Islay
Encyclopedia
Prehistory
The earliest settlers on Islay were nomadic hunter-gathererHunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
s who arrived during the Mesolithic period after the retreat of the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
ice caps. In 1993 a flint arrowhead
Arrowhead
An arrowhead is a tip, usually sharpened, added to an arrow to make it more deadly or to fulfill some special purpose. Historically arrowheads were made of stone and of organic materials; as human civilization progressed other materials were used...
was found in a field near Bridgend
Bridgend, Islay
Bridgend is a village on the Inner Hebrides island of Islay off the western coast of Scotland at the tip of Loch Indaal.The island's two main road the A846 and A847 meet in the village just north of the bridge over the River Sorn that gives the village its name....
dating from 10,800 BC, the earliest evidence of a human presence found so far in Scotland. Other finds have been dated to 7000 BC using radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" ,...
of shells and debris from kitchen middens. By the Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
, settlements had become more permanent, allowing for the construction of several communal monuments.
History
Columba
Saint Columba —also known as Colum Cille , Colm Cille , Calum Cille and Kolban or Kolbjørn —was a Gaelic Irish missionary monk who propagated Christianity among the Picts during the Early Medieval Period...
who probably passed through Islay on his way to establish the monastery on Iona
Iona
Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the western coast of Scotland. It was a centre of Irish monasticism for four centuries and is today renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. It is a popular tourist destination and a place for retreats...
in the 6th century. At this time, Islay lay within the kingdom of Dál Riata
Dál Riata
Dál Riata was a Gaelic overkingdom on the western coast of Scotland with some territory on the northeast coast of Ireland...
and was ruled by the Cenél nÓengusa
Cenél nÓengusa
The Cenél nÓengusa were a kin group who ruled the island of Islay, and perhaps nearby Colonsay, off the western coast of Scotland in the early Middle Ages....
.
From the 14th to the 16th centuries, Islay, along with the rest of the Hebrides Archipelago and much of the west coast of Scotland, was controlled by Clan Donald
Clan Donald
Clan Donald is one of the largest Scottish clans. There are numerous branches to the clan. Several of these have chiefs recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms; these are: Clan Macdonald of Sleat, Clan Macdonald of Clanranald, Clan MacDonell of Glengarry, Clan MacDonald of Keppoch, and Clan...
, whose chief became known as the Lord of the Isles
Lord of the Isles
The designation Lord of the Isles is today a title of Scottish nobility with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It emerged from a series of hybrid Viking/Gaelic rulers of the west coast and islands of Scotland in the Middle Ages, who wielded sea-power with fleets of...
. The Islay Charter
Islay Charter
The Islay Charter or "Gaelic Charter of 1408" is a grant of lands by Domhnall of Islay, Lord of the Isles to "Brian Bhicaire Magaodh" , a resident of Islay , written in 1408. The charter is unique in being the only MacDonald land charter extant to have been written in the Gaelic language...
, a record of lands granted to an Islay resident, Brian Vicar MacKay, by the Domhnall of Islay, Lord of the Isles
Domhnall of Islay, Lord of the Isles
Donald, or properly, Dómhnall Íle , was the son and successor of John of Islay, Lord of the Isles and chief of Clan Donald. The Lordship of the Isles was based in and around the Scottish west-coast island of Islay, but under Domhnall's father had come to include many of the other islands off the...
in 1408, is one of the earliest records of Gaelic in public use, and is a significant historical document.
The MacDonald Lords commanded a strong semi-independent maritime kingdom during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, and considered themselves equals of the kings of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Their base of power was a large Gaelic settlement on the shores of Loch Finlaggan in northeastern Islay, near the present-day village of Caol Ila
Caol Ila
Caol Ila Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery near Port Askaig on the isle of Islay, Scotland.- History :Caol Ila is derived from Gaelic Caol Ìle for "Sound of Islay" in reference to the distillery's location overlooking the strait between Islay and Jura. It was founded in 1846 by Hector...
. The origins of the Lordship date back to the defeat of the Danes off the coast of Islay in 1156 by Somerled
Somerled
Somerled was a military and political leader of the Scottish Isles in the 12th century who was known in Gaelic as rí Innse Gall . His father was Gillebride...
, but Finlaggan was populated long before the arrival of the Lords. Evidence suggests that it was a place of ancient inauguration of Celtic kings and chieftains, a tradition which may have originated in druidic times.
Writing in 1549, Dean Monro
Donald Monro (Dean)
Donald Monro was a Scottish clergyman, who wrote an early and historically valuable description of the Hebrides and other Scottish islands and enjoyed the honorific title of “Dean of the Isles”.-Origins:...
wrote:
In this iyle there is strenths castells; the first is callit Dunowaik, biggit on ane craig at the sea side, on the southeist part of the countery pertaining to the Clandonald of Kintyre; second is callit the castle of Lochgurne, quhilk is biggit ill ane iyle within the said fresche water loche far fra land, pertaining of auld to the Clandonald of Kintyre, now usurped be M’Gillayne of Doward. Ellan Forlagan, in the middle of Ila, ane faire iyle in fresche water.
Each successive chief of Clan Donald was proclaimed Lord of the Isles upon an ancient seven-foot-square coronation stone, possibly of druidic origin, at Finlaggan. Like the ritual stone at Dunadd
Dunadd
Dunadd, , is an Iron Age and later hillfort near Kilmartin in Argyll and Bute, Scotland and believed to be the capital of the ancient kingdom of Dál Riata.-Description:...
, capital of Dál Riata, it contained footprint impressions in which the new ruler stood barefoot and, with his father's ceremonial stone in his hand, was anointed King by the Bishop of Argyll
Bishop of Argyll
The Bishop of Argyll or Bishop of Lismore was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Argyll, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. It was created in 1200, when the western half of the territory of the Bishopric of Dunkeld was formed into the new diocese. The bishops were based at Lismore...
and seven priests. During the ceremony an orator recited a list of the King's ancestors and he was proclaimed "Macdonald, high prince of the seed of Conn".
In 1462, John MacDonald II (also known as John of Islay, Earl of Ross), the last and most ambitious of the Lords, struck an alliance with Edward IV of England
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
with the goal of conquering Scotland. Unfortunately, the untimely onset of the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
prevented Edward from fulfilling his obligations as an ally, and in 1493 John Macdonald was compelled to forfeit his estates and titles to James IV of Scotland
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
. After the forfeiture, James ordered Finlaggan demolished, its buildings razed, and the coronation stone destroyed to discourage any attempts at restoration of the Lordship. The title itself survived, however; today, the heir to the British throne, who is known as the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
in all other parts of the British Commonwealth, bears the title Lord of the Isles within Scotland.
In 1726, the island was purchased by Daniel Campbell (d. 1753)
Daniel Campbell (d. 1753)
Daniel Campbell , or Donald Campbell, of Shawfield and Islay, was a leading Glasgow merchant and member of parliament, nicknamed “Great Daniel” because of his size and great wealth.-Dates:...
of Shawfield for £12,000. It remained in his family's ownership until 1853 when it was sold to James Morrison, the grandfather of the first Baron Margadale
Baron Margadale
Baron Margadale, of Islay in the County of Argyll, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1965 for the Conservative politician John Morrison. As of 2009 the title is held by his grandson, the third Baron, who succeeded his father in 2003. The barony of Margadale is the...
. Starting in the 1830s, the population of the island began dropping from its peak of 15,000 as a result of the Highland Clearances
Highland Clearances
The Highland Clearances were forced displacements of the population of the Scottish Highlands during the 18th and 19th centuries. They led to mass emigration to the sea coast, the Scottish Lowlands, and the North American colonies...
. Today's population is about 3,000. Most emigrants from Islay made new homes in Ontario, Canada
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, the Carolinas
The Carolinas
The Carolinas is a term used in the United States to refer collectively to the states of North and South Carolina. Together, the two states + have a population of 13,942,126. "Carolina" would be the fifth most populous state behind California, Texas, New York, and Florida...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
built an airfield at Glenegedale which later became the civil airport for Islay. There was also an RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force . Founded in 1936, it was the RAF's premier maritime arm, after the Royal Navy's secondment of the Fleet Air Arm in 1937. Naval aviation was neglected in the inter-war period, 1919–1939, and as a consequence the service did not receive...
flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
base at Bowmore
Bowmore
Bowmore Bowmore Bowmore (Scottish Gaelic: Bogh Mòr is a village on the Scottish island of Islay and serves as administrative capital of the island. It gives its name to the famous distillery producing Bowmore Single Malt, a single malt scotch whisky.-History:...
from 13 March 1941 using Loch Indaal
Loch Indaal
Loch Indaal is a sea loch on the island of Islay, the southernmost of the Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland. Together with Loch Gruinart to the north, it was formed by the Loch Gruinart Fault, which branches off the Great Glen Fault.Along the northwestern coast are the villages of...
, flying Short G Boat, Short C Boat (the precursor of the Sunderland) and Catalina I. On 1 September 1942 a reformed 246 Squadron with Sunderland Mark III aircraft took over. In May, 1943, RCAF 422 Squadron moved to Lochindall at Bowmore with Sunderland Aircraft. The 1942 film "Coastal Command" was partly filmed in Bowmore.
There was a RAF Chain Home
Chain Home
Chain Home was the codename for the ring of coastal Early Warning radar stations built by the British before and during the Second World War. The system otherwise known as AMES Type 1 consisted of radar fixed on top of a radio tower mast, called a 'station' to provide long-range detection of...
radar station at Saligo Bay and RAF Chain Home Low
Chain Home Low
Chain Home Low was the name of a British radar early warning system, detecting enemy aircraft movement at lower altitudes than and summarily used with the fixed Chain Home system which was operated by the RAF during World War II...
radar station at Kilchiaran which became a RAF ROTOR
ROTOR
ROTOR was a huge and elaborate air defence radar system built by the British Government in the early 1950s to counter possible attack by Soviet bombers...
radar station in the 1950s.
In the early 21st century, a campus of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig is a Scottish Gaelic medium college located about north of Armadale on the Sleat peninsula of the island of Skye in northwestern Scotland. It is part of the University of the Highlands and Islands and also has a campus on Islay known as Ionad Chaluim Chille Ìle.The college was...
was set up on Islay, Ionad Chaluim Chille Ìle
Ionad Chaluim Chille Ìle
Ionad Chaluim Chille Ìle is a Gaelic medium college on the shores of Loch Indaal on the island of Islay in Scotland. It was founded in 2002 as part of the University of the Highlands and Islands, and is overseen by Sabhal Mòr Ostaig...
.
Distilleries
Islay whisky
Islay whisky is Scotch whisky made on Islay or Ìle in Gaelic, the southernmost of the Inner Hebridean Islands located off the west coast of Scotland. There are eight active distilleries on the island, as of early 2008, with a ninth being made ready for production...
is produced by eight distilleries
Distillation
Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....
on the island.
The distilleries on the south of the island produce whiskies with a very strong peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
y flavour. From east to west they are Ardbeg
Ardbeg
Ardbeg Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery on the south coast of the isle of Islay, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, in the Inner Hebrides group of islands. The distillery claims to produce the peatiest Islay whisky and uses malted barley sourced from the maltings in Port Ellen. It is one of the...
, Lagavulin
Lagavulin Single Malt
Lagavulin Single Malt is an Islay single malt Scotch whisky produced at Lagavulin on the island of Islay, United Kingdom. The whisky has a powerful, peat-smoke aroma, and is described as being robustly full-bodied, well balanced, and smooth, with a slight sweetness on the palate.The standard...
, and Laphroaig
Laphroaig
Laphroaig , is an Islay single malt Scotch whisky distillery and brand name. It is named for the area of land at the head of Loch Laphroaig on the south coast of the Isle of Islay...
(which are considered to be among the most intensely flavoured of all whiskies). On the north of the island Bowmore
Bowmore Single Malt
Bowmore is a distillery that produces scotch whisky on the isle of Islay, an island of the Inner Hebrides. The distillery, which lies on the South Eastern shore of Loch Indaal, is one of the oldest in Scotland and is said to have been established in 1779. The distillery is owned by Morrison...
, Bruichladdich
Bruichladdich
Bruichladdich Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery on the Rhinns of the isle of Islay. It is one of eight distilleries on the island, and until the recent opening of Kilchoman farm distillery, the only independent one....
and Bunnahabhain
Bunnahabhain
Bunnahabhain is a village on the northeast coast of the isle of Islay, which is in the Argyll and Bute area of Scotland, in the Inner Hebrides group of islands...
are produced. These whiskies are substantially lighter in taste. Caol Ila
Caol Ila
Caol Ila Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery near Port Askaig on the isle of Islay, Scotland.- History :Caol Ila is derived from Gaelic Caol Ìle for "Sound of Islay" in reference to the distillery's location overlooking the strait between Islay and Jura. It was founded in 1846 by Hector...
is an exception, produced in the north but flavoured more strongly of iodine and peat and thus closer in taste to Islay's southern malts. There were more distilleries in the past: Port Ellen
Port Ellen Single Malt
The Port Ellen Distillery is located in Port Ellen on the isle of Islay, Scotland.The distillery was built in the 1820s, and was acquired by Distillers Company in 1925. The distillery closed in 1983, although supplies of the malt are still available. The distillery houses a malting which...
closed in 1983 while the Lochindaal in Port Charlotte closed as long ago as 1929. Little blending is done on the island, though since the takeover of Bruichladdich distillery by several private individuals whisky is now blended and bottled there by Master Distiller James McEwan. Bruichladdich is also noteworthy as the only distillery which bottles its malts on Islay.
In 2005, a new microdistillery
Microdistillery
A microdistillery is a small, often 'boutique', distillery established to produce beverage grade alcohol in relatively small quantities. While the term is most commonly used in the United States, micro-distilleries have been established in Europe for many years, either as small cognac distilleries...
opened at Rockside Farm. Named Kilchoman Distillery, it officially opened in June, and distilled its first spirit in November. The malting floor burned down in February 2006, but has since been repaired and is back to full production.
In March 2007 Bruichladdich announced that it would reopen Port Charlotte Distillery
Port Charlotte (distillery)
Port Charlotte will be a Scotch whisky distillery on the island of Islay, off the west coast of Scotland. Whisky will be distilled in the village of Port Charlotte on the grounds of the former Lochindaal Distillery two miles southwest from the Bruichladdich Distillery, who are also starting up the...
, using equipment from the Inverleven distillery. The distillery will use the existing warehouses of the former Lochindaal Distillery while a visitors centre will be built on the current site of Clyne's Garage. The rebuilt distillery will be named Lochindaal as well.
Brewery
Apart from the whisky there is now an original real ale from the Isle of Islay. The Islay Ales Brewery opened its doors on 22 March 2004 and brews seven different real ales, some of which are seasonal, or for special occasions such as the yearly Festival of Malt and Music. The brewery is located on Islay House Square just outside Bridgend.Renewable energy
Wave power
Wave power is the transport of energy by ocean surface waves, and the capture of that energy to do useful work — for example, electricity generation, water desalination, or the pumping of water...
station near Portnahaven. The Islay LIMPET
Islay LIMPET
Islay LIMPET is the world’s first commercial wave power device connected to the United Kingdom's National Grid.Following the construction of a 75 kW prototype in 1991, a 500 kW unit was built in 2000, and is located at Claddach Farm on the Rhinns of Islay on the Scottish island of Islay...
(Land Installed Marine Powered Energy Transformer) wave power generator was designed and built by Wavegen and researchers from the Queen's University of Belfast
Queen's University of Belfast
Queen's University Belfast is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The university's official title, per its charter, is the Queen's University of Belfast. It is often referred to simply as Queen's, or by the abbreviation QUB...
, and was financially backed by the European Union. Known as Limpet 500, due to cabling constraints its capacity is limited to providing up to 150 kW of electricity into the island's grid. In 2000 it became the world's first commercial wave power station. In March 2011 the largest tidal array
Tidal power
Tidal power, also called tidal energy, is a form of hydropower that converts the energy of tides into useful forms of power - mainly electricity....
in the world was approved by the Scottish Government with 10 planned turbines predicted to generate enough power for over 5,000 homes. The project will be located in the Sound of Islay
Sound of Islay
The Sound of Islay is a narrow strait between the islands of Islay and Jura off the west coast of Scotland. It is approximately in extent from north to south and lies between Rubh' a' Mhàil on Islay and Rubh' Aird na Sgitheich on Jura to the north and Macarthur's Head and Rubha na Tràille to the...
which offers both high currents and shelter from storms.
Fishing
Brown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
fishing in Europe. Imported rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
have not been released on the island and the "brownies" still dominate the freshwater ecosystems. In 2003 the European Fishing Competition was held on five of the lochs. Most of the estates organise fishing on the rivers and lochs and maintain the banks for fishing. Sea angling
Angling
Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...
is also popular especially over the many shipwreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
s around the coast.
Transport
A846 road
The A846 road is one of the two principal roads of Islay in the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of mainland Scotland and the only 'A' road on the neighbouring island of Jura.A ferry connects the two islands across the Sound of Islay....
from Ardbeg to Port Askaig via Port Ellen and Bowmore, and the A847
A847 road
The A847 road is one of the two principal roads of Islay in the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of mainland Scotland.It connects Bridgend, at a junction with the A846 road, with Portnahaven at the southern end of the Rinns of Islay peninsula...
which runs down the east coast of the Rhinns. The island has its own bus service provided by Ben Mundell trading as Islay Coaches.
The island has its own airport, Glenegedale Airport
Islay Airport
Islay Airport is located north northwest of Port Ellen on the island of Islay in Argyll and Bute, off the west coast of Scotland. It is a small rural airport owned and maintained by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited.-History:The first airports appeared in Islay in the 1930s. However, these...
with services to and from Glasgow
Glasgow International Airport
Glasgow International Airport is an international airport in Scotland, located west of Glasgow city centre, near the towns of Paisley and Renfrew in Renfrewshire...
.
There are regular ferry services to Port Ellen and Port Askaig from Kennacraig
Kennacraig
Kennacraig is a hamlet situated on West Loch Tarbert, Argyll, a few miles south of Tarbert on the Kintyre peninsula.Caledonian MacBrayne ferries sail from the terminal, on the rocky islet Eilean Ceann na Creige, to Port Ellen or Port Askaig on Islay and to Colonsay....
, taking about two hours. Services to Port Askaig also run on to Scalasaig
Scalasaig
Scalasaig is the main settlement on the island of Colonsay in the Hebrides of Scotland. It is home to the only port on the isle and thus all tourists must pass through it on the way to any part of the isle. It contains the island's General Store, Post Office, Cafe and Hotel/Bar....
on Colonsay
Colonsay
Colonsay is an island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, located north of Islay and south of Mull and has an area of . It is the ancestral home of Clan Macfie and the Colonsay branch of Clan MacNeill. Aligned on a south-west to north-east axis, it measures in length and reaches at its widest...
and on to Oban
Oban
Oban Oban Oban ( is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,120. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can be crowded by up to 25,000 people. Oban...
on Wednesdays during the summer only. These services are run by Caledonian MacBrayne
Caledonian MacBrayne
Caledonian MacBrayne is the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries, and ferry services, between the mainland of Scotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland's west coast...
. There is also a ferry that runs from Port Askaig to Feolin
Feolin
Feolin is a slipway on the west coast of Jura. It provides the only regular access to the island, with a vehicle and passenger ferry service from Port Askaig on Islay across the Sound of Islay. The road on both islands has the designation A846....
on Jura
Jura, Scotland
Jura is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, situated adjacent and to the north-east of Islay. Part of the island is designated as a National Scenic Area. Until the twentieth century Jura was dominated - and most of it was eventually owned - by the Campbell clan of Inveraray Castle on Loch...
. A new ferry is expected to enter service in 2011.
Media
Islay was featured in some of the scenes of the 1954 film, The MaggieThe Maggie
The Maggie is a 1954 British comedy film. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick and written by William Rose, it is a story of a clash of cultures between a hard-driving American businessman and a wily Scottish captain.It was produced by Ealing Studios, at a time when rural Scotland was seen as a...
.
Part of the action in Julian May
Julian May
Julian May is an American science fiction, fantasy, horror, science and children's writer who also uses several literary pseudonyms, best known for her Saga of Pliocene Exile and Galactic Milieu Series books.- Background and early career :Julian May grew up in Elmwood Park, Illinois, a suburb of...
's book Diamond Mask takes place on Islay, where some characters engage in birdwatching.
In 1967-68, folk-rock singer Donovan included "The Isle of Islay" in his album, Gift from a Flower to a Garden, a song praising the pastoral beauties of the island. For the sake of a rhyme, he pronounces the name "eye-lay" instead of "eye-lah."
In the 1990s the BBC adaptation of Para Handy
Para Handy
Para Handy, the anglicized Gaelic nickname of the fictional character Peter Macfarlane, is a character created by the journalist and writer Neil Munro in a series of stories published in the Glasgow Evening News under the pen name of Hugh Foulis....
was partly filmed in Port Charlotte
Port Charlotte, Islay
Port Charlotte is a village on the island of Islay in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland. It was founded in 1828.Port Charlotte was named after Lord Frederick Campbell's wife, and it was set up mainly to provide housing facilities for the Lochindaal Distillery work force. Parts of the former distillery...
and Bruichladdich
Bruichladdich
Bruichladdich Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery on the Rhinns of the isle of Islay. It is one of eight distilleries on the island, and until the recent opening of Kilchoman farm distillery, the only independent one....
and featured a race between the Vital Spark
Vital Spark
The Vital Spark is a fictional Clyde puffer, created by Scottish writer Neil Munro. As its captain, the redoubtable Para Handy, often says: "the smertest boat in the coastin' tred"....
(Para Handy's puffer
Clyde puffer
The Clyde puffer is essentially a type of small steamboat which provided a vital supply link around the west coast and Hebrides islands of Scotland, stumpy little cargo ships that have achieved almost mythical status thanks largely to the short stories Neil Munro wrote about the Vital Spark and her...
) and a rival puffer along the length of Loch Indaal. The local primary school children were released from classes along the length of the loch to watch the race.
Since 1973 the Ileach has been delivering news to the people of Islay every two weeks. This twenty-eight-page, A4-sized publication now has a circulation locally and worldwide of 3,000 copies. The Ileach was named Community Newspaper of the year in 2007.
In 2000, Japanese author Murakami Haruki visited the island with his wife to sample seven single malt whiskeys on the island. He later wrote a travel book called If our language were whiskey (もし僕らのことばがウィスキーであったなら) with illustrations by his wife.
In 2007, parts of the BBC Springwatch programme were recorded on Islay with Simon King
Simon King (television)
Simon Henry King OBE is a British television presenter and cameraman, specialising in nature documentaries.King has been working in the field of natural history film making for over 30 years...
being based on Islay.
The British Channel 4 Time Team
Time Team
Time Team is a British television series which has been aired on Channel 4 since 1994. Created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode features a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining...
television series excavated at Finlaggan on the 24–26 June 1994. The episode was first broadcast on 8 January 1995.
Churches
Kilarrow Parish Church (aka the "Round Church") is round, legend has it, to leave no corner for the devil to hide in. The Church of ScotlandChurch of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
"living" is currently vacant.
The kirk
Kirk
Kirk can mean "church" in general or the Church of Scotland in particular. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it.-Basic meaning and etymology:...
on the Rhinns of Islay is just outside the village of Port Charlotte. Known as St Kiaran's, the ministry is shared with the Kilmeny congregation. St John's Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
, Port Ellen is exploring a possible linkage with Kilarrow and is currently being served by a locum. Each of the vacant Church of Scotland congregations has an Interim Moderator who is responsible for the oversight of the congregation.
There are several other congregations on Islay. Baptists meet in the mornings in Port Ellen and in the evenings in Bowmore. The Scottish Episcopal Church
Scottish Episcopal Church
The Scottish Episcopal Church is a Christian church in Scotland, consisting of seven dioceses. Since the 17th century, it has had an identity distinct from the presbyterian Church of Scotland....
of St. Columba is located in Bridgend and the Islay Roman Catholic congregation also uses St. Columba's for its services.
Many old church buildings on Islay are in an unroofed and ruined state; some have considerable historical interest dating from mediæval times. The ruined church of Kildalton
Kildalton Cross
The Kildalton Cross is a monolithic high cross in Celtic cross form in the churchyard of the former parish church of Kildalton The Kildalton Cross is a monolithic high cross in Celtic cross form in the churchyard of the former parish church of Kildalton The Kildalton Cross is a monolithic high...
has one of the finest carved crosses in the world; dating to the 8th century, it is carved out of the local bluestone
Bluestone
Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including:*a feldspathic sandstone in the U.S. and Canada;*limestone in the Shenandoah Valley in the U.S...
. A carved cross of similar age, but much more heavily weathered can be found at Kilnave. Associated with many churches are mysterious cupstones which date to prehistory; these can be seen at Kilchoman Church where the carved cross there is erected on one, at Kilchiaran Church on the Rhinns and at other sites. Several more recently abandoned churches have been adapted as dwellings.
Wildlife
Islay is home to many different species of wildlife, including Barnacle Goose, Grey Seal, Otter, Shag, Red Deer, Buzzard, Peregrine, Golden Eagle, Rock Dove, Guillemot, Razorbill, Black Guillemot, Raven, Red-billed Chough and Adder. The island supports a significant population of the Marsh FritillaryMarsh Fritillary
The Marsh Fritillary, Euphydryas aurinia, is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family.It is widespread in the Palaearctic region from Ireland in the West to Yakutia in the East, and to North-west China and Mongolia in the South.E. aurinia is represented by many subspecies.The most widely accepted...
butterfly
Notable natives of Islay
- George RobertsonGeorge Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port EllenGeorge Islay MacNeill Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, is a British Labour Party politician who was the tenth Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, between October 1999 and early January 2004; he succeeded Javier Solana in that position...
, formerly secretary-general of NATO and British Defence Secretary. In 1999 he was made Lord Robertson of Port Ellen. - General Alexander McDougallAlexander McDougallAlexander McDougall was an American seaman, merchant, a Sons of Liberty leader from New York City before and during the American Revolution, and a military leader during the Revolutionary War. He served as a major general in the Continental Army, and as a delegate to the Continental Congress...
, a figure in the American RevolutionAmerican RevolutionThe American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
and the first president of the Bank of New YorkBank of New YorkThe Bank of New York was a global financial services company established in 1784 by the American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. It existed until its merger with the Mellon Financial Corporation on July 2, 2007...
, was born in Islay in 1731. - The Islay-born Reverend Donald CaskieDonald CaskieDonald Caskie OBE OCF was a minister in the Church of Scotland, best known for his exploits in France during World War II, during which he helped an estimated 2,000 Allied sailors, soldiers and airmen to escape from occupied France...
(1902–1983) became known as the "Tartan Pimpernel" for his exploits in France during World War II. - The Islay-born TV and radio broadcaster John Carmichael presents Mac'illeMhìcheil on BBC Radio nan Gaidheal.
- Glenn CampbellGlenn Campbell (broadcaster)Glenn Campbell is a Scottish news and current affairs broadcaster, currently working for BBC Scotland. He grew up on Islay and studied at the University of Glasgow.His career began in commercial radio...
, Scottish political reporter for the BBC, was brought up on Islay and attended Islay High School. - Billy StewartWilliam Stewart (scientist)Sir William Duncan Paterson Stewart, FRS, FRSE was President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh from 1999–2002 and Chairman of the Microbiological Research Authority...
(born 1935) steered a course from Port Ellen Primary school to being the government’s Chief Scientific advisor in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Sir William Stewart as he is now known, is currently chairman of the Health Protection Agency. - John CrawfurdJohn CrawfurdJohn Crawfurd , Scottish physician, and colonial administrator and author, was born in the island of Islay, Scotland...
was born on Islay in 1783 and during a career around the world became governor of SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. He also wrote a number of books. - Alistair CarmichaelAlistair CarmichaelAlexander Morrison "Alistair" Carmichael is a Liberal Democrat politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for the Scottish seat of Orkney and Shetland since the 2001 general election.-Early life:...
, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson on Scotland and Northern Ireland was born on Islay in 1965 but currently represents Orkney and Shetland in Westminster
Further reading
- Newton, Norman Islay, Devon: David & Charles PLC; 2Rev Ed edition, 1995. ISBN 0-907115-90-X
External links
- Islay & Jura Islay and Jura Tourism and Marketing Group information about visiting Islay
- Islay's Ultimate Online Guide A wealth of information and pictures
- The Islay Guide A comprehensive guide to what to see and do on Islay
- The Islay Directory
- John Carmichael Mac'illeMhìcheil A link to the BBC program website
- The Ileach, the local newspaper
- Islay Wildlife, the Islay Natural History Trust
- Islay Guide in pictures Discover Islay, its people, beaches, whisky and art
- Islay message boards at RootsWeb.com, for genealogistsGenealogyGenealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
researching their Islay roots - A historic, hearty Hebrides hike: Islay offers scenic views, pesty bugs, article from the San Francisco Chronicle (3 August 2006)
- VisitScotland Islay Video Report
- The Islay Ferry - Past and Present
- The Islay Energy Trust - Developing Renewable Energy for the Community