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Shillay (
Northern Lighthouse Board
{{Lighthouse identifiers , qid2=Q3739794 Category B listed lighthouses Lighthouses in Outer Hebrides Monach Islands Uninhabited islands of the Outer Hebrides
Shillay (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 ...
: Siolaigh or Seilaigh from the Norse ''selrey'', meaning Seal island) is the westernmost of the Monach Islands
The Monach Islands, also known as Heisker ( gd, Eilean Heisgeir / , ), are an island group west of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The islands are not to be confused with Hyskeir in the Inner Hebrides, or Haskeir which is also o ...
(Heisgeir), off North Uist
North Uist ( gd, Uibhist a Tuath; sco, North Uise) is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
Etymology
In Donald Munro's ''A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland Called Hybrides'' of 1549, North Uist, Benbecula and ...
in the Outer Hebrides.
Geology and geography
Like most of the other Monach Islands, Shillay has a thin, sandy soil, which has been much troubled by erosion, and which was badly eroded by a huge wave in the 16th century. Despite Ceann Iar's name, meaning "western headland", Shillay is the westernmost island of the group. There are several small islets around Shillay, including Eilean Siorraidh, Odarum (to the north) and Raisgeir.Lighthouses
The lighthouse at Shillay has an uneven history. The red brick lighthouse was built in 1864 by David &Thomas Stevenson
Thomas Stevenson PRSE MInstCE FRSSA FSAScot (22 July 1818 – 8 May 1887) was a pioneering Scottish civil engineer, lighthouse designer and meteorologist, who designed over thirty lighthouses in and around Scotland, as well as the Stevenson s ...
, and was in use until it was closed during the war in 1942 and not lit again in 1948 after hostilities ceased. After the Braer disaster in 1993 in Shetland, a new light was recommended to mark the deep water route west of the Hebrides. A new automated aluminium light was installed in 1997. However it proved inadequate and in 2005 it was decided that it was cheaper to reuse the original lighthouse than to increase the height of the new light. In 2008 the old lighthouse was refurbished and put back into use.https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00y6hym/The_Lighthouse_Stevensons/
A stone from the lighthouse has been removed into the church wall at Paible; a keeper had carved into it "Eternity Oh Eternity". Just to the south of Shillay, there is an Eilean Siorraidh ("Island of Eternity"; formerly Eilean Siorruidh) - whether this carving is a reference to this or the solitude of the island is unrecorded.
See also
*List of lighthouses in Scotland
This is a list of lighthouses in Scotland. The Northern Lighthouse Board, from which much of the information is derived, are responsible for most lighthouses in Scotland but have handed over responsibility in the major estuaries to the port aut ...
* List of Northern Lighthouse Board lighthouses
This is a list of the currently operational lighthouses of the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB). The list is divided by geographical location, and then by whether the lighthouses are classed by the NLB as a 'major lighthouse' or a 'minor light'. F ...
References
External links
Northern Lighthouse Board
{{Lighthouse identifiers , qid2=Q3739794 Category B listed lighthouses Lighthouses in Outer Hebrides Monach Islands Uninhabited islands of the Outer Hebrides