BONNIE PRINCE GATHERING Iain Ferguson On August 19 1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his standard in Glenfinnan and to mark this 275th anniversary, various groups took to the beach in front of the monument.
and Highland dancing, not to mention the myriad of foreign spectators. As with so many other events, it had to be cancelled this year, on what would probably have been amongst the warmest and sunniest days in its history.
Some were dressed in clothing of the period, others merely to record the event as momentous in the history of Scotland. The event coincided with another local event, perhaps without the massive historical overtones, but nonetheless of proven global interest, The Glenfinnan Gathering.
On ‘the day’ a small gathering of local people performed the flag raising ceremony by the stage which normally signals the official opening. Supporter of the Gathering from its early days, 93 year old Donald Sinclair travelled from Cornwall and as a great friend of long-term Gathering organiser, the late Ronnie MacKellaig, laid a white Jacobite rose by his grave.
Always held on the Saturday nearest the date of that royal landing, the Gathering this year marks its 75th anniversary of conception and 74th year of taking place. It attracts an international range of competitors in sports, piping
Also on the field was Tearlach (Charlie) MacFarlane, renowned for his knowledge of history and probably the most wellknown and eminent specialist on Moidart genealogy, with immense knowledge of the links that flow from the ‘45’ to
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the present day in this part of the Highlands. Mark Entwhistle of The Lochaber Times conducted a lengthy interview with Tearlach at his home on the shores of Loch Sheil. He wrote: ‘Just when you think you’ve heard all the stories about Bonnie Prince Charlie and the rising, Tearlach always manages to surprise with a startling new nugget of information.’ About the official opening of the famous monument to the clansmen, Tearlach recalled: ‘When the monument opened in 1815, it is said there were old men in attendance who remembered, as boys, witnessing the actual event of the Prince raising the standard. Even if they were only 10 years old in 1745, that would have made them 80 in 1815,’ he explained. ‘So if there had been a few
| october 2020
Lochaber Life October 2020.indd 16
11/09/2020 15:03:43
