THE chief of the Clan MacDonald, Lord Godfrey MacDonald of MacDonald,
is offering North Americans a chance to ''honor'' their ancestors who
fell at the Battle of Culloden in 1746 by buying into a Culloden
Memorial Garden at his Skye hotel -- 100 miles from the battlefield.
An advert in the December issue of the Highlander magazine which
circulates in the US and Canada advises of an ''opportunity so special
it comes only once every 250 years''.
It explains: ''The centrepiece of the Garden is a Memorial Stone for
all those who fell at Culloden. Placed around this stone will be
individual memorials dedicated to those families whose forebears are
forever linked to the tragic circumstances of that battle. For
generations to come, your personal plaque or stone will honor (sic) your
ancestors or your present family members.''
Honouring forebears at Kinloch Lodge on Skye's Sleat Peninsula won't
come cheap, however: ''Memorial Stones and Plaques are available to
individuals, families or corporations in three options of style and size
starting at $250.'' Readers are advised to act quickly. For those who
take pride in their Highland heritage, ''nothing you do today could be
more important''.
Lord Godfrey also explains the site is ''as dramatic as the battle
itself'' and ''particularly appropriate for those whose forebears are of
Clan Donald descent''.
What the advert doesn't explain is that Lord Godfrey's own forebear,
Sir Alexander MacDonald of Sleat, was not actually at Culloden and,
despite having Jacobite sympathies, was officially on the Hanoverian
side.
According to clan historian Norman H MacDonald, the decision not to
take the Sleat MacDonalds out for the Jacobites may even have been taken
by Sir Alexander at a house on the site of the present hotel.
Lord Godfrey was not at Kinloch yesterday. Astaff member told The
Herald he was away on ''a few weeks' holiday'' and could not be
contacted.
He did, however, talk to the local West Highland Free Press earlier
this week, when he said the garden would mark his 25 years ''as high
chief'' as well as the 250th anniversary of Culloden.
He said some people might think he was just cashing in on the events
in 1746 but added: ''I would think that, by the time we have created the
garden, I will make very little indeed out of it. That is not the
idea.''
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