First baby born on remote Scottish island in more than 30 years
By Jack Guy, CNN
(CNN) — A baby has been born on the remote Scottish island of North Ronaldsay for the first time in more than three decades.
Duncan Wilder Thorstein Traill Suarez Ford was born on September 15, marking the first birth on the island in 34 years, his mother Alice Traill Ford told CNN on Thursday. North Ronaldsay is Orkney’s most northerly island, and is only three miles long and two miles wide.
Traill Ford, fiancé Jorge Suarez and family split their time between Costa Rica and North Ronaldsay, and the original plan was for Duncan to be born in Costa Rica, she said.
The family had return flights booked when they arrived in North Ronaldsay, but the birth plan changed when they landed.
“I knew instantly that it would be the most special, magical and supportive birth that I could give him,” said Traill Ford, whose family bought the island 1727.
“My connection to the island is what brings me back every year,” she said. “Every year since I was a baby.”
“I feel this island had a hand in raising me and it’s for that reason that I felt the greatest sense of connection and belonging with the energy here, especially in my ancestral home,” added Traill Ford, who gave birth at Holland House, which was built by her ancestors.
According to Scottish government figures in 2024, the island’s population was 72. Traill Ford told CNN there are now 51 people living on North Ronaldsay.
“Everybody’s very excited,” said Traill Ford, who gave out small bottles of whisky decorated with four leaf clovers and small shells known locally as groatie buckies, which are meant to bring good luck.
“They’re kind of extended family, it feels like… a giant family, island family, distant relatives,” she added.
As for why no children have been born on the island in so long, Traill Ford believes that it may be due to a lack of healthcare facilities, with no doctor or hospital, and only a resident nurse
“I believe it’s because people feel maybe afraid of the things that might be able to go wrong in childbirth and so they feel safer being in a hospital where everything is available for the support that they may need in case something were to go wrong,” she said, adding that it takes around two hours and 40 minutes to reach the mainland of Orkney by boat.
“If you’re in an emergency then the coast guard helicopter would fly out for you otherwise if you’re well enough then you would need to travel into Kirkwall (on) the mainland,” she said.
The-CNN-Wire
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