Comunn Eachdraidh Scalpaigh - Scalpay Historical Society
“Our Fishing Heritage” is in its 4th week at the Scalpay Community Centre. We have had a busy start to the exhibition with visitors from Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Western Australia, as well as holidaymakers from mainland Britain, many of whom have Scalpay connections.
One particularly enjoyable visit was from a group of 16 Explorer Scouts from Cupar in Fife and their 5 leaders. They arrived wet and bedraggled from a walk to the lighthouse. They soon warmed up over tea, coffee and cakes, and filled the exhibition space with happy chatter.
Another welcome visitor was our local MSP, Dr Alasdair Allan, who was very interested in learning about Scalpay’s rich fishing heritage and shared his love of boats with us. Dr Allan’s visit coincided with a visit from Roddy Cunningham who has kindly loaned the exhibition a model of his grandfather’s fishing boat “A’ Mhaighdean Hearach”.
“A’ Mhaighdean Hearach” was built in 1948 and was one of the first ring-netters in Scalpay. She was also the first boat in the Scalpay fleet to be given a Gaelic name. Another interesting addition to the exhibition is a VHF radio system which has been loaned by Geoff Dale. It is like the ones that were used by the Scalpay fishermen to communicate with each other. On shore, their families liked to tune in and listen to the fishermen at sea.
The exhibition is on at the Scalpay Community Centre, and is open 3 days a week from 10am to 4pm (Tuesday to Thursday).
It will also open on Saturday 17 August from 1pm to 4pm. Admission is free, and we are serving tea, coffee, and delicious baking!
Our 2025 Calendar is on sale at the exhibition and is selling fast. The calendar features many of the boats that were ring-netting for herring in the 1960s and 1970s. The calendar is our major fund-raising activity of the year and is priced at a very reasonable £10.00.
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