On Saturday 8 June Cllr Kenny Macleod, Convener of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar attended a commemoration in Portnalong Skye to mark the centenary of the Minginish Resettlement.
The repopulation of Minginish, in 1923 and 1924, saw 65 families from Point in Lewis and areas of Harris move to Skye to start a new life.
The event in Skye was the culmination of the Minginish Centenary Project. A Cairn commemorating the repopulation was unveiled by Peggy Wood and Danny Macleod, who’s parents were among those to move to Minginish 100 years ago.
Speaking at the commemoration, Cllr Kenny Macleod, said:
“The years of 1923 and1924 saw hundreds of islanders leave Lewis and Harris to make new lives for themselves in Canada and America, last year we commemorated this with Metegama centenary events. It is only right that we also commemorate those from Lewis and Harris, about 400 in total who made the shorter crossing to make a new community -Miginish on the land formerly known as the North Talisker Estate. Life could not have been easy for the families that settled in Miginish a century ago. Houses had to be built, crofts had to be ploughed and probably reseeded to ensure they got full use out of their land.”
“To Richard, Elizabeth and the rest of the Centenary Project Committee, well done on your amazing efforts to bring this project together, it is hugely important to remember the past, the present generation have a duty to gather and find out, so that future generations will know the efforts, obstacles ,challenges and hard work that went into creating this wonderful community. We have much to thank the 65 families that moved here from Point and Harris a century ago for.”