A baby has been born on Scotland’s North Ronaldsay Island for the first time in more than 30 years.
Duncan Wilder Thorstein Traill Suarez Ford was born on September 15, making him the first child born on the island in 34 years, his mother Alice Traill Ford told CNN on Thursday. North Ronaldsea Island is the northernmost island of the Orkney Islands and is just 3 miles long and 2 miles wide.
Trail Ford, her fiancé Jorge Suarez and their family split their time between Costa Rica and North Ronaldsea, and the original plan was for Duncan to be born there, she said.
The family had booked round-trip tickets when they arrived in North Ronaldsea, but birth plans changed upon arrival.
“I knew right away that this was going to be the most special, magical and supportive birth I could give him,” said Trail Ford, whose family bought the island in 1727.
“My connection to the island is what brings me there every year,” she said. “Every year since I was a baby.”
“I feel like this island raised me, and that’s why I felt the greatest connection and belonging to the energy of this island, especially in my ancestral home,” added Trail Ford, who gave birth at the Holland House built by her ancestors.
According to Scottish Government statistics in 2024, the island’s population was 72. Trail-Ford told CNN there are currently 51 people living on North Ronaldsea Island.
“Everyone is so excited,” Trail Ford said, handing out small bottles of whiskey decorated with four-leaf clovers and small seashells, locally known as grotty buckies, which bring good luck.
“They’re like an extended family, an extended family, an island family, distant relatives,” she added.
As for why no babies have been born on the island for so long, Trail-Ford believes it may be due to a lack of medical facilities, with no doctors or hospitals, only full-time nurses.
“I think it’s probably because people are afraid that something might go wrong with childbirth, so they feel safer in a hospital where they have all the support they need if something goes wrong,” she said, adding that it takes about two hours and 40 minutes to get to mainland Orkney by boat.
“If it’s an emergency, a Coast Guard helicopter will come out. Otherwise, if you’re healthy enough, you’ll have to go to Kirkwall on the mainland,” she said.
