For more on Eigg click here . They would have given the money that might by now have secured the island from Maruma, but only in return for constitutional change. I am concerned about media misrepresentations sown by interests hostile to community empowerment that might have contributed to this decision. Perhaps I may dispel some myths. When speaking about Eigg I have taken to asking audiences what percentage of residents they think were born on the island or in the nearby Fort William hospital.
Most people guess around ten percent.
The actual figure is just over sixty percent. The broad brush picture is that about a third of the sixty-five strong population are indigenous Hebrideans, a third are from elsewhere in Scotland and the remainder mostly English. Six of the eight trustees of the Isle of Eigg Trust are Scots, five of these are Hebrideans, four are indigenous to Eigg, three are native Gaelic speakers and all are community elected. We are pleased to have two resident English trustees. To effect this a new Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust has been set up as a company limited by guarantee.