Thank you, convener.
In 2010, I was informed that the Tinkers’ Heart of quartz stone, at the junction of Hell’s Glen and the road to Strachur, was almost destroyed due to neglect and cattle trampling over it. My husband and I went to see for ourselves and when I saw the state of the place a knot formed like a stone in my stomach. It was like witnessing the death knell of an entire culture.
The Travelling folk whose families came from the area, and many of those who had left, believed that the Heart was indestructible—a living monument—and that nothing and no one would interfere with the place. Locals were proud to say that it was in their part of Argyll, and it served as a church to those who went there: some to baptise babies, others to get married and others to remember those who had died. The little Heart was all the Travellers had. It is an ancient place, and nobody has discovered its roots.
It is believed that the lads of the Cowal who did not return from the battlefield of Culloden moor were remembered by their families placing white quartz stones in the shape of a heart on the ground overlooking Loch Fyne. There are those who say that it was appropriate to place the stones there because it is believed that on that ancient spot had stood a Celtic church. A standing stone is supposed to have towered on the spot, but it was destroyed and the stones were arranged to indicate where it stood. We really do not know its history.
In 1808, at the construction of roads, the Heart lay there undisturbed. The builders worked around it, making certain that they did not interfere with it. In 1928, at a meeting of the Cowal district committee, Lady George Campbell protested against any interference with the Heart, which at times became covered in grass:
“that patch, she held, was of historical and sentimental interest, as it was known from time immemorial to have been the place where the wedding ceremony of Tinkers took place.”
The Rev John MacCorkindale, from Lochgoilhead, officiated at ceremonies there. Travellers—some with horses and carts, others with small prams—and foot soldiers visited year after year, and they knew him well. It was their place to go to be reinstated with the earth. There was also a tramp man who built a small hut down the road part ways to Cairndhu, and it is said that he watched over the Heart for many a year.
Allow me to read a letter to you. It was addressed to the headmaster of Ferryden primary school, near Montrose, whose name was Mr Whyte. He had written to Betsy Whyte, congratulating her on the publication of “The Yellow on the Broom”, and this is her reply:
“Dear Mr Whyte,
Your letter was a delightful surprize. Of course we remember you, but can hardly believe that you are retired. The years have slipped past so stealthily.
One of my most pleasant memories of Ferryden was of you.
It was the day of the queen’s coronation and the weather had become rather nasty so the children’s fancy dress parade was held in the scouts hall.
I was standing behind you and the other officials, and I heard you say, ‘I think the sheik and his wife are the best dressed bairns.’ However the councillor said to you, ‘Och, but that’s the tinks. You cannae pick them.’ The children were my daughter and her cousin. I turned away, feeling rather depressed, to think that those educated men had so little sense.
Then imagine my surprize when I heard you say (I can remember your exact words), ‘I don’t think anyone can dispute that the sheik and his wife are the best dressed children.’ I truly admired your courage, and during your stay in Ferryden there was no discrimination nor segregation of the traveller children.”
You might ask what the Traveller culture has to do with Celtic history or any other piece of Scottish history. Well, as the battle of Culloden was in 1746, you may want to read Robert Burns’s “Address of Beelzebub” to the head of the Highland Society, who wanted a certain Lord Glengarry, who was successful in murdering and scattering 500 Glengarry Highlanders. When the pye-coated gentlemen of Edinburgh invited him to pen the poem, Burns—who was the great-grandson of Walter Campbell of Lorn, a strong Jacobite—spat fire when he said:
“yes, I’ll write it but not frae me, only the devil would sup wha sic a chiel. I’ll dae him the honour.”
The poem was penned in 1786, long before the clearances and only 40 years after Culloden. Here is an extract:
“Get out a horse-whip, or a jowler,
The langest thong, the fiercest growler,
An’ gar the tatter’d gipseys pack
Wi’ a’ their bastarts on their back!”
Burns’s ancestral roots were so strong that he followed his heart, and he showed immense courage.
When she took on the Cowal district committee, Lady Campbell, too, showed courage. I can imagine the look of surprise on the faces of those councillors: she may have thumped the table and insisted that the old Heart be protected. There is no doubt that her request would have seen eyebrows raised when she demanded:
“No, let the Tinkers keep their Heart.”
That was a very courageous gesture from such a prestigious Argyllshire lady.
When the Rev John MacCorkindale ignored the might of the Church of Scotland, carried his Bible under his arm and gave his time to baptise the Traveller baby, give comfort to the relatives of the deceased and bless the union of a young couple heading on their journey of marriage, he too showed courage. That is what he portrayed, because if his masters had discovered that he was officiating outside the house of God, he may well have lost his position and his manse.
Every day that young Travellers step inside school, they know that at any time they could be subjected to bullying. They are aware that their right to an education is theirs—a gift from the country of their birth. Their parents and grandparents suffered the same discrimination. The youngsters could take the easy way out and stop schooling—who could blame them?—but they desperately want an education so that they can go to university and fulfil their dreams. So they bite their tongues and live with verbal and physical abuse, and that takes a lot of courage. To those young people, the Heart is so much more than a monument. It is an indicator of what they believe is their culture. It represents a future—a place to visit and say, “We are part of this country and we can make a difference.”
Let us remain proud of our ancestors, because they kept our dreams for equality alive. They travelled to this little place in all weathers. We would like to say thank you, and the only way we know how is to fight for the Tinkers’ Heart of Argyll to be scheduled and protected by Historic Scotland, which we now invite to show some courage.