Fladda-chùain, or Fladaigh Chùain, is an island of the

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides ( ; ) 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, which experience a mild oceanic climate. The Inner Hebrides compri ...

north of the

Trotternish Trotternish () is the northernmost peninsula of the Isle of Skye in Scotland, spanning in length from Portree to Rubha Hunish. The Trotternish escarpment runs almost the full length of the peninsula, some ,Ordnance Survey ''Landranger'' 1:50000 ...

peninsula of

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply 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 by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some o ...

. It is the major island of the Fladda-chùain group between Skye and the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...

Name

The name of the island derives from

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was 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 ...

''Flatey'', meaning a "flat island", and ''Cuan'', a

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

word meaning "ocean" (or

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

in Irish and

Old Gaelic Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The main contemporary texts a ...

). The latter probably refers to

the Minch The Minch () is a strait in north-west Scotland that separates the mainland from Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides. It was known as ("Scotland's firth") in Old Norse. The Minch's southern extension, which separates Skye from the midd ...

, which is known as ''An Cuan Sgìth'' ("Ocean of

") or ''Cuan na Hearadh'' ("Ocean of

Harris Harris may refer to: Places Canada * Harris, Ontario * Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine) * Harris, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan Scotland * Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle ...

"). The suffix is also added to distinguish this island from the many others with similar names.

History

Fladda-chùain is the subject of some legends. There are the ruins of a chapel here, said to have been founded by one "O' Gorgon" in the days of

St. Columba Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey ...

, and/or dedicated to him. It is said also that MacDonald of the Isles hid his deeds here prior to the

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart, James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland ...

. The last known inhabitant was known as "Am Muileach Mòr", which means either "the Big

Mull Mull may refer to: Places *Isle of Mull, a Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides ** Sound of Mull, between the Isle of Mull and the rest of Scotland * Mount Mull, Antarctica * Mull Hill, Isle of Man * Mull, Arkansas, a place along Arkansas Highwa ...

man", or the "man of the headland". In 2002 the nuclear submarine grounded on Fladda-chùain whilst travelling at during a traverse of the Fladda-chùain- Eilean Trodday trough, resulting in some damage to the submarine and three minor injuries to the crew. After the grounding the submarine re-surfaced and proceeded to the

Faslane His Majesty's Naval Base, Clyde (HMNB Clyde; also HMS ''Neptune''), primarily sited at Faslane on the Gare Loch, is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth). It ...

base by surface transit. The main cause of the accident was reported as being the use of tracing paper to cover the navigational chart to protect it from being written on, so obscuring vital information. Damage to the hull cost an estimated £5 million to repair.Dawar, Anil (23 May 2008
"Submarine's £5m repair bill blamed on tracing paper"
''The Guardian''. Retrieved 6 December 2009. A few hundred metres to the south lie the islets of Gaeilavore, Gearran and Am Bord (Lord Macdonald's Table).

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fladda-Chuain Uninhabited islands of Highland (council area) Skye and Lochalsh