Mingulay
Encyclopedia
Mingulay is the second largest of the Bishop's Isles
in the Outer Hebrides
of Scotland
. Located 12 miles (19.3 km) south of Barra
, it is known for its important seabird
populations, including puffins
, Black-legged Kittiwake
s, and razorbill
s, which nest in the sea-cliffs, amongst the highest in the British Isles
.
There are iron age
remains, and the culture of the island was influenced by early Christianity
and the Vikings. Between the 15th and 19th centuries Mingulay was part of the lands of Clan MacNeil of Barra, but subsequently suffered at the hands of absentee landlords.
After two thousand years or more of continuous habitation, the island was abandoned by its residents in 1912 and has remained uninhabited since. It is currently used for grazing sheep. The island is also associated with the Mingulay Boat Song
, although that was composed in 1938, following Mingulay's abandonment. The National Trust for Scotland
has owned Mingulay since 2000.
era Mingulay was covered by the ice sheets which spread from Scotland out into the Atlantic Ocean
beyond the Outer Hebrides
. After the last retreat of the ice around 20,000 years ago, sea levels were lower than at present and circa 14,000 BP
it was joined to a single large island comprising most of what is now the Outer Hebrides
. Steadily rising sea levels since that time then isolated the island, which is made up of Hebridean gneiss
interspersed with some granite
. The ice deposited both erratic
blocks of rock and boulder clay
on the eastern side of the island around Mingulay Bay. The rest of the island is covered in peat
, thin acidic soils, or bare rock.
Mingulay is now part of the small archipelago known as the Bishop or Barra Isles
which are "composed of a cluster of islands surrounded by a boisterous sea, making the passage of one island to another a matter of very considerable hazard" and which form the southern end of the larger Outer Hebrides
group.
There is one large beach on the eastern side of the isle where the only settlement of note (‘The Village’) was located and a tiny cove at Skipsdale (Old Norse
: ship valley). Bagh na h-Aioneig (Scots Gaelic: bay of the steep promontory) on the western side is a deep cleft in the sea-cliffs once thought to be the highest in the UK which rise to 213 m (699 ft) above sea level at Builacraig.
Mingulay boasts three large sea stacks
: Arnamul
(Old Norse
: Erne mound), Lianamul (Old Norse
: Flax mound) and Gunamul, which has a natural arch in 150 m (490 ft) cliffs through which boats can sail on rare days when the restless sea is calm. There are several outlying islets including the twin rocks of Sròn a Dùin to the south-west, Geirum Mòr and Geirum Beag to the south between Mingulay and the nearby island of Berneray
, and Solon Mòr ('Big Gannet'), Solon Beag ('Little Gannet'), Sgeirean nan Uibhein, Barnacle Rock and a smaller stack called The Red Boy, all to the north between Mingulay and Pabbay
.
The highest hills are Càrnan (273 m or 896 ft), Hecla (Old Norse
: Hooded shroud) (219 m or 719 ft) and Macphee's Hill (224 m or 735 ft). The last was named when a relief ship sent by MacNeil of Barra was sent to discover why communications from the island had ceased. A crewman called Macphee was sent ashore and returned to report that the residents had all died of disease. Fearing the plague, his shipmates refused to allow him back on board. He survived for a year, and climbed the hill every day to look out for a rescue. When the island was re-settled The MacNeil granted him land there.
The south-western promontory of Dun Mingulay features the remains of an Iron Age
fort and there is a pre-historic site at Crois an t-Suidheachain near the western landing place at Aneir at the southern end of Mingulay Bay, which may have been a stone circle. In 1971 a 2,000 year old Iron Age midden
was found resting on sand near the ‘Village’ overlooking the Bay. A stone 'pebble hammer' was discovered nearby in 1975, but it has not been possible to date the find. Skipisdale may also contain Iron Age remains.
have been heavily influenced by Celtic, Norse and Scots culture and this is evident in the variety of names the isle possesses. "Mingulay" is derived from Mikil-ay, the Old Norse
for "Big Island" although this is misleading as it is only the second largest of the Barra Isles
behind Vatersay
, which is lower lying and appears smaller from the sea. Miughalaigh and Miùghlaigh are two variants of the Gaelic name. Lowland Scots
speakers in their turn have variously described the island as "Mewla" or "Miuley" (which are both approximations of the Gaelic pronunciation), "Megaly" and "Micklay" before finally settling on the current variant.
Murray (1973) states that the name “appropriately means Bird Island”.
and Berneray
both have cross-inscribed slabs) but no direct evidence has yet been found. From circa 871 onwards Viking raids on the Outer Hebrides gathered pace but similarly the Viking graves found on Berneray and Vatersay
are not replicated on Mingulay and whilst there are no definite indications of Norse settlement, their presence on the island is confirmed by the many features they named.
From the 12th century onwards Norse power in the Western Isles weakened, and by 1266 they reverted to Scots' control under the tutelage of the Lords of the Isles. By 1427 Clan MacNeil of Barra had emerged as the dominant local power; they adopted the cliffs of Builacraig as part of their traditional crest and used the name as a war-cry.
The islanders' livelihood was based on fishing (for white fish, herring and lobster), crofting
(with up to 55 ha (0.21 sq mi) of arable and pasture land fertilised by wrack
on which sheep, cattle, ponies, pigs and poultry were kept) and very dependent on the bounty provided by sea-birds. For example, rent was payable to The MacNeil in fachaich or ‘fatlings’ - shearwater chicks.
The Reformation
never reached the south of the Outer Hebrides and Roman Catholicism held sway from the 12th century to the early 20th. The lack of a resident priest meant that services were often organised by the lay community, but the local culture and traditions of songs and story-telling were rich and varied. As Samuel Johnson
observed when lamenting his failure to reach thus far on his 18th-century Hebridean journey:
Some of the local beliefs were perhaps less welcome to the practitioners of organised religion. An each-uisge
was thought to live in a bottomless well near the summit of Macphee’s Hill, and faery sidhe
s and their associated music were taken for granted, if generally avoided. The curative powers of the seventh son of a seventh son were assumed to be sufficient for the treatment of diseases as serious as tuberculosis
. Yet the old ways themselves were dying.
The Barra estates of MacNeil (including all the Barra Isles) were sold to Colonel John Gordon of Aberdeenshire in 1840 whose lack of consideration for his tenants during the potato famines
was matched by his zeal for evictions to create sheep farms. However, the Highland Clearances
seemed to have the effect of increasing Mingulay’s population as families evicted from Barra sometimes chose to re-settle there rather than take the emigrant ships to Nova Scotia
. In this regard Mingulay's remoteness was probably an advantage and rents were actually reduced from 1840–45. In 1878 Lady Gordon Cathcart inherited the estate and visited but once during her fifty-four year period of tenure.
In 1764 the population of the island was 52. Later census records show that there were 113 residents in 1841, 150 in 1881, 142 in 1891 (occupying 28 houses, compared to the 1841 total of 19), and 135 in 1901. Families were often large, and ten or more children was not uncommon, three generations sometimes sharing a single small house. Life was co-operative with fishing, waulking, peat cutting and landing the boats all being communal activities. The island is remote but was by no means cut off. In the 19th century fishermen sold fish in Glasgow
and Ireland
, both men and women worked on the east coast herring fishing industry, and food was brought in from mainland Scotland on a regular basis.
At the height of Village life there was a mill, a chapel house consisting of a church and a priest's residence, and a school. However, despite there being a continuous population on Mingulay for at least two thousand years, evacuations began in 1907 and the island was completely abandoned by its residents in 1912.
There were numerous reasons for the evacuation. In 1897 a boat from the neighbouring island of Pabbay was lost off Barra Head
with its crew of five: more than half of Pabbay's male population, and this did not encourage confidence amongst the fishermen of Mingulay. The lack of a sheltered landing meant that the island could be unreachable for weeks at a time, and loading and unloading goods was at best strenuous and at worst hazardous. This may have meant less at a time when possessions were fewer, but no doubt the population was also increasingly aware of their relative isolation. Writing about the collapse of similar populations in the Hebrides
, Neat (2000) suggests:
Buxton (1995) tells the story of two men who left Mingulay together. One was visiting Barra, the other intended to emigrate to New York. They said their farewells in Castlebay
but it did not work out for the latter and he returned from the United States three months later. To his great surprise he met his friend in Castlebay again, who explained that he had been unable to return to Mingulay since they had last met because of adverse sea conditions. Similar difficulties experienced by visiting priests or doctors bound for Mingulay were a constant source of concern to the islanders.
The ferocity of the weather should not be underestimated. In 1868 a huge wave washed over the top of Geirum Mor, taking the sheep with it. The summit of the islet is 51 metres (170 ft) above sea level. Fraser Darling
and Boyd (1969) also speculate about the "quiet failure" of the populations of small islands like Mingulay to husband their available natural resources. Certainly the population began to exceed the carrying capacity of the land. The Congested Districts Board
installed a derrick to assist with the landings at Aneir at the south end of the Bay in 1901, but the design was flawed and its failure was a further disappointment.
In July 1906 grazing land on Vatersay
was raided by landless cottars from Barra and its isles, including three families from Mingulay. They were followed in 1907 by eight more raiders from Mingulay led by Micheal Neill Eachainn. Lady Gordon Cathcart took legal action but the visiting judge took the view that she had neglected her duties as a landowner and that "long indifference to the necessities of the cottars had gone far to drive them to exasperation". Vatersay has sheltered anchorages and was only 300 metres (330 yd) from Barra (until the construction of a causeway in 1990) and Neil MacPhee wrote "it is better a thousand times to die here than to go through the same hardships which were our lot" on Mingulay.
In November 1907 six more families consisting of 27 individuals from Mingulay squatted on Sandray
, which has a sheltered beach. Meanwhile the plight of the Vatersay raiders had been raised at Westminster
. Despite considerable public sympathy they were eventually sentenced to two months in prison. Shortly thereafter the Congested Districts Board purchased the entire island of Vatersay with the aim of providing new crofts. By the next summer there were 14 Mingulay families living there. Only six families remained on Mingulay itself, and all of them planned to leave.
By 1910 there were only a dozen fishermen in six families living there, and in summer 1912 the island was finally abandoned. Some may have wished to stay, but by now the population had been reduced below a viable number and the lack of a school, which had closed in April 1910, would have been a factor. There is also no doubt that the parish priest, Donald Martin, encouraged the desertion. It is claimed that neither did he like travelling there, nor did the church receive much in the collection box on his visits.
Mingulay bears similarities to the island of Hirta
, which was also evacuated in 1930, Mingulay is sometimes referred to as the "near St Kilda
". Mingulay is less than a third of the distance from "The Long Island"
that Hirta is, yet a 19th century visitor commented that the former was "much more primitive than St Kilda, especially as regards the cottars' and crofters' houses", suggesting that the lack of a permanent landing was of greater import than sheer distance.
and Montana
. Russell was clearly a man who liked his own company, choosing to live on the island alone all autumn and winter with his pet ferret
s and cats, and joined by two shepherds for the spring and summer only. After seven years he sold up to Peggy Greer, a farmer from Essex
who visited only rarely and let the grazings out to local farmers. In 1951 she attempted to sell the island herself, but without success until 1955 when a local crofters'
syndicate called the Barra Head Isles Sheepstock Company completed the purchase. The advent of motor boats made stocking the islands considerably easier and the company’s ownership continued for the next forty years.
In 2000 Mingulay was acquired by The National Trust for Scotland
through a bequest by J. M. Fawcitt “to provide an area of natural beauty in memory of her parents and the courage of her late brother, Bernard.”
Only two buildings survive on the island: the schoolhouse and the chapel house, although the latter has recently lost its roof and front wall.
Mingulay has a large seabird
population, and is an important breeding ground for razorbill
s (9,514 pairs, 6.3% of the European population), guillemots
(11,063 pairs) and Black-legged Kittiwake
s (2,939 pairs). Shags
(694 individuals), fulmar
(11,626 pairs), puffins
(2,072 pairs), storm petrel, common tern
s, arctic tern
s, bonxies
and various species of gull
also nest in the sea-cliffs. Manx shearwater
s nested on Lianamul stack until the late 18th century, when they were driven away by puffins, and tysties
have also been recorded there.
Sheep graze the island’s rough pastures and there is a population of rabbit
s, introduced by shepherds after the 1912 evacuation. Grey seal
s are abundant, numbers having grown substantially since the departure of human residents. Although they do not breed, up to 1,000 make use of the beach in winter.
The flora of the island is typical of the Outer Hebrides
with heather
, sphagnum moss, sedge
s, grass
and bracken
predominating. There is but a single tree – a 2-metre high poplar
on a cliff overlooking Mingulay Bay. Sea holly
, otherwise rare in the Western Isles, has grown on Mingulay since at least the late nineteenth century, and sea milkwort, normally only found at sea level is able to grow on the high cliff tops due to the ocean spray and seagull manure. In spring and summer there are profusions of wild flowers around the deserted Village.
Mingulay and nearby Berneray
became a Site of Special Scientific Interest
in 1983.
operates two licensed boatmen from Barra and further information may be available at the tourist office in Castlebay
.
There is an ‘occasional’ anchorage in Mingulay Bay sheltered from westerly winds. Landing on the beach may be difficult as there is a regular heavy swell and approaching the old landing place at Aneir may be easier. There is also a landing place at Skipisdale.
was composed by Hugh S. Roberton, the founder of the Glasgow Orpheus Choir, in 1938, and first recorded by the Francis McPeake family of Ulster. Written in the style of Hebridean work song
s to the tune Creag Guanach from Lochaber
, it invites the listener to imagine the boatsmen of the island singing in time to the pulling of their oars.
It has been recorded by numerous artists including Robin Hall and Jimmy MacGregor in 1971, The Idlers
and Richard Thompson in 2006. The lyrics have also been variously interpreted. For example Hall and MacGregor's 1961 version has a female vocalist (Shirley Bland) rendering the third stanza as:
Although the fame of the song means that it is one of the few things popularly associated with the island and it is evocative of island life, it was never sung by its residents, having been composed long after the evacuation.
Other songs composed by or about residents of the island survive. These include Oran do dh'Eilean Mhiulaidh (Song to the Isle of Mingulay) written by Neil MacPhee the Vatsersay raider (see above), after the abandonment of the island, and Turas Neill a Mhiughlaigh (Neil's Trip to Mingulay) written by Father Allan MacLean (known locally as the "Curate of Spain" having attended the Scots College in Valladolid
), possibly during the period 1837–40 when he lived on Barra.
Barra Isles
The Barra Isles, also known as the Bishop's Isles as they were historically owned by the Bishop of the Isles, are a small archipelago of islands in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. They lie south of the island of Barra, for which they are named. The group consists of nine islands, and numerous...
in the Outer Hebrides
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides also known as the Western Isles and the Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The islands are geographically contiguous with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland...
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...
. Located 12 miles (19.3 km) south of Barra
Barra
The island of Barra is a predominantly Gaelic-speaking island, and apart from the adjacent island of Vatersay, to which it is connected by a causeway, is the southernmost inhabited island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland.-Geography:The 2001 census showed that the resident population was 1,078...
, it is known for its important seabird
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
populations, including puffins
Atlantic Puffin
The Atlantic Puffin is a seabird species in the auk family. It is a pelagic bird that feeds primarily by diving for fish, but also eats other sea creatures, such as squid and crustaceans. Its most obvious characteristic during the breeding season is its brightly coloured bill...
, Black-legged Kittiwake
Black-legged Kittiwake
The Black-legged Kittiwake is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae.This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Larus tridactylus....
s, and razorbill
Razorbill
The Razorbill is colonial seabird that will only come to land in order to breed. It is the largest living member of the Auk family. This agile bird will choose only one partner for life and females will lay one egg per year. Razorbills will nest along coastal cliffs in enclosed or slightly exposed...
s, which nest in the sea-cliffs, amongst the highest in the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
.
There are iron age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
remains, and the culture of the island was influenced by early Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and the Vikings. Between the 15th and 19th centuries Mingulay was part of the lands of Clan MacNeil of Barra, but subsequently suffered at the hands of absentee landlords.
After two thousand years or more of continuous habitation, the island was abandoned by its residents in 1912 and has remained uninhabited since. It is currently used for grazing sheep. The island is also associated with the Mingulay Boat Song
Mingulay Boat Song
The "Mingulay Boat Song" was a sea shanty supposed to have been sung by Scottish fishermen as they returned from the Atlantic towards the Isle of Mingulay. However, the Isle of Mingulay was abandoned in 1912, and therefore the song cannot be authentic to the isle's fishing community. The lyrics...
, although that was composed in 1938, following Mingulay's abandonment. The National Trust for Scotland
National Trust for Scotland
The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland describes itself as the conservation charity that protects and promotes Scotland's natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations to...
has owned Mingulay since 2000.
Geology and soils
In the PleistocenePleistocene
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 ....
era Mingulay was covered by the ice sheets which spread from Scotland out into the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
beyond the Outer Hebrides
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides also known as the Western Isles and the Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The islands are geographically contiguous with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland...
. After the last retreat of the ice around 20,000 years ago, sea levels were lower than at present and circa 14,000 BP
Before Present
Before Present years is a time scale used in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred. Because the "present" time changes, standard practice is to use AD 1950 as the origin of the age scale, reflecting the fact that radiocarbon...
it was joined to a single large island comprising most of what is now the Outer Hebrides
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides also known as the Western Isles and the Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The islands are geographically contiguous with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland...
. Steadily rising sea levels since that time then isolated the island, which is made up of Hebridean gneiss
Gneiss
Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.-Etymology:...
interspersed with some granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
. The ice deposited both erratic
Erratic
Erratic can refer to:* Erratic, a project of music artist Jan Robbe* Glacial erratic, is a piece of rock that differs from the size and type of rock native to the area in which it rests* Erratic ant, a species...
blocks of rock and boulder clay
Boulder clay
Boulder clay, in geology, is a deposit of clay, often full of boulders, which is formed in and beneath glaciers and ice-sheets wherever they are found, but is in a special sense the typical deposit of the Glacial Period in northern Europe and North America...
on the eastern side of the island around Mingulay Bay. The rest of the island is covered in 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...
, thin acidic soils, or bare rock.
Geography and pre-history
Barra Isles
The Barra Isles, also known as the Bishop's Isles as they were historically owned by the Bishop of the Isles, are a small archipelago of islands in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. They lie south of the island of Barra, for which they are named. The group consists of nine islands, and numerous...
which are "composed of a cluster of islands surrounded by a boisterous sea, making the passage of one island to another a matter of very considerable hazard" and which form the southern end of the larger Outer Hebrides
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides also known as the Western Isles and the Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The islands are geographically contiguous with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland...
group.
There is one large beach on the eastern side of the isle where the only settlement of note (‘The Village’) was located and a tiny cove at Skipsdale (Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
: ship valley). Bagh na h-Aioneig (Scots Gaelic: bay of the steep promontory) on the western side is a deep cleft in the sea-cliffs once thought to be the highest in the UK which rise to 213 m (699 ft) above sea level at Builacraig.
Mingulay boasts three large sea stacks
Stack (geology)
A stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, isolated by erosion. Stacks are formed through processes of coastal geomorphology, which are entirely natural. Time, wind and water are the only factors involved in the...
: Arnamul
Arnamul
Arnamul is a stack off the west coast of Mingulay in the Western Isles, Scotland. Although precipitous, sheep were grazed on its relatively flat summit during the human occupation of Mingulay.Haswell-Smith states that the name means "erne mound"...
(Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
: Erne mound), Lianamul (Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
: Flax mound) and Gunamul, which has a natural arch in 150 m (490 ft) cliffs through which boats can sail on rare days when the restless sea is calm. There are several outlying islets including the twin rocks of Sròn a Dùin to the south-west, Geirum Mòr and Geirum Beag to the south between Mingulay and the nearby island of Berneray
Barra Head
Barra Head, also known as Berneray , is the southernmost of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. Within the Outer Hebrides, it forms part of the Barra Isles archipelago. Originally, Barra Head only referred to the southernmost headland of Berneray but is now a common name for the entire island...
, and Solon Mòr ('Big Gannet'), Solon Beag ('Little Gannet'), Sgeirean nan Uibhein, Barnacle Rock and a smaller stack called The Red Boy, all to the north between Mingulay and Pabbay
Pabbay, Barra, Scotland
Pabbay is one of the Barra Isles at the southern tip of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The name comes from Papey, which is Norse for "Island of the papar " At only , it never had a large population, and, after all the able-bodied men were killed in a fierce storm while out on a fishing trip on 1...
.
The highest hills are Càrnan (273 m or 896 ft), Hecla (Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
: Hooded shroud) (219 m or 719 ft) and Macphee's Hill (224 m or 735 ft). The last was named when a relief ship sent by MacNeil of Barra was sent to discover why communications from the island had ceased. A crewman called Macphee was sent ashore and returned to report that the residents had all died of disease. Fearing the plague, his shipmates refused to allow him back on board. He survived for a year, and climbed the hill every day to look out for a rescue. When the island was re-settled The MacNeil granted him land there.
The south-western promontory of Dun Mingulay features the remains of an Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
fort and there is a pre-historic site at Crois an t-Suidheachain near the western landing place at Aneir at the southern end of Mingulay Bay, which may have been a stone circle. In 1971 a 2,000 year old Iron Age midden
Midden
A midden, is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, vermin, shells, sherds, lithics , and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human occupation...
was found resting on sand near the ‘Village’ overlooking the Bay. A stone 'pebble hammer' was discovered nearby in 1975, but it has not been possible to date the find. Skipisdale may also contain Iron Age remains.
Name
In historic times the HebridesHebrides
The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive...
have been heavily influenced by Celtic, Norse and Scots culture and this is evident in the variety of names the isle possesses. "Mingulay" is derived from Mikil-ay, the Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
for "Big Island" although this is misleading as it is only the second largest of the Barra Isles
Barra Isles
The Barra Isles, also known as the Bishop's Isles as they were historically owned by the Bishop of the Isles, are a small archipelago of islands in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. They lie south of the island of Barra, for which they are named. The group consists of nine islands, and numerous...
behind Vatersay
Vatersay
Vatersay is an inhabited island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Vatersay is also the name of the only village on the island.-Location:The westernmost permanently inhabited place in Scotland, Vatersay is linked to Barra by a causeway completed in 1991...
, which is lower lying and appears smaller from the sea. Miughalaigh and Miùghlaigh are two variants of the Gaelic name. Lowland Scots
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
speakers in their turn have variously described the island as "Mewla" or "Miuley" (which are both approximations of the Gaelic pronunciation), "Megaly" and "Micklay" before finally settling on the current variant.
Murray (1973) states that the name “appropriately means Bird Island”.
Christianity, Norsemen and Clan MacNeil
There is little doubt that early Christianity influenced Mingulay (for example the nearby islands of PabbayPabbay, Barra, Scotland
Pabbay is one of the Barra Isles at the southern tip of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The name comes from Papey, which is Norse for "Island of the papar " At only , it never had a large population, and, after all the able-bodied men were killed in a fierce storm while out on a fishing trip on 1...
and Berneray
Barra Head
Barra Head, also known as Berneray , is the southernmost of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. Within the Outer Hebrides, it forms part of the Barra Isles archipelago. Originally, Barra Head only referred to the southernmost headland of Berneray but is now a common name for the entire island...
both have cross-inscribed slabs) but no direct evidence has yet been found. From circa 871 onwards Viking raids on the Outer Hebrides gathered pace but similarly the Viking graves found on Berneray and Vatersay
Vatersay
Vatersay is an inhabited island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Vatersay is also the name of the only village on the island.-Location:The westernmost permanently inhabited place in Scotland, Vatersay is linked to Barra by a causeway completed in 1991...
are not replicated on Mingulay and whilst there are no definite indications of Norse settlement, their presence on the island is confirmed by the many features they named.
The islanders' livelihood was based on fishing (for white fish, herring and lobster), crofting
Crofting
Crofting is a form of land tenure and small-scale food production unique to the Scottish Highlands, the Islands of Scotland, and formerly on the Isle of Man....
(with up to 55 ha (0.21 sq mi) of arable and pasture land fertilised by wrack
Seaweed
Seaweed is a loose, colloquial term encompassing macroscopic, multicellular, benthic marine algae. The term includes some members of the red, brown and green algae...
on which sheep, cattle, ponies, pigs and poultry were kept) and very dependent on the bounty provided by sea-birds. For example, rent was payable to The MacNeil in fachaich or ‘fatlings’ - shearwater chicks.
The Reformation
Scottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...
never reached the south of the Outer Hebrides and Roman Catholicism held sway from the 12th century to the early 20th. The lack of a resident priest meant that services were often organised by the lay community, but the local culture and traditions of songs and story-telling were rich and varied. As Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
observed when lamenting his failure to reach thus far on his 18th-century Hebridean journey:
PoperyRoman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
is favourable to ceremony; and among the ignorant nations ceremony is the only preservative of tradition. Since Protestantism was extended to the savage parts of Scotland, it has perhaps been one of the chief labours of the Ministers to abolish stated observances, because they continued the remembrance of the former religion.
Some of the local beliefs were perhaps less welcome to the practitioners of organised religion. An each-uisge
Each uisge
The each uisge is a mythological Scottish water spirit, called the Aughisky in Ireland. It is similar to the kelpie, but far more dangerous.The Each Uisge, a supernatural water horse found in the Highlands of Scotland, is supposedly the most dangerous water-dwelling creature in the British Isles...
was thought to live in a bottomless well near the summit of Macphee’s Hill, and faery sidhe
Sídhe
The aos sí are a supernatural race in Irish mythology and Scottish mythology are comparable to the fairies or elves. They are said to live underground in the fairy mounds, across the western sea, or in an invisible world that coexists with the world of humans...
s and their associated music were taken for granted, if generally avoided. The curative powers of the seventh son of a seventh son were assumed to be sufficient for the treatment of diseases as serious as tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. Yet the old ways themselves were dying.
Absentee landlords
Highland Potato Famine (1846 - 1857)
The Highland Potato Famine was a famine caused by potato blight that struck the Scottish Highlands in the 1840s. While the mortality rate was less than other Scottish famines in the 1690s, and 1780, the Highland potato famine caused over 1.7 million people to leave Scotland during the period 1846–52...
was matched by his zeal for evictions to create sheep farms. However, 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...
seemed to have the effect of increasing Mingulay’s population as families evicted from Barra sometimes chose to re-settle there rather than take the emigrant ships to Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. In this regard Mingulay's remoteness was probably an advantage and rents were actually reduced from 1840–45. In 1878 Lady Gordon Cathcart inherited the estate and visited but once during her fifty-four year period of tenure.
In 1764 the population of the island was 52. Later census records show that there were 113 residents in 1841, 150 in 1881, 142 in 1891 (occupying 28 houses, compared to the 1841 total of 19), and 135 in 1901. Families were often large, and ten or more children was not uncommon, three generations sometimes sharing a single small house. Life was co-operative with fishing, waulking, peat cutting and landing the boats all being communal activities. The island is remote but was by no means cut off. In the 19th century fishermen sold fish in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, both men and women worked on the east coast herring fishing industry, and food was brought in from mainland Scotland on a regular basis.
At the height of Village life there was a mill, a chapel house consisting of a church and a priest's residence, and a school. However, despite there being a continuous population on Mingulay for at least two thousand years, evacuations began in 1907 and the island was completely abandoned by its residents in 1912.
Evacuation
Barra Head
Barra Head, also known as Berneray , is the southernmost of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. Within the Outer Hebrides, it forms part of the Barra Isles archipelago. Originally, Barra Head only referred to the southernmost headland of Berneray but is now a common name for the entire island...
with its crew of five: more than half of Pabbay's male population, and this did not encourage confidence amongst the fishermen of Mingulay. The lack of a sheltered landing meant that the island could be unreachable for weeks at a time, and loading and unloading goods was at best strenuous and at worst hazardous. This may have meant less at a time when possessions were fewer, but no doubt the population was also increasingly aware of their relative isolation. Writing about the collapse of similar populations in the Hebrides
Hebrides
The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive...
, Neat (2000) suggests:
one common thread would appear to be the unwillingness of even the most stoical and historically-aware communities to continue an existence based upon endless physical hardship when the opportunity of an easier livelihood elsewhere is there to be taken.
Buxton (1995) tells the story of two men who left Mingulay together. One was visiting Barra, the other intended to emigrate to New York. They said their farewells in Castlebay
Castlebay
Castlebay is the main village and a community council area on the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It is located on the south coast of the island, and overlooks a bay in the Atlantic Ocean dominated by Kisimul Castle, as well as nearby islands such as Vatersay.- Church :The...
but it did not work out for the latter and he returned from the United States three months later. To his great surprise he met his friend in Castlebay again, who explained that he had been unable to return to Mingulay since they had last met because of adverse sea conditions. Similar difficulties experienced by visiting priests or doctors bound for Mingulay were a constant source of concern to the islanders.
The ferocity of the weather should not be underestimated. In 1868 a huge wave washed over the top of Geirum Mor, taking the sheep with it. The summit of the islet is 51 metres (170 ft) above sea level. Fraser Darling
Frank Fraser Darling
Sir Frank Fraser Darling was an English ecologist, ornithologist, farmer, conservationist and author, who is strongly associated with the highlands and islands of Scotland.-Early life:...
and Boyd (1969) also speculate about the "quiet failure" of the populations of small islands like Mingulay to husband their available natural resources. Certainly the population began to exceed the carrying capacity of the land. The Congested Districts Board
Congested Districts Board (Scotland)
The Congested Districts Board was set up by the Congested Districts Act, 1897 for the purpose of administering the sums made available by the government for the improvement of congested districts in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland....
installed a derrick to assist with the landings at Aneir at the south end of the Bay in 1901, but the design was flawed and its failure was a further disappointment.
In July 1906 grazing land on Vatersay
Vatersay
Vatersay is an inhabited island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Vatersay is also the name of the only village on the island.-Location:The westernmost permanently inhabited place in Scotland, Vatersay is linked to Barra by a causeway completed in 1991...
was raided by landless cottars from Barra and its isles, including three families from Mingulay. They were followed in 1907 by eight more raiders from Mingulay led by Micheal Neill Eachainn. Lady Gordon Cathcart took legal action but the visiting judge took the view that she had neglected her duties as a landowner and that "long indifference to the necessities of the cottars had gone far to drive them to exasperation". Vatersay has sheltered anchorages and was only 300 metres (330 yd) from Barra (until the construction of a causeway in 1990) and Neil MacPhee wrote "it is better a thousand times to die here than to go through the same hardships which were our lot" on Mingulay.
In November 1907 six more families consisting of 27 individuals from Mingulay squatted on Sandray
Sandray
Sandray is one of the Barra Isles in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It never had a large population, and has been uninhabited since 1934. It is now known for its large seabird colony.-Geography:...
, which has a sheltered beach. Meanwhile the plight of the Vatersay raiders had been raised at Westminster
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. Despite considerable public sympathy they were eventually sentenced to two months in prison. Shortly thereafter the Congested Districts Board purchased the entire island of Vatersay with the aim of providing new crofts. By the next summer there were 14 Mingulay families living there. Only six families remained on Mingulay itself, and all of them planned to leave.
Mingulay bears similarities to the island of Hirta
Hirta
Hirta is the largest island in the St Kilda archipelago, on the western edge of Scotland. The name "Hiort" and "Hirta" have also been applied to the entire archipelago.-Geography:...
, which was also evacuated in 1930, Mingulay is sometimes referred to as the "near St Kilda
St Kilda, Scotland
St Kilda is an isolated archipelago west-northwest of North Uist in the North Atlantic Ocean. It contains the westernmost islands of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The largest island is Hirta, whose sea cliffs are the highest in the United Kingdom and three other islands , were also used for...
". Mingulay is less than a third of the distance from "The Long Island"
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides also known as the Western Isles and the Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The islands are geographically contiguous with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland...
that Hirta is, yet a 19th century visitor commented that the former was "much more primitive than St Kilda, especially as regards the cottars' and crofters' houses", suggesting that the lack of a permanent landing was of greater import than sheer distance.
1912 to the present day
After the island was evacuated it was first tenanted and then purchased in 1919 by Jonathan MacLean from Barra. In 1930 it was sold to John Russell who had experience as a sheep farmer in both AustraliaAustralia
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...
and Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. Russell was clearly a man who liked his own company, choosing to live on the island alone all autumn and winter with his pet ferret
Ferret
The ferret is a domesticated mammal of the type Mustela putorius furo. Ferrets are sexually dimorphic predators with males being substantially larger than females. They typically have brown, black, white, or mixed fur...
s and cats, and joined by two shepherds for the spring and summer only. After seven years he sold up to Peggy Greer, a farmer from Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
who visited only rarely and let the grazings out to local farmers. In 1951 she attempted to sell the island herself, but without success until 1955 when a local crofters'
Croft (land)
A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer.- Etymology :...
syndicate called the Barra Head Isles Sheepstock Company completed the purchase. The advent of motor boats made stocking the islands considerably easier and the company’s ownership continued for the next forty years.
In 2000 Mingulay was acquired by The National Trust for Scotland
National Trust for Scotland
The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland describes itself as the conservation charity that protects and promotes Scotland's natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations to...
through a bequest by J. M. Fawcitt “to provide an area of natural beauty in memory of her parents and the courage of her late brother, Bernard.”
Only two buildings survive on the island: the schoolhouse and the chapel house, although the latter has recently lost its roof and front wall.
Flora and fauna
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
population, and is an important breeding ground for razorbill
Razorbill
The Razorbill is colonial seabird that will only come to land in order to breed. It is the largest living member of the Auk family. This agile bird will choose only one partner for life and females will lay one egg per year. Razorbills will nest along coastal cliffs in enclosed or slightly exposed...
s (9,514 pairs, 6.3% of the European population), guillemots
Common Guillemot
The Common Murre or Common Guillemot is a large auk. It is also known as the Thin-billed Murre in North America. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring in low-Arctic and boreal waters in the North-Atlantic and North Pacific...
(11,063 pairs) and Black-legged Kittiwake
Black-legged Kittiwake
The Black-legged Kittiwake is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae.This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Larus tridactylus....
s (2,939 pairs). Shags
Common Shag
The European Shag or Common Shag is a species of cormorant. It breeds around the rocky coasts of western and southern...
(694 individuals), fulmar
Northern Fulmar
The Northern Fulmar, Fulmarus glacialis, Fulmar, or Arctic Fulmar is a highly abundant sea bird found primarily in subarctic regions of the north Atlantic and north Pacific oceans. Fulmars come in one of two color morphs: a light one which is almost entirely white, and a dark one which is...
(11,626 pairs), puffins
Atlantic Puffin
The Atlantic Puffin is a seabird species in the auk family. It is a pelagic bird that feeds primarily by diving for fish, but also eats other sea creatures, such as squid and crustaceans. Its most obvious characteristic during the breeding season is its brightly coloured bill...
(2,072 pairs), storm petrel, common tern
Common Tern
The Common Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, breeding in temperate and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia and east and central North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. It is sometimes...
s, arctic tern
Arctic Tern
The Arctic Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America...
s, bonxies
Great Skua
The Great Skua, Stercorarius skua, is a large seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. In Britain, it is sometimes known by the name Bonxie, a Shetland name of unknown origin.-Description:...
and various species of gull
Gull
Gulls are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders...
also nest in the sea-cliffs. Manx shearwater
Manx Shearwater
The Manx Shearwater is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx Shearwaters were called Manks Puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an Anglo-Norman word for the cured carcasses of nestling shearwaters...
s nested on Lianamul stack until the late 18th century, when they were driven away by puffins, and tysties
Black Guillemot
The Black Guillemot or Tystie is a medium-sized alcid.Adult birds have black bodies with a white wing patch, a thin dark bill, and red legs and feet. They show white wing linings in flight. In winter, the upperparts are pale grey and the underparts are white. The wings remain black with the large...
have also been recorded there.
Sheep graze the island’s rough pastures and there is a population of rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s, introduced by shepherds after the 1912 evacuation. Grey seal
Grey Seal
The grey seal is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is a large seal of the family Phocidae or "true seals". It is the only species classified in the genus Halichoerus...
s are abundant, numbers having grown substantially since the departure of human residents. Although they do not breed, up to 1,000 make use of the beach in winter.
The flora of the island is typical of the Outer Hebrides
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides also known as the Western Isles and the Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The islands are geographically contiguous with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland...
with heather
Ericaceae
The Ericaceae, commonly known as the heath or heather family, is a group of mostly calcifuge flowering plants. The family is large, with roughly 4000 species spread across 126 genera, making it the 14th most speciose family of flowering plants...
, sphagnum moss, sedge
Cyperaceae
Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...
s, grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
and bracken
Bracken
Bracken are several species of large, coarse ferns of the genus Pteridium. Ferns are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells . Brackens are in the family Dennstaedtiaceae, which are noted for their large, highly...
predominating. There is but a single tree – a 2-metre high poplar
Poplar
Populus is a genus of 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar , aspen, and cottonwood....
on a cliff overlooking Mingulay Bay. Sea holly
Sea holly
The Sea holly is a species of Eryngium in the plant family Apiaceae and native to most European coastlines. In some ways, it resembles a flowering thistle, in that its flower is burr-shaped, though these are metallic blue, rather than mauve. The protected dune plant grows to a height of 20 to...
, otherwise rare in the Western Isles, has grown on Mingulay since at least the late nineteenth century, and sea milkwort, normally only found at sea level is able to grow on the high cliff tops due to the ocean spray and seagull manure. In spring and summer there are profusions of wild flowers around the deserted Village.
Mingulay and nearby Berneray
Barra Head
Barra Head, also known as Berneray , is the southernmost of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. Within the Outer Hebrides, it forms part of the Barra Isles archipelago. Originally, Barra Head only referred to the southernmost headland of Berneray but is now a common name for the entire island...
became a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
in 1983.
Visiting Mingulay
The island attracts regular visits from naturalists and in recent years has also become popular with rock climbers. The National Trust for ScotlandNational Trust for Scotland
The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland describes itself as the conservation charity that protects and promotes Scotland's natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations to...
operates two licensed boatmen from Barra and further information may be available at the tourist office in Castlebay
Castlebay
Castlebay is the main village and a community council area on the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It is located on the south coast of the island, and overlooks a bay in the Atlantic Ocean dominated by Kisimul Castle, as well as nearby islands such as Vatersay.- Church :The...
.
There is an ‘occasional’ anchorage in Mingulay Bay sheltered from westerly winds. Landing on the beach may be difficult as there is a regular heavy swell and approaching the old landing place at Aneir may be easier. There is also a landing place at Skipisdale.
Mingulay Boat Song
The haunting Mingulay Boat SongMingulay Boat Song
The "Mingulay Boat Song" was a sea shanty supposed to have been sung by Scottish fishermen as they returned from the Atlantic towards the Isle of Mingulay. However, the Isle of Mingulay was abandoned in 1912, and therefore the song cannot be authentic to the isle's fishing community. The lyrics...
was composed by Hugh S. Roberton, the founder of the Glasgow Orpheus Choir, in 1938, and first recorded by the Francis McPeake family of Ulster. Written in the style of Hebridean work song
Work song
A work song is a piece of music closely connected to a specific form of work, either sung while conducting a task or a song linked to a task or trade which might be a connected narrative, description, or protest song....
s to the tune Creag Guanach from Lochaber
Lochaber
District of Lochaber 1975 to 1996Highland council area shown as one of the council areas of ScotlandLochaber is one of the 16 ward management areas of the Highland Council of Scotland and one of eight former local government districts of the two-tier Highland region...
, it invites the listener to imagine the boatsmen of the island singing in time to the pulling of their oars.
- Chorus
- Heel ya'ho boys, let her go, boys
- Bring her head round now all together
- Heel ya'ho boys, let her go boys
- Sailing homeward to Mingulay!
- What care we tho' white the MinchThe MinchThe Minch , also called The North Minch, is a strait in north-west Scotland, separating the north-west Highlands, and the northern Inner Hebrides, from Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides...
is - What care we for wind and weather?
- Let her go boys, every inch is
- Wearing homeward to Mingulay!
- Chorus
- Wives are waiting on the bank, boys,
- Looking seaward from the heather.
- Pull her 'round boys, and we'll anchor
- 'Ere the sun sets at Mingulay!
- Chorus.
It has been recorded by numerous artists including Robin Hall and Jimmy MacGregor in 1971, The Idlers
The Idlers
The Idlers of the United States Coast Guard Academy are an all-male collegiate a cappella ensemble specializing in the performance of sea shanties and patriotic music.-Overview:...
and Richard Thompson in 2006. The lyrics have also been variously interpreted. For example Hall and MacGregor's 1961 version has a female vocalist (Shirley Bland) rendering the third stanza as:
- We are waiting by the harbour,
- Weeping, waiting since break of day-o.
- We are waiting by the harbour,
- As the sun sets on Mingulay.
Although the fame of the song means that it is one of the few things popularly associated with the island and it is evocative of island life, it was never sung by its residents, having been composed long after the evacuation.
Other songs composed by or about residents of the island survive. These include Oran do dh'Eilean Mhiulaidh (Song to the Isle of Mingulay) written by Neil MacPhee the Vatsersay raider (see above), after the abandonment of the island, and Turas Neill a Mhiughlaigh (Neil's Trip to Mingulay) written by Father Allan MacLean (known locally as the "Curate of Spain" having attended the Scots College in Valladolid
Valladolid
Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...
), possibly during the period 1837–40 when he lived on Barra.
In literature
- There is a local tradition that French gold intended to support the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion was hidden in a sea cave on the west coast. This story forms the basis of the novel Children of Tempest by Neil MunroNeil Munro (Hugh Foulis)Neil Munro was a Scottish journalist, newspaper editor, author and literary critic. He was born in Inveraray and worked as a journalist on various newspapers....
. - Mingulay is the name of an isolated human colony in Ken MacLeodKen MacLeodKen MacLeod , is a Scottish science fiction writer.MacLeod was born in Stornoway. He graduated from Glasgow University with a degree in zoology and has worked as a computer programmer and written a masters thesis on biomechanics....
's Cosmonaut Keep, book one in the "Engines Of Light" series of science-fiction novels. - Helen Frost's The Braid is partly set in Mingulay.
See also
- BarraBarraThe island of Barra is a predominantly Gaelic-speaking island, and apart from the adjacent island of Vatersay, to which it is connected by a causeway, is the southernmost inhabited island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland.-Geography:The 2001 census showed that the resident population was 1,078...
- BernerayBarra HeadBarra Head, also known as Berneray , is the southernmost of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. Within the Outer Hebrides, it forms part of the Barra Isles archipelago. Originally, Barra Head only referred to the southernmost headland of Berneray but is now a common name for the entire island...
- Bishop's IslesBarra IslesThe Barra Isles, also known as the Bishop's Isles as they were historically owned by the Bishop of the Isles, are a small archipelago of islands in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. They lie south of the island of Barra, for which they are named. The group consists of nine islands, and numerous...
- St KildaSt Kilda, ScotlandSt Kilda is an isolated archipelago west-northwest of North Uist in the North Atlantic Ocean. It contains the westernmost islands of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The largest island is Hirta, whose sea cliffs are the highest in the United Kingdom and three other islands , were also used for...
- Mingulay Boat SongMingulay Boat SongThe "Mingulay Boat Song" was a sea shanty supposed to have been sung by Scottish fishermen as they returned from the Atlantic towards the Isle of Mingulay. However, the Isle of Mingulay was abandoned in 1912, and therefore the song cannot be authentic to the isle's fishing community. The lyrics...
- RonaNorth RonaRona is a remote Scottish island in the North Atlantic. Rona is often referred to as North Rona in order to distinguish it from South Rona . It has an area of and a maximum height of...
External links
- Lonely Isles Mingulay page.
- The National Trust for Scotland - Mingulay, Berneray & Pabbay. Retrieved 24.12.2006
- The National Trust for Scotland - Seabird colonies. Retrieved 26.12.2006