An Historic Union - Clan MacNeil and Historic Scotland join to preserve Kisimul Castle

An historic union commenced on 31st March 2000 when Mrs. Macneil and I turned over one of two sets of the Kisimul Castle keys to Graham Munro, the Director and Chief Executive of Historic Scotland.

In the joint press release announcing this epochal event in the Castle's history Rhona Brankin, Deputy Minister for Culture and Sport said:

"Kisimul Castle is the only significant surviving medieval castle in the Western Isles and it is internationally recognised as the seat of the chiefs of the Clan Macneil.
"This agreement secures the future of the site with a planned conservation programme which will help protect and conserve the Castle for future generations.

"Historic Scotland will use its experience of running high quality historic visitor sites to develop the site as a tourist attraction which will have economic spin-offs for one of Scotland's important island communities."

The press release went on:

"The agreement, a 1000 year lease with a novel annual rent of just £1 and a bottle of whisky, allows Historic Scotland to take over the day-to-day management of the site. Robert Lister Macneil of Barra, the present Chief's father, restored the castle between 1956-70 with support from Clan members. Substantial additional funds are held on behalf of Clan members which will be made available to assist Historic Scotland in its conservation work."

Macneil and Mrs. Macneil of Barra welcomed the partnership with Historic Scotland. They said:

"Historic Scotland will maintain Kisimul to the highest standards while continuing the Castle's centuries old association with our family, the wider Clan Macneil and the Barra community.
"We wish to stress that this auspicious development respecting Kisimul will not affect our connections with the Estate of Barra and the Barra community. Our relationships with both mean a great deal to us, and will continue as in the past."

My purpose here is to enlarge on our reasons for entering this historic union.

Given the climatic conditions the Castle faces, even by the time I inherited it in 1970 much of the restoration had deteriorated substantially. (This was true even of parts less than 10 years old.) In spite of that, we have been able to maintain the Castle to reasonably satisfactory standards during the past 30 years.

Maintenance problems have, however, been continually gaining ground over repairs. Over the years we have received generous financial support from members of the Clan Macneil, but, lacking the necessary administrative support and professional expertise, it has been difficult to use that support effectively. In recent years contributions have been allowed to accumulate to create sufficient seed money for a major conservation effort.

Such a conservation effort might have taken one of two directions. One was to seek grants, the other was to turn responsibility for the Castle over to an organisation with greater resources of money, expertise, and administrative capacity.

The grant-route had considerable appeal, and was the first one we considered. But a large part of the accumulated resources would have had to be spent on preliminary expenses, such as engineering studies, plans, their approval (by Historic Scotland), and grant-seeking. These would have been speculative investments, since grants are sometimes hedged in with requirements adding costs equal to or even greater than the grants. Moreover, grant-seeking is by no means always successful, and there was always the risk that the money would be spent in vain.

In terms of securing the long-term future of the Castle, the alternative route, especially with a premier conservation organization such as Historic Scotland, was unquestionably surer.

There was, however, a major barrier to the alternative route. It appeared to require completely ending the Macneil family's connection with the Castle. Kisimul Castle has been in our family for at least 600 years (except for the unfortunate Gordon of Cluny and Lady Cathcart period). None of us in this or the next generation was willing even to contemplate such a step.

This problem has been solved by the terms of the lease to Historic Scotland. After long negotiations, we reached what we believe to be a well-balanced agreement. Under it Historic Scotland will be able to operate effectively. At the same time the Chiefs of the Clan Macneil will be able to keep important links with the Castle for themselves, the community, and the Clan Macneil.

Of particular interest to the Clan is that the Chiefs will be free to use the Castle for Clan Gatherings. On the symbolic side, the Chief's banner or triangular pinsel (when the Chief is not at the Castle) will fly above that of Historic Scotland. (I have ordered a big batch of pinsels in anticipation of what Barra winds do to flags!) We have also retained the use of two rooms above the Great Hall and have a considerable voice in the way the Castle is operated and what can be done to it.

An important additional factor in our decision was the benefit we believe will accrue to the Barra community from this partnership with Historic Scotland. Historic Scotland is in an unmatched position to promote the Castle's tourist potential. Kisimul now joins such distinguished tourist draws as Edinburgh, Stirling, and Urquhart castles. It will automatically be the beneficiary of Historic Scotland's extensive publicity programme. Relatively few of Historic Scotland's properties are in the West Highlands and Islands, and we are sure it will wish to promote Kisimul vigorously, as it has Callanish in Lewis. We believe this change will have a major favourable impact on tourism in Barra, especially when the new Barra-Eriskay-South Uist links are established.

In addition, Historic Scotland will embark on a major restoration programme over a number of years, which, directly or indirectly, will bring considerable income into the community.

We also hope that Historic Scotland will be able to make the Castle more available for community use than we have been able to do. Among the great joys of our early years at Kisimul were such events as Father MacQueen's famous kipper barbecue and the occasional children's party. A castle, however, especially one on a small islet, is a hazardous place. As the years passed we became concerned, perhaps overly so, with the risk of people being seriously hurt at such events. Historic Scotland will, of course, have the same concerns, but given its wide experience with running castles it will be far better able than we were to cope with them.

It is now time for a word of thanks for all the generous support for Kisimul we have received from members of the Clan Macneil over so many years. The many gifts large and small, often repeated year after year, have been a constant inspiration, a spur to try to make effective use of them, and a worry about difficulties in doing so.

When we started to talk with Historic Scotland in 1996 (about possible grants) there was a balance of about £32,000 in the Kisimul Castle Restoration accounts. About half of this had been bequeathed by Stanley McNeill, an Australian clansman. A year or so later, thanks in major measure to gifts from the Henry S. McNeil family in Philadelphia, that figure exceeded £100,000. Now it stands at over £114,000 (about $180,000). All this money will be channelled to Historic Scotland to assist with its restoration and maintenance work at Kisimul. (As the money is held for those particular purposes, it will not be given to Historic Scotland for any general operational expenses at the Castle.)