VALUABLE DONATION TO SABHAL MÒR OSTAIG LIBRARY FROM SLEAT FAMILY

Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the centre of excellence for the development and enhancement of the Gaelic language, culture and heritage, was delighted to host a reception in its library on Monday 20th October at 11am to celebrate a donation of £500.00 from Innes and Kirsteen Grant, children of the Camuscross bard Donald Grant and his wife Mairead MacInnes.

Innes and Kirsteen, a well-known Gaelic singer, have made a substantial donation in memory of their parents which allows the College to further expand an already outstanding library collection related to the language, history and culture of the Highlands and Islands.

The donation has funded the purchase of CN MacIntyre North’s Leabhar Commun nam Fior Ghael (The book of the Club of the True Highlanders), published in 1881. This remarkable two-volume collection records aspects of Highland and Gaelic culture including customs, language and dress.

The college has also acquired a limited numbered edition, casebound in cloth, of William Roy’s ‘The Great Map: The Military Survey of Scotland 1747-1755’, a reproduction of the groundbreaking survey carried out following the Jacobite rising of 1745.

These fascinating additions to the collection - a fitting tribute to one of Sleat’s most respected sons - were presented by the family to Professor Norman Gillies, Director of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, who said: “We are delighted to celebrate this very generous gift made to the library by the Grant family. It is a wonderful gesture which further strengthens the link between the family and this part of the world.”

Dr Hugh Cheape, formerly Prinicipal Curator at the National Museums of Scotland, who now lectures at the College, said of the two additions: “The reproduction of Roy’s map is a work of art and an essential adjunct to the library collection. It will be a major research tool for our students.

MacIntyre North’s book was a major source for the illustrations for Edward Dwelly’s Gaelic dictionary and is a very special acquisition. We are delighted it is here.”

Innes Grant said: “Our parents would be very proud to be associated with a place like Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, and we are delighted to have found such an appropriate way for them to be remembered.”

The library welcomes this donation which opens up valuable research opportunities for staff and students, and thanks the Grant family for their generosity.