Sabhal Mòr Ostaig launches Trust with £100,000 gift
A new Development Trust was launched by Sabhal Mòr Ostaig this week to support the work of the College in its key role as the National Centre for Gaelic Language and Culture.
A reception was held at No. 11 Downing Street, hosted by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt. Hon Alasdair Darling MP and his wife Margaret, to celebrate the work and achievements of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig and to mark a new chapter in the development of the College.
The new, independent charitable trust, with its own Board of Trustees, has been established to help realise future plans and ambitions for Sabhal Mòr Ostaig which include expansion of course provision, development of recreational and sport facilities and broadening the range of cultural activities open to students and the wider community.
The launch of the Trust was given an additional boost with the announcement of a major legacy of £100,000 being gifted by Professor Caroline Tisdall, who along with her partner, the late Paul Van Vlissingen, has been a generous supporter of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig over many years.
The Trust’s Chief Officer, Donnie Munro, said; “The new Development Trust will play a vital role in ensuring that Sabhal Mòr Ostaig’s significant contribution to the regeneration of the Gaelic language and culture, through education, economic development, enterprise and the arts continues and that future aspirations for the College can be achieved.
“The Trust will offer supporters of the Gaelic language throughout the world a direct opportunity with which to engage in supporting the work of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig.”
The Trust has been greatly strengthened by its amalgamation with the former Highland Fund and the Urras na h-Aiseirigh trust, established by Sabhal Mòr Ostaig founder Sir Iain Noble, both of which will now continue in perpetuity as named endowment funds. The Trust also contains the Dr Farquhar Macintosh Scholarship Fund in honour of the late former Chairman of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, a distinguished educationalist and a lifelong campaigner for the language.