The Coll Association

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, many people from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland were forced to leave their homes for urban areas and foreign lands in the hope of finding employment. This was true for many Collachs who largely left the Isle of Coll for Glasgow. However, some travelled as far as America, Canada and New Zealand, where their descendants still reside today.

Those who left the island would often meet up in Glasgow, enjoying a dram and a bit of craic, sharing stories and memories about Coll and offering support and friendship to one another in a city that felt so far from their island roots.

In 1931, this gathering of Glasgow Collachs formally became An Comunn Collach, the Coll Association. At this time, the Association was founded with the following objectives:

To cultivate a friendly spirit among An Comunn Collach members through the holding of meetings for social intercourse and mutual enjoyment;
To afford relief in deserving cases for those connected to the Isle of Coll by blood, birth, parentage, marriage or residence; and
To preserve everything pertaining to the traditions, history, poetry, lore and all that is best in the annals of the native Isle and the Highlands in general.

Although the Coll Association has evolved over the years, these simple and heartfelt objectives remain our guiding principles today.

Since 1931, the Coll Association has brought together many generations of Collachs and friends of the island. The Association allows young and old to come together to celebrate their connection to the Isle of Coll: catching up at ceilidhs, meetings, quiz nights and many other social gatherings. Our annual programme of events not only bring together Collachs but enable the Association to provide financial assistance to many worthy causes connected with the Isle of Coll.

The sense of kinship, history, tradition and belonging are valued more now by families and friends of Coll than perhaps our founding members ever would have imagined.