Fuaigh Mòr (sometimes anglicised as Vuia Mor) is an island in the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coas ...

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 ...

. It is off the west coast of

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

near

Great Bernera Great Bernera (; gd, Beàrnaraigh Mòr), often known just as Bernera ( gd, Beàrnaraigh), is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. With an area of just over , it is the thirty-fourth largest Scottish island. Great Bernera l ...

in Loch Roag. It is and at its highest point.

History

In 1841, Fuaigh Mòr was the scene of an incident in 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 result ...

, a subject that still evokes much bitterness in the surrounding area. A local Lewis story goes that the Bernera Ground Officer, who was responsible for the evictions, was later dismissed from his post and ended up as a tramp in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. While he was begging for food in Ontario, he came to the door of someone he had evicted from Fuaigh Mòr, but did not recognise them at first. The evictee is said to have given him food, and then reminded him of who she was. The island is currently uninhabited, and now used only for grazing sheep.

Geography and geology

The rock is

Lewisian gneiss The Lewisian complex or Lewisian gneiss is a suite of Precambrian metamorphic rocks that outcrop in the northwestern part of Scotland, forming part of the Hebridean Terrane and the North Atlantic Craton. These rocks are of Archaean and Pale ...

. The island itself is ''L''-shaped, tapering towards the north. The south east has a small headland extended northwards, called Rubha na h-Athadh, which has a

cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehi ...

on it. There are a couple of caves in the north as well. There are cliffs on the west coast such as Creag na h-Iolaire (eagle crag). There are many skerries and small islands near it such as Geile Sgeir, Garbh Eilean, Eilean nam Feannag, Linngeam, Cliatasay, Grousam and yet another Floday, as well as

Fuaigh Beag Fuaigh Beag or Vuia Be(a)g is an island in the Outer Hebrides. It is off the west coast of Lewis near Great Bernera in Loch Roag. Its name means "little Fuaigh", and is named in contrast to Fuaigh Mòr nearby. History The element "Fuaigh", deriv ...

. Eunay Mòr is between the island and

Notes and references

Islands of Loch Ròg Cleared places in the Outer Hebrides Uninhabited islands of the Outer Hebrides {{WesternIsles-geo-stub