Obituary - Norman A Macdonald (1956-2026)

Norman Alexander Macdonald (Mac Iain Dhòmhnail Daoidheir) who has died at the age of 69 was an outstanding ambassador for the Western Isles in his two terms as convener of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. For much, much longer he was immersed in promoting the wellbeing of island communities, particularly in his native Uig.

Tom Ally, or Dokus as he was known to many, briefly encountered the bright city lights, decided he did not much like them and returned to Uig to provide leadership for every significant development which has taken place there in the past 50 years, to maintain it as a viable community.

Through community development work, he carried the same values and priorities into a wider field. As a councillor, he fought not only for Uig but other fragile parts of the islands whose needs were in urgent need of recognition. He was a man of ideas and implementation who spared little time for words that were not matched by action.

As convener of the Comhairle between 2012 and 2022, he represented the islands, their language and culture with unfailing dignity and enthusiasm. One of his last public appearances, before a cruel illness took hold, was to mark 50 years of Comhairle nan Eilean coming into existence.

The monuments to his endeavours in Uig are many and varied. “There is only so much you can do”, he said, “without the basic resource of land”. But within boundaries set by that constraint, he did everything possible to establish community enterprises and amenities on which the area will long continue to depend.

Tom Ally was one of eight children of John and Mairi (née Maclennan), otherwise known as Mairi Hearadh, a native of Scarp. He grew up in Valtos in a family of “Tochies”. At that time, when children from Uig went to the Nicolson Institute, they lived in hostels, an experience which he recalled with no fondness at all. In later life, it was one of his fulfilled ambitions to see the hostels system ended once and for all.

As soon as Tom Ally left school, his mother marched him down to a caravan where a careers adviser, known as Bodach May, determined that the civil service should be his destination. He went to London for interviews but quickly decided the civil service was not for him. Instead, he found work on building sites as an under-age steel fixer.

He went home on holiday and retained a clear memory of stepping off the ferry and deciding “I am never going back”. His belongings were forwarded from London. He then spent three years as an apprentice bricklayer in Stornoway before finding work closer to home under the Job Creation Programme, constructing a jetty at Mealista for crofters to take their sheep to the island.

By then,in his early 20s, he was also running a youth club in Uig which was a game changer for local teenagers at a time when the only community facility was a small wooden hall next to the school. In 1980, with EU money to strengthen peripheral communities, Comhairle nan Eilean appointed youth and community workers. Tom Ally got the job covering Uig and Bernera, with flexibility to do whatever was required.

Tom Ally described this role – which latterly extended to the whole west side of Lewis – as “the best job I ever had”. It was a bonus that Valtos Outdoor Centre, now demolished, was within his own patch and provided a fantastic facility for young people from all over the island and beyond.

He was keenly interested in promoting sport and Charlie Nicolson, who worked closely with him in this era, said: “He loved people and he was always most happy at the outdoor centre in Uig where he helped young people improve their lives and confidence using the outdoor experiences. This helped build the lives of many individuals and families”.

After 17 years of working for the Comhairle, he became an elected member of it, winning a by-election in his home area. For employment, he took on roles in Gaelic development first with Comunn na Gàidhlig and then as training co-ordinator for the National Gaelic Arts Agency. In 2004, he became head of community development at Western Isles Enterprise, now defunct.

All this time, Tom Ally had been intensively involved in projects for the betterment of the Uig community. A huge undertaking throughout the 1990s was to raise funds for a proper Community Centre and when this was achieved, it created a first-class community asset which transformed social life in Uig.

Among many initiatives to which he gave leadership was the buy-out of the Uig shop which Calum and Mairead Morrison had sustained for many years. Tom Ally’s masterstroke was via an old community work colleague in Shetland, Tor Justad, who had links into the Co-operative movement. With his help, the Co-op supported the buy-out in Uig and Tom Ally believed it would probably not have been possible without them.

The award-winning shop continues to provide multiple services to the Uig community. The buy-out of Valtos Estate and the persistent efforts to establish Ionad Hiort were among the other initiatives to which he gave his wholehearted support.

Tom Ally gave 30 years of service as a retained firefighter, including 15 as Watch Commander. When Uig Community Centre was extended, a new fire station was incorporated into the building. He advanced the same approach in Bernera and the idea of facility-sharing was embraced more widely by Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service, to maintain vital rural facilities.

In dealing with government, he also proved an astute and effective politician with close links to the early administration at Holyrood. One of his achievements was to chair Sgòiltean Ùra which delivered five new schools through an almost miraculous funding arrangement that avoided long-term debt associated with a public-private funding model.

While these were among his public roles and achievements, which were recognised in 2024 with the award of an OBE, he will be remembered by all who knew him for his personal characteristics – his enthusiasm for everything in which he became involved; his quiet commitment to helping others; his willingness to go the extra mile whenever it was required; his selfless devotion to maintaining and enhancing all that is good in the community he was brought up in.

Through all of this, his partner in life and supporter in everything he achieved was Patricia Matheson, with whom he had 49 years of marriage. Family meant everything to Tom Ally and that love was amply reciprocated.

He is survived by Patricia, their children, Peter, Sarah and Kenny, ten adoring grandchildren and a large extended family.

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