Egilsay (, sco, Egilsay) is one of the
Orkney Islands in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, lying east of
Rousay
Rousay (, sco, Rousee; non, Hrólfsey meaning Rolf's Island) is a small, hilly island about north of Mainland, the largest island in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. It has been nicknamed "Egypt of the north", due to its archaeological diversit ...
. The island is largely farmland and is known for its
corncrakes and
St Magnus Church, dedicated or re-dedicated to
Saint Magnus, who was killed on the island in 1117 by an axe blow to the head. For hundreds of years the story of St. Magnus, part of the
Orkneyinga saga, was considered just a legend until a skull with a large crack in it, such as it had been stricken by an axe, was found in the walls of
St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall.
Etymology
Unusually for the
Northern Isles
The Northern Isles ( sco, Northren Isles; gd, Na h-Eileanan a Tuath; non, Norðreyjar; nrn, Nordøjar) are a pair of archipelagos off the north coast of mainland Scotland, comprising Orkney and Shetland. They are part of Scotland, as are th ...
, it has been suggested that Egilsay may have a partly Gaelic name.
While at first sight, it appears to be Egil's island, "Egil" being a Norse personal name, the Gaelic ''eaglais'' (Celtic "eccles") meaning church, may be part of the root, as the island is dominated by a church of pre-Norse foundation. The island of
Kili Holm
Kili Holm is a tidal island in the Orkney Islands, linked to Egilsay. Unusually, like its neighbour Egilsay, it may have a partly Gaelic etymology,Anderson, Joseph (Ed.) (1893) ''Orkneyinga Saga''. Translated by Jón A. Hjaltalin & Gilbert Goud ...
just to the north, may represent ''cille'', a monastic cell.
Present day
The island's population was 26 as recorded by the
2011 census a drop of almost a third since 2001 when there were 37 usual residents. During the same period,
Scottish island populations as a whole grew by 4% to 103,702.
"Scotland's 2011 census: Island living on the rise"
BBC News. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
Orkney Ferries
Orkney Ferries is a Scottish company operating inter-island ferry services in the Orkney Islands. The company operates ferry services across 15 islands.
History
The company is owned by the Orkney Islands Council and was established in 1960 as t ...
sail from the island to Tingwall on the Orkney Mainland
The Mainland, also known as Hrossey and Pomona, is the main island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island, which is also the heart of Orkney's ferry and air connections.
Seventy-five per cent of O ...
via Wyre and Rousay.
See also
* Sir Alexander Douglas of Eagleshay
References
External links
Information on the island of Egilsay
{{Coord, 59, 09, N, 2, 55, W, type:isle, display=title
Islands of the Orkney Islands