The Chief of Clan Hunter was one of many at The Gathering to speak of the wider benefit that the historic two-day event afforded her and her peers.
Pauline Hunter of Hunterston said: “It’s the first opportunity I’ve had to meet so many other clan chiefs in all the time that I’ve been a clan chief - I’ve only ever met half a dozen of them - so it’s an opportunity for all of us to get together.
“It’s an opportunity for us to be able to show Scotland and Scottish people what it means to the wider area of Scots who live abroad, how much they value their Scottish heritage.
“There’s a huge passion for Scotland,” she explained. “There’s a huge feeling of comradeship, of kinmanship, and it’s the fact you’re Scottish, not just the fact that you belong to a clan.”
The clan chief also spoke of how two of the most famous Hunter ancestors were famous surgeons, and that many clanspeople even nowadays find themselves working in the medical profession. Mere coincidence?
Continuing to explain her clan’s past, Pauline Hunter added that the Hunters were invited over by King David II of Scotland to become Royal Huntsmen, and to supply the royal table with food and hunting birds.
In total 400 chiefs and representatives (125 clan chiefs) and 50,000 punters attended The Gathering in Holyrood Park at the weekend, which was part of the this year’s Homecoming celebrations.
They descended on the Scottish capital with their clans for this historic regrouping of exiles from all over the world.
