John Swinney opens Iolaire memorial exhibition

Scotland’s deputy first minister has revealed how the tragic story of the HMY Iolaire disaster stirred profound emotions within himself and his wife.

John Swinney was officially opening Stornoway Port Authority’s photo exhibition of the building of a striking commemoration sculpture to the sinking of the Admiralty yacht.

The tragedy on 1 January 1919 resulted in 201 fatalities - one of Britain’s biggest peacetime maritime tragedies. Many on board were Royal Naval Reservists from Lewis and Harris, heading home for a spell of leave at the end of WW1.

The vessel set off from the Kyle of Lochalsh on Hogmanay 1918. Disaster struck just short of the harbour entrance when the vessel hit rocks known as the Beasts of Holm, just before 2am.

Mr Swinney and his wife were struck by the massive Hebridean community’s response over the events commerating marking the 100th anniversary of the tragedy, particularly the heartfelt contributions of young islanders honouring an older generation who perished .

“We watched in awe the truly outstanding” online broadcast of the Dìleab - The Iolaire Remembered civic performance on New Year’s Eve 2018 where island youngsters marked the centenary of the Iolaire tragedy through music, drama, dance and song.

Deeply moved, the couple rushed up to the island to find out more..

One of the too many “utterly memorable” experiences standing out is the “willingness of this community - after such a prolonged period of not expressing their views or emotions about the tragedy - with the passing of 100 years to share their thoughts and their family connections,” he said.

During that visit they saw went to the scene of the sinking at Holm, saw the Iolaire monument erected in memory of the men lost, and also “what I wanted to see” - a remarkable poignant tribute showing the outline of the tragic ship on a tide-washed shore in Stornoway harbour.

The deputy first minister is just one of countless thousands of people impressed by the dramatic Sheòl an Iolaire (The Iolaire has sailed) memorial sculpture on the town centre waterfront.

Designers Torcuil Crichton and Malcolm Maclean received an award from Stornoway Amenity Trust for the memorial

The art installation - by the pier where the overcrowded vessel was due to berth - is a full-scale representation of the Iolaire’s hull, pinpointed in the sand with 280 wooden posts - one for each man aboard that fateful night.

The exhibition in the town’s ferry terminal - showing images of the work involved in preparing the site to completion and including drone footage and poetry inspired by the project - does “justice to the majesty of the installation and to the commitment of this community, to raise - what I recognise - is an incredibly painful legacy for the community,” said Mr Swinney.

Families eagerly anticipating the return of the sailors were unaware of what was happening off-shore and not until the next morning the true scale of the tragedy was realised.

Of those who perished, 174 hailed from Lewis. Five were from Harris while two teenagers belonged to Berneray. Members of the ship’s crew also died.

Wooden posts - made from timber from the castle grounds - depicting the outline of ship’s hull are driven into the foreshore by number one pier, where the Iolaire was due to berth.

Markers painted white represent the number of known survivors while those left plain represent the losses.

The sculpture shows the true size of the ship - 189 feet from stem to stern, with a 27 foot beam. Each pole is lit up blue at night, except for those illuminated in red to depict a survivor.

Deputy First Minister officially opens Iolaire memorial exhibition

14 February 2020