Wallace’s descendent ‘snubbed’ by monument
A descendant of William Wallace who starred in 1995 blockbuster Braveheart has been left “speechless” after his books on the Scottish folk hero were rejected by the Wallace Monument.
Seoras Wallace, 62, a member of Clan Wallace and a former acting-clan chief, said he was snubbed after he proposed launching his new series ‘Wallace: Legend of Braveheart’ at the monument.
He also had hoped to sell the books through the monument’s gift shop, which was also declined.
Author Seoras is currently preparing to launch the books, which he has said will be available worldwide from September - but not at the eponymous Stirling landmark.
He said: “I really don’t understand it. I wanted to do the worldwide launch of the books at the monument and have been told they’re not interested. It’s crazy.
“I’ve had interest in the books from Argentina, who want to translate the book into Spanish, in Iran they want to bring it out in Farsi...it seems like there’s been interest for this book everywhere except Stirling.
“The whole thing has left me speechless.”
The nine-book series on William Wallace is set to be released in the coming months, and comprises of oral legend passed down through the Wallace clan.
Seoras believes the book will “shatter many of the popular myths” about the life of the folk hero, focusing on his relationships with figures such as Affric ua Bruan, as well as lesser-known periods in his life such as his time fighting for Philip IV of France and his travels in Russia.
Seoras said the books are “the first to have been written by Clan Wallace, by a member of the Wallace family”.
The books are also set to be adapted for a proposed television series in the United States.
Seoras, who currently lives in Glasgow, has worked as a historical consultant and fight director for the last three decades, and was heavily involved in the production of 1995 smash hit ‘Braveheart’ starring and directed by Mel Gibson.
He was also involved in bringing the premiere of the film to Stirling, and even received recognition from leading man Mr Gibson at the 68th Academy Awards in 1996.
In September, the National Wallace Monument will celebrate its 150th anniversary with a number of events at the landmark.
There will be a special ‘Wallace 150’ event held at the monument on Wednesday, September 11, to mark the anniversary date.
Seoras has said that no member of the Wallace family has been invited to attend the celebrations.
“There will be no Wallaces, nobody from the entire Clan will be there,” he said. “It’s definitely deliberate, it’s not an oversight. I don’t know what’s wrong with Stirling; there’s nothing political going on here: I don’t have an axe to grind.”
He added: “The Wallace monument is the icon of Stirling, and they don’t seem to want to have anything to do with the Wallaces themselves.
“I try not to be negative about it, but when you feel that your name is being used to generate money, it makes you ask what is going on?”
Ken Thomson, marketing manager at Stirling District Tourism, the charity that operates The National Wallace Monument, said: “Stirling District Tourism works with selected distributors to source books for the National Wallace Monument gift shop, with planned stock agreed at the beginning of each year.”
Mr Thomson noted that the monument would be happy to consider the ‘Wallace: Legend of Braveheart’ titles if they are distributed through their selected distributors.
He added: “We haven’t invited anybody to the event at the National Wallace Monument as it is a public event which anybody can attend. We want everybody in Stirling to come along to the event, as it has a great lineup. It’s not a case of not inviting anybody.”