Isay ( gd, Ìosaigh) is an uninhabited island in the

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Na h-Eileanan a-staigh'', "the inner isles") is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, whic ...

of the west coast of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It lies in

Loch Dunvegan Loch Dunvegan (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Dhùn Bheagain''), is a sea loch on the west coast of the island of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Dunvegan, the village it was named after is located by its southern shore. The settlements of Galt ...

, off the northwest coast of the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

. Two smaller isles of

Mingay Mingay is an islet in the Inner Hebrides off Skye and Isay. Together with Isay and Loch Dunvegan, it is designated as a Special Area of Conservation owing to the breeding colonies of the common seal. Geography and geology The island's rock is ...

and

Clett Clett is a name used for many uninhabited Scottish islets and one to the south, though also in the area inhabited by Vikings. They include - * One at 58.623644°N 3.5424908°W, near the north coast of Caithness, just to the west Holborn Head nor ...

lie nearby. The name originated from the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

''ise-øy'' meaning

porpoise Porpoises are a group of fully aquatic marine mammals, all of which are classified under the family Phocoenidae, parvorder Odontoceti (toothed whales). Although similar in appearance to dolphins, they are more closely related to narwhals an ...

island. The island of

Lampay Lampay is an uninhabited tidal island in Loch Dunvegan Loch Dunvegan (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Dhùn Bheagain''), is a sea loch on the west coast of the island of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Dunvegan, the village it was named afte ...

is due south. The area of Isay is . Isay

History

The first recorded owner of Isay and its surrounding islets was

Olaf the Black Óláfr Guðrøðarson (died 1237) (Scottish Gaelic: ''Amhlaibh Dubh''), also known as Olaf the Black, was a thirteenth-century King of the Isles, and a member of the Crovan dynasty. He was a son of Guðrøðr Óláfsson, King of the Isles and ...

, the 13th-century ruler of the

Kingdom of the Isles The Kingdom of the Isles consisted of the Isle of Man, the Hebrides and the islands of the Firth of Clyde from the 9th to the 13th centuries AD. The islands were known to the Norse as the , or "Southern Isles" as distinct from the or Nort ...

. In the 16th century, the main house on the island was inhabited by the MacLeods of Lewis, and it was here that Roderick Macleod of Lewis ('Nimheach' - the venomous) implemented his plan to ensure that his grandson would inherit

Raasay Raasay (; gd, Ratharsair) or the Isle of Raasay is an island between the Isle of Skye and the mainland of Scotland. It is separated from Skye by the Sound of Raasay and from Applecross by the Inner Sound. It is famous for being the birt ...

and the lands of

Gairloch Gairloch ( ; gd, Geàrrloch , meaning "Short Loch") is a village, civil parish and community on the shores of Loch Gairloch in Wester Ross, in the North-West Highlands of Scotland. A tourist destination in the summer months, Gairloch has a go ...

. He convened the two powerful families (names do not appear to have been recorded) of the time at Isay house for a banquet which he suggested was to inform them of good news. During the feast, he invited each person present to accompany him outside of the banquet hall in order to inform them of this news. Upon leaving the hall the victim was promptly stabbed to death. In this way, both families were wiped out. The island was home to a small fishing community in around the 1830s, which included a general store and fishing station, and by 1841 supported 15 families "in considerable comfort". However, like many other small islands, the population of around ninety were removed during the

Highland clearances The Highland Clearances ( gd, Fuadaichean nan Gàidheal , the "eviction of the Gaels") were the evictions of a significant number of tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, mostly in two phases from 1750 to 1860. The first phase resulte ...

to make way for

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

. The remains of the 18 or more cottages can be clearly seen from the

Waternish Waternish or Vaternish ( gd, Bhàtairnis) is a peninsula approximately long on the island of Skye, Scotland, situated between Loch Dunvegan and Loch Snizort in the northwest of the island, and originally inhabited and owned by Clan MacNeacail/M ...

peninsula, which overlooks the three islands. The island was briefly owned by the singer

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...

in the 1960s.

References

{{coord, 57, 31, N, 6, 39, W, display=title, region:GB_type:isle Uninhabited islands of Highland (council area) Skye and Lochalsh