The CDLT Board of Trustees issued a statement on 24^th March 2025 announcing their unanimous decision to place the CDLT Sleat Estate on the open market in April and the remaining Armadale property assets in early summer. On 27^th March the Trustees issued a letter to the clan providing the background to the decision together with an outline of future plans. These statements are available here.

At the time of a decision to sell the wider estate, the Trustees were Sir Ian Macdonald of Sleat (Chair), Lord Macdonald (Vice Chair), Bruce Macdonald, Diane Carey-Schmitz and Ranald Macdonald Younger of Clanranald.

In taking this extraordinarily difficult decision, the Trustees have been directed and driven by their legal responsibilities and duties under Scottish Charity Law, the purpose of the CDLT, and their love of Clan Donald. Throughout the process the Trustees have been scrupulously guided by professional advisors.

Why now? The specific occurrence which demanded an urgent decision from the Trustees was the unexpected ending of the longstanding grant funding which had underwritten Armadale’s losses for decades. Sadly, in reality Armadale does not have sufficient visitor footfall to be commercially viable. In the opinion of the Trustees without substantial investment this will not change. However the CDLT was not established to invest in speculative Highland destination tourist ventures.

The seriousness of the economic challenges facing Armadale are compounded by the degree to which it is failing to achieve the heritage and cultural objectives of the CDLT. The annual engagement of Armadale with the clan is declining. The museum and archive team at Armadale advise that only between 2% to 3% of all visitors to Armadale have a defined Clan Donald connection. The number of families visiting the archive with a keen interest or specific query is rarely more than a dozen each year. In summary focusing all of CLDT resources into a high-risk commercial hospitality business for visitors of whom 97-98% currently have no links to the clan and are simply seeking something to do on Skye or a place to stop for a coffee, is not the core purpose of the CDLT. However, the Trustees do acknowledge, appreciate, and understand the emotional value placed upon Armadale as a physical clan headquarters.

The CDLT was intended to lead Clan Donald globally, but with Armadale the CDLT does not have the resources to create and drive a thriving online community, instigate international clan events, or support heritage projects or individual achievements with bursaries or grants. Weighed up against what Armadale is achieving in terms of clan engagement and the promotion of our heritage, it is clear to the Trustees that more appropriate options should be found to utilise the CDLT’s resources to enable it to achieve its original purpose. The Trustees invite the clan to join the CDLT on this journey.

The CDLT has worked for many years to try and make Armadale economically sustainable and engage better with the clan. No previous Armadale Boards and management teams were able to make Armadale viable, even with the generous funding available in those years. In the end tough decisions had to be taken. The number of Clan members visiting each year is too low to justify the annual losses or the major investment and development necessary to potentially secure viability.

In the coming months the Trustees will endeavour to ensure that the future purchaser of Armadale will be in the position to provide a brighter future for the local community. It is also the sincere hope of the Trustees that all interested parties will work together in the interests of the future of the Clan, the local community, and the CDLT. It is early days but so far the Trustees are very much encouraged by the support of many clan members, although there is some disappointment with the disinformation being disseminated by some parties without any consultation with the CDLT.

There has been some speculation about the museum. The museum collections are not for sale and this season they continue to be on display and well looked after. We are now looking at a number of different potential opportunities for the continuation of the CDLT collection being displayed to the clan and the general public. Later this year we will be reviewing our collections and opening discussions with lenders and other relevant bodies.

Over the years the museum has acquired a broad range of items, from papers to photos to artefacts. Many of these do not have a direct Clan Donald link and, due to space constraints, have never been on display. Depending on the collections review, items not staying with the Trust will either be returned to lenders or will be rehomed in other museums. This will be a big job and will necessarily take a considerable time. The Trustees were delighted to hear that some of our former staff have offered to help.

A big part of our current museum is about telling the story of Clan Donald, although sadly to a limited annual visitor audience. Going forward we hope to have the resources to expand on the storytelling and reach a far larger international clan audience, including new generations, through a world class immersive, interactive digital platform. The archive and library will be retained; we see that as a big part of our future heritage and genealogical work. This sale is not an end to our work but a new and exciting beginning.

This week, the Board is delighted to welcome back Sir Ian Macdonald of Sleat as a Trustee. This follows a brief period of medical concern. Sir Ian confirms his firm support for the sale and the opportunity this presents. He states, “The revenue raised will allow the CDLT to deliver for the wider Clan in a way that it would not be able to envisage let alone deliver while carrying the increasingly heavy burden of Armadale”.

Finally, we have had especially positive responses from longstanding local community members regarding our proposed local sale liaison group. We look forward to working with them as the sale progresses. This is still at a very early stage.

Clann Dòmhnaill gu bràth!

Ranald Macdonald, Younger of Clanranald (Chair of Trustees and heir to Clanranald)
Sir Ian Macdonald of Sleat, Bt. (Chief, Macdonalds of Sleat)
Major (Ret.) Bruce Macdonald (Chamberlain, The High Council of Clan Donald)
Diane Carey-Schmitz (Past High Commissioner, Clan Donald USA)

The CDLT Board has been open about the challenges faced by our charity for many years. The Armadale visitor centre has never been able to pay for itself on a year-round basis and the charity was only able to continue operating due to the generosity of a major grant funder. When the heartbreaking decision to sell the wider estate and then ultimately Armadale was taken, it was a decision supported by all the Trustees.

Looking to the future, a sale will enable the charity to reform as a viable Clan heritage body able to endure without the burden of Armadale’s perpetual higher costs and limited income. It is our hope that a reformed and more sustainably funded charity will be able to do far more work for the Clan, in particular for the next generations.

We are excited by the prospect of a comprehensive Clan consultation process in the near future to ensure the reformed charity is on the right path. This will include a survey on potential options and services.

Although the future direction of the charity will depend on feedback from the wider Clan, we hope to be able to develop a new, more efficient, and more viable Clan Centre including museum, exhibition and a modern immersive digital experience.

Later this year, a review is planned of our current Museum of the Isles during which we will look at the current collection and explore future options to present to the Clan. Assuming there is support from the Clan, we expect many of our key items will feature in a new museum/exhibition. The archive and library are likely to play a significant role as well.

We also hope to provide a much higher level of genealogical research assistance, potentially in partnership with an online genealogical company. This may include on-the-ground research and an ability to locate ancestral home locations in the West Highlands and Hebrides and then share photos and videos of them to Clanspeople living further away.

We are also excited by the prospect of developing a worldwide Clan Donald family tree. Given the many family names of the Clan, this will be an enormous long-term undertaking which will need significant volunteer support. This project will enable our ancestors and their family journeys to be properly recognised and with a defined and lasting place in the history of our Clan. It will also enable the next generations to fulfil the old Gaelic proverb of ‘cuimhnichibh air na daoine bho 'n d' thainig sibh’ – ‘remember the people from whom you came’.

Meantime please be assured that our collections and archives are operating as normal. Though these are uncertain economic times, we look forward to a good visitor season and hope to see some of you at Armadale this year.

Clann Dòmhnaill gu bràth!

Trustees

Ranald Macdonald, Younger of Clanranald
Major (Ret.) Bruce Macdonald
Diane Carey-Schmitz