Bookings will close on Friday 19 September, so organisers are urging those interested to book soon to avoid disappointment. The event promises to be an extremely wide-ranging, interesting and insightful examination of Hebridean emigration.
A three-day conference ‘Saoghal Mòr Farsaing’, will be held at Lews Castle, Stornoway, from 30th September to 2nd October 2025. This event is being organised by Museum & Tasglann nan Eilean, part of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar’s Heritage and Culture Team, and will consider the theme of Outer Hebrides emigration from a range of perspectives.
Please follow this link for more information about the Conference, and how to book your place. Details of the full programme and how to book.
The conference programme offers a wide and varied consideration of emigration – a subject so significant to the history of the islands. The first two days of the conference will feature a series of speakers from Scotland, Canada, Australia and the USA. Topics will include fiddle traditions linked to the Hudson’s Bay Company, Canada; chain migration and the way it affected settlement patterns of island communities in Nova Scotia; What ancestral tourism means for us; and a look at the Hebridean emigrant records held in Victoria, Australia.
Some presentations will be in Gaelic with simultaneous translation for in-person delegates. This will include ‘Gaelic language and culture in Nova Scotia: a’ coimhead air ais, is a’ coimhead air adhart’ and ’S e Crìoch Gach Comunn Dealachadh: Contextualising the experiences of the emigrant Gael through their poetry and song’.
Other subjects discussed will be the living traditions carried through language, culture and music, today’s understanding of the effect of migration on human psychology, the Child Migration Scheme and the relationships with Indigenous Peoples whose lands were settled.
The keynote address will be delivered by University of Aberdeen Professor Marjory Harper who is also a renowned author of several books about Scottish diaspora and emigration.
On the third day in-person delegates will have the option of three field trips to community venues and sites in the Isle of Lewis connected to emigration, arranged in partnership with Outer Hebrides Heritage Forum members.
Delegates can attend the event in person or online. There will be a mix of in-person and virtual speakers allowing for input from overseas.
The conference has received funding from Museum Galleries Scotland and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar/Crown Estates, with venue sponsorship from Together Travel.
Cllr Kenny Macleod, Convener of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar said:
“Saoghal Mòr Farsaing will be an important and informative event marking a crucial aspect of island history. This conference will tell the story of the impact and legacy of emigration over hundreds of years.”
Details of the full programme and how to book.
Please note: Delegates who will be travelling to the Outer Hebrides to attend the event are advised to book travel and accommodation as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
The conference ties into our Emigration exhibition 'Cianalas ’s Dòchas | Homesickness and Hope' which is currently on at both Museum nan Eilean Stornoway and Museum nan Eilean Benbecula.
Feedback from exhibition visitors has been hugely positive to date. Comments have included:
‘An incredibly moving exhibition, beautifully and sensitively put together.’
‘I loved the people's stories narrated, put in the wider historical context. A great way to get emotionally connected to the history.’
And
‘The story is best told by human stories not the historical facts only. It is emotionally engaging, very real and will stay with me forever.’
Others have mentioned the story of forced child migration and the soundtrack of emigration songs as being particularly striking. The exhibitions run until 29th November.