The first incarnation of the group was founded by Tom Moore in 1978, though it became defunct twice and was re-established by Jackie Stokes in 1987 and again in 1997.
Though the group publicly disavows politics, SnG has been variously described by commentators as anywhere from "traditionalist"[6] to "crypto-fascist" or "proto-fascist".[6][7][4] Members of the group have been banned from membership of the mainstream nationalist Scottish National Party since 1982.[8]
Name
The name, properly spelled Sìol nan Gàidheal ([ˈʃiəlˠ̪nəŋˈkɛː.əlˠ̪]), is Scottish Gaelic for 'Seed of the Gaels'. The term sìol has numerous meanings, most commonly translated as "breed, brood, lineage, progeny, seed".[9]
History
First incarnation (1978–1985)
The first incarnation of Siol nan Gaidheal was founded in 1978 by Tom Moore, a Scot who spent his childhood in the USA.[1] It grew in the immediate aftermath of the 1979 devolution referendum, despite being shunned by the mainstream nationalist SNP, whose ruling executive attempted to ban SnG from the party as early as 1980.[10] In September 1980, the SNP launched an inquiry into the group, with Colin Bell as vice-chairman.[11] SnG was fully proscribed after the SNP's 1982 conference. The 1320 Club, which was banned by the SNP in 1968, merged into SnG in the same year.[12]
Throughout the 1980s, Siol nan Gaidheal published a magazine called Firinn Albannach [sic][a] (Scottish Truth), which has been described as having a rhetoric which was "anti-communist, neo-fascist and sometimes violent in tone".[13] Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's personal security was stepped up in Scotland after members of SnG tried to accost her outside the Conservative Party conference in Perth in 1982.[14] Some members of SnG formed an unofficial paramilitary wing called Arm nan Gaidheal (AnG; "Army of the Gael"), which was responsible for a number of petrol bomb attacks in 1982 and 1983.[1] Against the background of internal division and arrests of members, the first incarnation of Siol nan Gaidheal eventually folded in 1985.[15]
Second incarnation (1987–90s)
Siol nan Gaidheal was re-established in 1987 by Jackie Stokes, a member of the Scottish Republican Socialist Party. This second incarnation of the group explicitly rejected violence.[16] By 1988, it claimed a membership of 300.[13] Its activities included, in 1989, erecting a cairn in memory of Willie McRae—who was sympathetic to SNG, and possibly at one point a member[17]—along with Michael Strathern. By the early 1990s, however, Stokes had suffered a heart attack and then kidney problems, which effectively killed the organisation.[16]
Third incarnation (1997–present)
Siol nan Gaidheal and Connolly Society at protest in 2007.
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2018)
Jackie Stokes eventually re-established Siol nan Gaidheal for a second time in 1997, this time concentrating mainly on its website and online discussion forum.[citation needed] Chapters were set up in the United States of America and in Canada as a focus for the Scottish diaspora in North America.[citation needed] Stokes died on 24 July 2001, leading to a downturn in the group's activity.[citation needed] In May 2006, SnG held its first Ard Fhèis (party annual conference) in 14 years, in Dalwhinnie, Scotland.[citation needed]
Siol nan Gaidheal actively campaigned during the 2014 independence referendum, though the mainstream Yes Scotland campaign distanced itself from SnG.[3] The group made headlines in the run-up to the referendum for heckling Labour MP Jim Murphy on his visits to Dundee and Montrose.[18][3]
On 11 January 2020 the All Under One Banner pro-independence demonstration in Glasgow marched behind a banner badged with the Siol nan Gaidheal symbol.[19]
In June 2022, SNP MSP Evelyn Tweed apologised after being photographed holding the flag of Siol nan Gaidheal.[20]
Aim and ideology
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2018)
The Siol nan Gaidheal website summarises its views as follows:
The Siol nan Gaidheal organisation supports the revival of the Folkic traditions of Scotland and the Gaelic and Scots languages.
The land of Scotland from which we as a people and our culture spring, is central to our vision.
Sustainable land use is vital for the future of our country. Land must be reclaimed for the benefit of our people.
Siol nan Gaidheal seeks to liberate the Scottish people from the worst excesses of English/British Cultural Imperialism and believes that English people resident in Scotland will integrate into and make a full contribution to the community of Scotland.
SnG will dedicate itself to fulfilling our commitments to our country and people, we will thus not stand idly by and watch our country being used, abused or betrayed by enemies both internal and external.
We are content to leave party political action to the Scottish National Party and the forthcoming Scottish Parliament.
SnG exists to promote, safeguard and stimulate a third Scottish Renaissance which will use the best past traditions of Scotland to forge a new Nation which will be an example to the world.
Note: Forms of nationalism based primarily on ethnic groups are listed above. This does not imply that all nationalists with a given ethnicity subscribe to that form of ethnic nationalism.
