Hellisay (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

: ''Theiliseigh'') is a currently uninhabited

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

It is one of ten islands in the

Sound of Barra The Sound of Barra is a large ocean inlet or sound situated to the north of the isle of Barra and to the south of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. Since 2014 it has been designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The Sound ...

, a

Site of Community Importance A Site of Community Importance (SCI) is defined in the European Commission Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) as a site which, in the biogeographical region or regions to which it belongs, contributes significantly to the maintenance or restoration at ...

for

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

in the southern

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 coast ...

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 ...

. The narrow Sound of Gighay lies between Hellisay and its neighbouring island.

Geography and geology

Hellisay is one of ten islands in the

, a

for

in the

. of a string of islands in the

, Hellisay lies close to its neighbour Gighay, with a narrow channel, the Sound of Gighay, between. The bedrock is mainly

gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...

with

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...

veins. There are several peaks on the island including Beinn a' Chàrnain in the west (mountain of the small cairn; ), Meall Meadhonach (middle rounded hill; ) and Meall Mòr (east of Meall Meadhonach and south of the peninsula of Càrais; ).

Wildlife

Along with a variety of seabirds,

raptor Raptor or RAPTOR may refer to: Animals The word "raptor" refers to several groups of bird-like dinosaurs which primarily capture and subdue/kill prey with their talons. * Raptor (bird) or bird of prey, a bird that primarily hunts and feeds on v ...

s including

falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

s and

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...

s have been seen on Hellisay. The island has a profusion of sea thrift and the Sound of Gighay has been described as a "quiet secret place of wild irises and marshmallows"."Best of Scotland's islands"
. (9 August 2013) Highland News. Retrieved 16 October 2013.

History

The island's name is

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 ...

in origin. It possibly means "island of the caves", which appears to be confirmed by the name Rubha na h-Uamh (headland of the cave) in the east of the island. However, Blaeu's map has "Hildesay", which suggests that the name may derive from the Norse for "Hilda's Island". A view into the natural harbour from Gighay-Gioghaigh - geograph

A view into the natural harbour from Gighay-Gioghaigh - geograph

The island's settlement was at Buaile Mhòr (anglicised to Bualavore and meaning "the big fold") near Eilean a' Ghamhna in the north west of the island. The remains of a sheep pen and a well can still be seen. Like so many other islands in the region, Hellisay was badly affected by 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 ...

. Firstly, refugees from clearances in neighbouring islands swelled the population, and latterly the island's inhabitants themselves were evicted, and many went to live on

Eriskay Eriskay ( gd, Èirisgeigh), from the Old Norse for "Eric's Isle", is an island and community council area of the Outer Hebrides in northern Scotland with a population of 143, as of the 2011 census. It lies between South Uist and Barra and is ...

. The population peaked at 108 in 1841, and the island was cleared in the 1840s – however it continued to have some inhabitants up until 1890.

Alasdair Alpin MacGregor Alasdair Alpin MacGregor (March 20, 1899 – 1970) was a Scottish writer and photographer, known for a large number of travel books. He wrote also on Scottish folklore, and was a published poet. Life He was born at Applecross, Ross and Cromarty, ...

's stories reveal a rich folklore and mythology extant on the island, possibly only a fraction of which has been preserved.

In Media

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

priest, specialist in

mystical theology Mystical theology is the branch of theology in the Christian tradition ...

and author Rayner Torrington wrote a book describing how he was influenced by meeting a hermit called Peter Calvay who lived on Hellisay for a number of years in the first half of the twentieth century. The book titled ‘Peter Calvay, hermit: A personal rediscovery of prayer’ was first published in 1977 and has had at least eleven reprintings. Torkington's book ‘Wisdom from the Western Isles: the making of a mystic’, published in 2008, also describes the author's meetings with Peter Calvay whilst the author was staying on the nearby island of

Barra Barra (; gd, Barraigh or ; sco, Barra) is an island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, and the second southernmost inhabited island there, after the adjacent island of Vatersay to which it is connected by a short causeway. The island is na ...

Notes and references

* {{coord, 57, 01, N, 7, 21, W, display=title, region:GB_type:isle_source:GNS-enwiki Islands of the Sound of Barra Cleared places in the Outer Hebrides

Geography and geology

Wildlife

History

In Media

See also

Notes and references