returning to Barra. An incredible amount of time and hard work spent restoring the castle means that Kisimul is once again the protected home and centre of Clan Macneil, to be enjoyed for many more further generations.