Clan Gathering: Once a year the Chief calls a Clan Gathering where members come from near and far to meet the Chief and his family, discuss the business of the Society and socialise with friends old and new. On the Sunday of the Gathering a service is held in Struan Church, the burial site of many of the Chiefs.
Clan Country: The homeland of the "children of Duncan" was once described as stretching from the Moor of Rannoch to the gates of Perth. The Clan Chiefs had strongholds at Struan, Loch Tummel and Invervack. Later these were located at Rannoch and Mount Alexander (now Dunalastair) further west
Clan History - the Origins: The Robertsons of Struan is one of the oldest families in Scotland. Chiefs are numbered from Duncan "the Stout" who led his Clan in support of King Robert Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Legend tells that, "the chief, journeying with his Clan to join Bruce's army before Bannockburn, observed, on his standard being lifted one morning, a glittering stone in a clod of earth hanging to the flagstaff". This was the Clach na Bratach which almost 700 years later is on display in our museum area at Bruar.
In 1437 Chief Duncan's great-grandson, Robert, captured one of the murderers of King James I and had him brought to justice. As a reward King James II in 1451 granted him a Charter creating the family lands into the Barony of Struan and elevating his crest to a hand upholding a crown. Alexander, the next chief, called himself Robertson and thereafter the clan chiefs and many of the clansfolk were styled Robertson.
Clan History 17th - 21st Century: The Clan was drawn into the political struggles of the Stuart Kings. Alexander, 'The Poet Chief' and a fervent Jacobite supporter, took part in the Jacobite Risings of 1689, 1715 and 1745. After the final defeat at Culloden, Struan and many of his followers never recovered. Gilbert Robertson of Struan, the present chief, descends from a younger son who emigrated to Jamaica in the early nineteenth century.
Clan Society & Centre: Although the Clan may have lost most of its lands, the clan spirit has never died. Dinners and gatherings took place throughout the 19th century and led to the founding of the Clan Donnachaidh Society in 1893.
In 1967 the Clan Donnachaidh Society raised enough money world-wide to buy a site at Bruar and opened the first purpose-built Clan Museum in Scotland in 1969.
In 1993 clansfolk again donated nearly £60,000 to create a gift shop adjacent to the Museum. In 2001 the Museum was forced to close for financial reasons. In 2005 alterations were made to the remaining building to incorporate a Museum area and Reading room where members can discover more about the Clan Society and its history. The Clan Society's office is also at Bruar, where the Secretary keeps up contacts with members and Branches world-wide. A Clan Annual is published each year and sent free to all its members.
