Jura moves to Glasgow for 125th gathering
THE WILD Hebridean island of Jura, despite its small population of 200 or so, next week celebrates the 125th birthday of one of the West Coast’s longest running Glasgow gatherings.
Up to 150 Jurachs living on and off the island are expected to attend the 125th Jura Gathering and Ceilidh Dance at the St Vincent Bowling Club, Glasgow, next Friday, November 10.
‘All the people who go have a love of Jura and have a close connection to the island,’ said vice president Dr Alasdair Watson, who has attended since a wee boy in 1959. ‘It’s like transferring the Jura hall to Glasgow for an evening.’
The night will feature music from the past and present, lead singers of trad bands Tide Lines and Skippinish, Robert Robertson and Norrie MacIvor, as well as fiddler Archie McAllister and David McDonald’s Jura Ceilidh Band.
Scanning the records, the Jura Gathering has attracted many singers over its 125 years, including Calum Kennedy, Alasdair Gillies, the MacDonald Sisters, Kenneth Thomson, Murdo Ferguson, Ian Carmichael, Mary Ann Kennedy, and George Clavey, plus hundreds more.
The Glasgow Jura Association, founded in 1892, toured a variety of venues over the years, including the grand St Andrew’s Halls before it was destroyed by fire in 1962, and then the Highlanders Institute when Jurachs would a queue around the street.
‘Some associations have closed,’ Dr Watson said, listing a few still surviving for the isles of Islay, Tiree and Skye. ‘It dropped 10 years ago and we almost folded, and we have worked hard to get numbers back up. As numbers fall it is quite difficult to get a hall in Glasgow. The venue has changed, but the spirit lives on.’
The evening traditionally comprised a concert followed by a dance, but now this has turned into a ceilidh, with added birthday cake and buffet. The Isle of Jura Rugby Club, which formed 30 years ago and played its first game this summer, are also coming to beef up the party.
The great and good have also presided in the chair, currently held by Charles Renwick, such as the Campbeltown writer Angus MacVicar, the author of Salt in My Porridge and Songs of Praise presenter, as well as politicians Winnie Ewing and Ray Michie, the former Scottish Secretary Michael Noble MP, and Iain MacCormick MP, a former Oban High School teacher.
The association’s original aim was to bring together Jura’s people, collect and preserve the island’s traditions, tales and poetry, and afford relief to ‘necessitous and deserving residents’.
The custom continues, with all profits paying for local causes, most recently picnic benches at Corran Sands beach and in Craighouse, and a new cooker and curtains in the village hall.
Dr Watson, whose son Fraser also helps organise the event, added: ‘We would encourage younger people living in the area to come and support it. I have been a member for 40 years. It would be nice for some of the younger ones to pick up the mantle.’