In the duration of time since the Armadale sale was announced, our Campaign has gone through several changes, iterations and struggles, all of which have led us to where we are today. One larger, organized group, bigger and better than anything the CDLT ever anticipated.

The source of this energy, the source of this fight, comes from a place that many rarely see or experience in today’s world. It is fueled by the regular, ordinary people, who have descended from generations of those who have had things taken away by those who deem themselves superior. Its is flamed by those disconnected by oceans, forced to create life out of Diaspora. It’s passion laid in the very foundation of Sleat, by community members who have fought and struggled for generations for the freedom to live and thrive on their native soil.

When you think of Scotland, many people will envision a land of tartan, castles, shortbread, and whisky. While all of those pieces do make up a place in the framework of the Scots, they do not embody the experience of seeing these people driven to a cause. This spirit, this gathering of wills, to fight the sale of Armadale Castle, was and has been forged in the people of Scotland.

Perhaps a native Scot would be able to define this better, but what I have seen and what I have experienced, seems to be born out of the millennia of struggle, war and passion that is quite unique to the Scottish and Gaelic culture. This feeling is so strong and so gravitating, that I have found myself, a child of Gaelic Diaspora, inexplicably called to also join in this fight. I know that this feeling is not unique to me, as many of my clan folk from all over the globe are answering this call!

One cannot help but receive and upwelling of pride and emotion, when the Sleat Community marches in protest on the Armadale ground. To see how that community has rallied, is something to behold. One also cannot resist the urge to answer to the calls of Scots, who don’t settle for anything less than the immediate withdrawal of the sale and removal of the CDLT Trustees and Management.

These are people who embrace history, art, culture and their native soil. Theirs is a deeply spiritual connection to their land. This flies in the face of the cold, and business -like approach of the CDLT, who would turn memorials into price points, and castle stones into pounds in their pockets.

I urge you all to Follow the Lead of the The Armadale Scots and The Sleat Community! Fight for the land from which you came! Clan and Community Lands in Clan and Community Hands!

Written by: Joshua Vice FSAScot

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