Work to start on £8million Gaelic cultural centre on Skye
The Ionad Thròndairnis (Trotternish Centre) project includes a café-restaurant and a scalable development of quality accommodation to serve not only the users of the centre, but also address the chronic shortage of bed spaces in that part of Skye.
Siuated to the north of Portree, The Trotternish Peninsula is home to some of Skye's most spectacular scenery.
The Staffin area of Trotternish is now an internationally acclaimed site for dinosaur footprints, with the 160 million year old evidence of ornithopods drawing visitors to the rocky shoreline.
Additionally, Hollywood comes to visit occasionally to enjoy the other-worldly pillars of rock on the Storr pinnacles, with movies such as Ridley Scott's Prometheus and Macbeth, starring Michael Fassbender, shooting in the area.
For some, however, Trotternish's greatest claim to fame is its relative success in maintaining a Gaelic-speaking community, while most of the rest of the country has seen a significant decline in numbers.
Margaret Nicolson, chair of Ionad Thròndairnis (The Trotternish Trust), said: 'Gaelic is still alive as a community language in this area. I can speak Gaelic to a many people, every day, in the shops and in the community.
'There are people moving into the community and – although they don't speak it themselves – very often they will send their children to the Gaelic-medium schools, and so I can speak Gaelic to those children.
'This is still a Gaelic community, and the new centre will be a great boost for the language."
Trotternish is the northernmost peninsula of the Isle of Skye (Image: Getty Images)
Ms Nicolson added: 'It will give the Gaelic community confidence in their language and culture. For visitors and new residents, it will also provide a gateway to the language and the culture, boosting their interest, offering a great opportunity to learn the language or at least explore and enjoy the culture.'
Ionad Thròndairnis (The Trotternish Trust), which is leading the Ionad Thròndairnis (Trotternish Centre) project, believes that the centre will encourage the community to keep the Gaelic language alive and thriving.
Given the attractions of dinosaurs and the cinematic landscape, it is perhaps surprising that Trotternish is amongst the most deprived rural areas in Scotland when it comes to measures of income, employment and access to services.
'That statistic shows the need for support and development in our community', Ms Nicolson said.
'The new Ionad Thròndairnis will provide a great economic boost. It will provide around ten new full-time jobs, which is very big in rural Skye, and further seasonal and part-time jobs. So maybe 15 people employed. And, as a community-run trust, money will stay in the community.'
The new centre – Ionad Thròndairnis – will be built at Flodigarry in Staffin (Image: Ionad Thròndairnis) Preliminary work at the new site will start within the next few weeks with archaeology checks, drainage work and further planning at the site.
The funding – currently estimated at around £8million in total – is still being worked on. The community believe the new centre will fit directly into Government policy which could see the area designated an Area of Linguistic Significance.
'We have had much help from Bòrd na Gàidhlig and Highlands and Islands Enterprise', Ms Nicolson said.
'We'd like to think we can have it all up and running by end of 2028 but we'll need to see how it all goes. It is a fantastic project and a great opportunity to do something practical to preserve our community, our language and culture.'
Linsay Chalmers, Director of Communities and Operations at Community Land Scotland, the lead organisation representing community landowners across Scotland, added: 'This is a great project born of a lot of hard work by a lot of people from the community.
"Supporting the rich Gaelic language and culture has always been a central part of our work with community groups. We all know the language adds significantly to the health of the communities where it is still used.
'A place like Trotternish is one of the Gaelic heartlands and it is fantastic that the community has taken the initiative to support and strengthen the language and in turn strengthen the economic and social wellbeing of the north Skye.'
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