Kay Matheson
Matheson in 1981
Born(1928-12-07)7 December 1928
Inverasdale, Scotland
Died6 July 2013(2013-07-06) (aged 84)
Aultbea, Scotland
Alma materUniversity of Glasgow
Occupation(s)Teacher, political activist, Gaelic scholar
Known for1950 removal of the Stone of Scone

Kay Matheson (7 December 1928 – 6 July 2013) was a Scottish teacher, political activist, and Gaelic scholar. She was one of the four University of Glasgow students involved in the 1950 removal of the Stone of Scone.

Life

Matheson was born in Inverasdale near Loch Ewe in 1928, to a crofting family.[1] She attended the University of Glasgow, studying domestic science, and taught in both English and Gaelic.[2][1] Following the Christmas Day raid she returned to Inverasdale to live with her mother, and teach locally.[3] She taught home economics, Gaelic, and physical education at Achtercairn School in Gairloch, also taught at various primary schools in Wester Ross.[4][5] She was involved with An Comunn Gàidhealach, an organisation that promotes the teaching and use of Gaelic.[6][7] She ran against Charles Kennedy in the 1983 United Kingdom general election as an SNP candidate,[8] and was an active member of the party.[5] During the 1980s she participated in the Ceartas campaign to raise the profile of the Gaelic language.[3]

Christmas day raid

Matheson met Ian Hamilton, Gavin Vernon and Alan Stuart while studying in Glasgow, (all four were members of the Scottish Covenant Association), with whom she made the plan to bring back to Scotland the Stone of Destiny from Westminster Abbey.[3] On Christmas Day 1950, they gained access to the Abbey and removed the stone to Scotland, following which action check points were put on roads, and the border between Scotland and England closed.[1] Matheson broke two toes during the action, and was also the getaway driver.[1] The stone having broken in two during the raid, Matheson took one piece, leaving it with a friend in England before collecting it at a later date.[1] A description of her car was issued, however the stone was not found for four months.[5] Police attended her family home to question her about the theft, at which point she lied, and told them that it was in a nearby peat bog.[1] No charges were brought against either Matheson or her fellow students.[1] She is quoted as having said "Our recovery, not theft, of the Stone informed our whole lives."[2]

Matheson was 22 at the time of the raid, and was not named in initial reports following the incident; she later confirmed to a newspaper by phone that she had been involved.[9]

In 1996, the Stone was returned to Scotland, in a ceremony at Edinburgh Castle at which Matheson was present.[2] Her obituary states that she was the only one of the four to attend,[5] though this is disputed in the obituary of Gavin Vernon.[10]

In 2000, BBC Alba broadcast a short film entitled An Ceasnachadh: Interrogation of a Highland Lass, about the police's interrogation of Matheson.[11][3] Matheson's younger self was portrayed by Kathleen MacInnes, and her older self by Dolina MacLennan.[12][13] In the 2008 film Stone of Destiny she was played by Kate Mara.[14]

Death

Matheson never married, and died at the age of 84, in Aultbea's Isle View Nursing Home, where she had lived for 20 years, and cared for by a relative, and former pupils.[4] In the wake of her death, she was celebrated as a key figure in modern Scottish Nationalism,[15] by Angus MacNeil (MP) as a "feisty and funny woman",[16] and by Charles Kennedy, with whom she became friends after standing against him in 1983, as an "inspirational force."[17]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Obituary: Kay Matheson, teacher". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Kay Matheson". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Kay Matheson - Teacher who took part in the sensational theft of the Stone of Scone from Westminster Abbey in the name of Scottish home rule". The Times. 12 July 2013.
  4. 1 2 "History-making Stone of Destiny raid daredevil dies in Wester Ross". RossShire Journal. 9 July 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Kay Matheson". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  6. ↑ "Gaelic Youth Gain Independence. Changes in An Comunn". The Glasgow Herald. 8 October 1962. p. 8. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  7. ↑ An Comunn Gàidhealach Publications > Annual report (Comunn Gàidhealach) > 73rd, 1963-1964. digital.nls.uk (Report). p. 4. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  8. ↑ "Election Results". The Glasgow Herald. 11 June 1983. p. 14. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  9. ↑ "1951: 'We were the ones who stole the Stone of Destiny'". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  10. ↑ "Gavin Vernon". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  11. ↑ "Alan Riach: What is the immediate relevance of the Gaelic tradition?". The National. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  12. ↑ "Woman who took Stone of Destiny back to Scotland dies". BBC News. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  13. ↑ An Ceasnachadh (2000) - IMDb, retrieved 22 September 2021
  14. ↑ Porter, Lynnette (2010). "The Cinematic and Historic Weight of "Stone of Destiny"". Studies in Popular Culture. 33 (1): 53–77. ISSN 0888-5753. JSTOR 23416319.
  15. ↑ Taylor, Alan (10 July 2013). "The debt Scotland owes to Kay Matheson". The Herald. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  16. ↑ Drainey, Nick (9 July 2013). "Woman who helped steal Stone Of Destiny dies at 84". The Times.
  17. ↑ Ross, David (9 July 2013). "Charles Kennedy pays tribute to Stone of Destiny's Kay Matheson". The Herald.
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