Cuimhneachain nan Gaisgeach (Commemoration of our Land Heroes) was a community-based voluntary organisation formed in 1989 on the Island of Lewis in the Western Isles under the chairmanship of the late Angus Macleod MBE Angus was the inspiration and driving force of the project.

The purpose of the organisation was to erect memorials to commemorate the crofters struggle for land law reform and to generate an appreciation of the social history of land reform in the Gaeltacht.

As a visual artist whose practice drew upon the history of the Highlands I was invited to become part of the team who looked at three sites on the island associated with particular land raid incidents. The team included local historian and builder James Crawford and without his commitment and skills the project could not have been brought to fruition. John Norgrove the project engineer advised on design modifications and worked with planning, roads. Legal and safety issues. The development of the projects relied upon mainly informal discussion between these three key team members.

The main criteria were that the structures should not intrude on the landscape- they should withstand the weather conditions- have low maintenance – the design should reflect the particular event and should have sufficient signage to explain the history and function of the memorials.

The three incidents selected were

1. The Parc Deer Raid, Balallan 1887
2. The Aignish Riot, Point 1888
3. The Gress Raids, Bhac circa 1915

The Parc Memorial. Balallan. District of Lochs

In November 1887 a well organised raid by the desperate and impoverished people of Lochs villages on the deer forest of Lochs was given national media cover and became a focus for further protest in the struggle for land reform. (Further information can be found in Na Gaisgich The Lewis Land Struggle by Joni Buchanan Acair Books)

The site chosen for the memorial was a rock outcrop above the township of Balallan with view of the landscape of South Lewis.

The cairn is a circular structure 12ft in height built from reclaimed and beach stones it has three entrances that align with the three districts involved with the raid. Kinloch ,North Lochs ,South Lochs

Internally a circular stairway leads to a viewing platform where three raised marker stones are set into the wall head each pointing to sites where significant events in the narrative of the raid took place
1 East to Ruadh-Chleit. Reading of the Riot Act
2 South East Seaforth Head Meeting of the Raiders and landowner.
3 South Airidh Dhomhnaill Chaim Raiders Camp site

Built into the wall are numbered directional stones taken from the crofts of the raiders

The Parc memorial opened on 26th May 1994 with a whole day of celebration the culmination of four years work.The opening began with a two mile march through Balallan to the cairn led by the descendents of the raiders with three pipers at their head followed by a crowd of more that 500. A pipe tune had been written for the occasion by Ian Crichton The Deer Raid Marchers and played by Col. Peter MacGillvary There followed a re-enactment of the events of Nov 1887. During the speeches the marchers enjoyed a taste of venison cooked over an open fire. The day concluded with a sell out Gaelic concert in Balallan village hall.

The Aignish Riot, Point 1888

The Agnish riot of Jan 1888 was one of the most potentially disastrous confrontations of the period. The raiders gathered at Aignish farm on the Eye peninsula, face to face with police backed by Marines with fixed bayonets. (Further detail The Lewis land struggle – Buchanan)

The site of the memorial is Aignish farm on a ridge overlooking the Eye Church of St Columba to the north and the entrance to Stornoway to the south.

The Design of the cairn reflects the idea of confrontation and takes the form of two stone structures of local stone approx 15 ft in height a few feet apart each with a flat face from which jagged stones protrude these pillars have curved backs and taper in towards the top. The jagged stones face each reflecting the aggression and tension of the event.

The opening day saw a gathering of more than 600. A group of 200 local people in the costume of the period carrying red flags marched from Bayble School to the cairn led by pipers. The crowd formed an audience for a performance of a play The Aignish Riot. The Cairn was opened by John Mackay the son of one of the 13 jailed raiders

The Gress Raids, Bhac Circa 1920

The design for the this site posed very different problems from the other two And required more discussion with the local committee. and several amendments were made to the original design.

The site selected was a flat sandy area by the river Gress below a main road and adjacent to the Tolsta bridge. The bridge became the focus of the conflict of 1918/20 between the landowner Lord Leverhume. with his plans for industrialisation and a crofting community struggling to maintain its traditional way of life.

The returning ex-service men were denied crofting land and their condition increased the tensions within the community and highlighted the problems of land usage.

The final proposal for the work took the from of a three part stone structure reminiscent of an upturned boat intersected by a rectangular stone column approx 12ft in height. The stone works were built on a raised earth platform surrounded by a ditch and trench (a reference to the Great War and the promise of a return to a land fit for heroes) The trench was planted with Ash and birch and the mound seeded with wild flowers.

The policies of Leverhulme did have supporters particularly in the non-crofting areas. The centre column was constructed with dressed stone and referred to these differing perspectives. The outer Cairns was of flat beach stone curving inwards as they reached the top of the memorial (a technically complex part of the build.) The opening took the form of speeches and the singing of a Gaelic psalm.

Cuimhneachain Nan Gaisgeach was very well supported by Local fundraising and in-kind funding. The Gaelic Arts Project supported an openings fund. Funding came from The Calouste Guilbenkian Foundation, The Scottish Arts Council, Western Isles Council, Leader, Western Isles Enterprise, and many others.

The Cairns have been included in many publications on the History of the Highlands and Islands and were the subject of Television Programmes. Awards included A Civic Trust Award 1997. The Supreme Environmental Regeneration Award, Scottish National Heritage 1997 and short listing for a major European award

Angus Macleod died in 2002 The Island Book Trust and Comunn Eachdraidh Na Parc have preserved the Macleod archive. Cairns stand as memorials to his memory. They have now been adopted by the Islands Council.