Culloden: Kate Forbes MSP, Hells Angels and Gaelic psalms due at commemoration

More than 1,000 people - including a government minister, clansmen and a group of Hells Angels - are due at the annual event to commemorate the Battle of Culloden, which was fought 279 years ago today.

Organised by the Gaelic Society of Inverness, supporters will gather on Saturday to remember those who died in the last pitched battle on British soil, the defeat of the Jacobites and the subsequent attempts by the state to suppress Highland language and culture.

Now in its 100th year, the society said the event had grown over the years to welcome a wide mix of clansmen, historians, Highlanders and even Hells Angels, with a chapter from Edinburgh long attending the event on an annual basis.

This year’s event will feature an address from the society’s chieftain, Kate Forbes MSP, the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic.

Ms Forbes said: “The Battle of Culloden is an important moment in Scotland’s history and prompted a hastening of Gaelic’s decline in the Highlands and Islands.

“The establishment of this commemorative service a century ago was an early part of the movement to restore Gaelic’s place in Scottish life. It is an opportunity to pay tribute to the positive steps made in Gaelic media, literature, the arts and legislation over recent years.”

READ MORE: The Jacobites who fought on after Culloden

Murdo Campbell, chairman of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, said the commemoration attracted only a “handful of people” when it was first held in 1925.

He added: “It was a fairly small event in the beginning but I would say that particularly over the past 20 years, it has really grown.

The memorial cairn on Culloden Battlefield where wreaths will be laid on Saturday to commemorate the battle fought on April 16, 1746. | Herbert Frank

“I’d say social media has played a part in this and also people are travelling more. With that, people have always been interested in Culloden as a major event in Scottish history.

“It was the last battle fought on British soil and it is also about the effect it had on the way of the Highlanders by trying to get rid of the kilt and speaking Gaelic.”

The service will begin when the society’s piper, Steven McCabe, who will lead those gathered to the memorial cairn on Culloden Battlefield, where the battle was lost by Jacobite forces led by Prince Charles Edward Stuart in less than an hour on April 16, 1746.

Ms Forbes will address the crowd, the society’s piper will play a lament and Gaelic psalms will be sung. A poem will also be recited by society bard Pàdraig MacAoidh.

Wreaths will then be laid. In past years, those claiming to be descendants of Prince Charles Edward Stuart have attended the commemoration to lay flowers.

Mr Campbell said: “We have an amazing number of people laying wreaths. We also have a chapter of Hells Angels from Edinburgh who come on an annual basis, but we don’t know who will be there until the day.”

To mark the anniversary, the 2025 Christopher Duffy Memorial Lecture will be presented by Dr Darren Layne and Dr Arran Johnston.

Dr Layne will speak about Jacobite impressment and the “uncomfortable truth” of recruits being compelled to join and fight in the Jacobite armys during the 1715 and 1745 risings.

Meanwhile, Dr Johnston, author and founding director of the Scottish Battlefields Trust, will talk about Prince Charles Edward Stuart at Culloden and the myths and realities of his performance on the battlefield.

The lectures will be held at Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre and tickets are required.