Siol nan Gaidheal

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Siol nan Gaidheal
Sìol nan Gàidheal
Founder
  • Tom Moore (original form)
  • Jackie Stokes (current form)
Founded
  • 1978[1] (original form)
  • 1997 (current form)
NewspaperFirinn Albannach (1980s)
Ideology
Website
Official website

Siol nan Gaidheal ([ˈʃiəl̪ˠ nə ˈŋɛː.əl̪ˠ], meaning "Seed of the Gaels") is a minor Scottish ultranationalist[4] and ethnic nationalist group which describes itself as a "cultural and fraternal organisation".[5]

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

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The name, properly spelled Sìol nan Gàidheal ([ˈʃiəlˠ̪ nəŋ ˈkɛː.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

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First incarnation (1978–1985)

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The first incarnation of Siol nan Gaidheal was founded in 1978 by Tom Moore, a Scot who spent his childhood in the United States.[1] It grew in the immediate aftermath of the 1979 devolution referendum, despite being shunned by the mainstream nationalist Scottish National Party, 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]

The early Siol nan Gaidheal was described by the historian Peter Lynch as "a collection of radical militants who favoured direct action tactics and tended to make vague threats of violence".[13] 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".[14] 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.[15]

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 against Labour and Conservative party offices in Glasgow and Dundee in 1982. Eight of the organisation's members were arrested following an arson attack on the home of the chief executive of Glasgow chamber of commerce in 1983.[1][13] Against the background of internal division and arrests of members, the first incarnation of Siol nan Gaidheal eventually folded in 1985.[16]

Second incarnation (1987–90s)

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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.[17] By 1988, it claimed a membership of 300.[14] 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[18]—along with Michael Strathern. By the early 1990s, however, Stokes had suffered a heart attack and then kidney problems, which effectively killed the organisation.[17]

Third incarnation (1997–present)

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Siol nan Gaidheal and Connolly Society at protest in 2007.

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 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.[citation needed]

Siol nan Gaidheal actively campaigned for Scottish independence 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.[19][3]

Siol nan Gaidheal has marched at pro-independence demonstrations organised by All Under One Banner. In 2018, the online magazine Bella Caledonia criticised AUOB for platforming what it described as a "fascist", ethnonationalist group. AUOB replied that while Siol nan Gaidheal's banner was not welcome, it was unable to physically ban the organisation from its marches.[20] Political campaigner Math Campbell, who founded the pro-independence group English Scots for Yes, said that Siol nan Gaidheal's presence left him and others feeling unwelcome: "They claim they have moved on from those days, when Siol Nan Gaidheal members later went on to be involved in the Scottish National Liberation Army, setting fire to houses and intimidating New Scots. We'd like to believe that claim, but the Siol Nan Gaidheal official website, right now, still contains articles saying things like 'every English incomer is suspect, the good with the bad', and talking of Scottishness being linked to ancestry and birthplace, the so-called 'blood and soil' position adopted by fascist groups worldwide." In a Facebook post, Siol nan Gaidheal responded by saying that its website is "somewhat unrepresentative of the current Siol nan Gaidheal".[21]

On 11 January 2020, an AUOB pro-independence demonstration in Glasgow marched behind a banner badged with the Siol nan Gaidheal symbol.[22] In 2022, SNP MSP Evelyn Tweed apologised after being photographed holding an Siol nan Gaidheal banner at an AUOB march commemorating the Battle of Bannockburn.[23][13]

Aim and ideology

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Siol nan Gaidheal is an ethnic nationalist organisation that believes that politics must reflect "the ethnic nature of our people", and that "no foreign ideology, in this as in any dynamic area of our culture, may be purposefully accommodated into the fabric of our national life".[24] Siol nan Gaidheal opposes "globalism" and multiculturalism,[25] and has called for Scottish politicians who oppose independence to face "appropriate and ultimate attention in some future Scottish government" for "crimes of treason against our Nation, Culture and People".[24]

Siol nan Gaidheal describes English residents in Scotland as "white settlers", and says of them; "every English incomer at present is suspect, the good along with the bad".[20][26] Siol nan Gaidheal has been branded as "proto fascists" by former SNP leader Gordon Wilson.[4]

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ As with the term Siol, the organisation does not use a grave accent on Firinn, which would technically change the meaning of the word to "of a man".

References

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  • The Hollow Drum, Arnold Kemp, ISBN 1-85158-588-5, pp166–172
  • Britain's Secret War, Andrew Murray Scott and Iain Macleay, ISBN 1-85158-313-0, pp 113–131.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Neat, Timothy (2012). Hamish Henderson: Poetry Becomes People (1952-2002). Birlinn. ISBN 9780857904874.
  2. ^ "Extreme Scottish nationalists: hunting lapdogs and traitors". www.newstatesman.com. 11 April 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Gilligan, Andrew (7 September 2014). "Anti-English racists terrorising the No campaign in Scotland". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d "The Scottish National Party at 80". BBC News. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  5. ^ Mitchell, James (2016). Scottish National Party (SNP) Leaders. Biteback Publishing. ISBN 9781785901232.
  6. ^ a b Devine, Tom (2012). The Scottish Nation: A Modern History. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 9780718196738.
  7. ^ McArthur, Colin (2003). Brigadoon, Braveheart and the Scots: Distortions of Scotland in Hollywood Cinema. Bloomsbury. ISBN 9780857711014.
  8. ^ "History of our Movement". Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  9. ^ Mark, C. (2004). The Gaelic-English Dictionary. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-29761-3
  10. ^ "BACK BITE October 13, 1980". The Herald. 13 October 1999. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  11. ^ Bowd, Gavin (2013). Fascist Scotland: Caledonia and the Far Right. Birlinn. p. 256. ISBN 9781780270524.
  12. ^ Barberis et al, Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations, p.409.
  13. ^ a b c Cochrane, Angus (27 June 2022). "SNP MSP apologises for holding ultranationalist flag at independence rally". The National.
  14. ^ a b Barberis, Peter; McHugh, John; Tyldesley, Mike (2003). Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations: Parties, Groups. p. 408.
  15. ^ English, Tom (2010). The Grudge: Scotland vs. England, 1990. Random House. ISBN 9781409089377.
  16. ^ Pittock, Murray (15 March 2008). The Road to Independence?: Scotland since the Sixties. Reaktion Books. ISBN 9781861894571.
  17. ^ a b McKay, Ron (28 August 1994). "'White settlers go home'". The Sunday Telegraph. Archived from the original on 5 April 2015.
  18. ^ "The death of Willie Macrae". The Herald. 27 March 1995. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  19. ^ "Settler Watch founder was among hecklers at Jim Murphy's Montrose rally". The Courier. 29 August 2014.
  20. ^ a b Archibald, Cameron (26 June 2018). "Tolerating Intolerance". Bella Caledonia. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  21. ^ Learmouth, Andrew (30 June 2018). "English independence voters hit back at ethno-nationalists Siol Nan Gaidheal". The National.
  22. ^ "British PM: If Scotland breaks away, UK will lose its power and magic". Dhaka Tribune. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  23. ^ Davidson, Peter (27 June 2022). "SNP MSP slammed for posing with ultra-nationalist flag during independence rally". Daily Record. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  24. ^ a b "Politics". Siol nan Gaidheal. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  25. ^ "Nationalism: Towards a new definition". Siol nan Gaidheal. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  26. ^ "Demography: The White Settler Phenomenon". Siol nan Gaidheal. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
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