Inch Kenneth () is a small grassy island off the west coast of the

Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull or simply Mull ( ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Argyll and Bute. Covering , Mull is the fourth-lar ...

, in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It is at the entrance of Loch na Keal, to the south of

Ulva Ulva (; ) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, off the west coast of Mull. It is separated from Mull by a narrow strait, and connected to the neighbouring island of Gometra by a bridge. Much of the island is formed from Cen ...

. It is part of the Loch na Keal National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland. It is within the parish of

Kilfinichen and Kilvickeon Kilfinichen and Kilvickeon is a Civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish on the Isle of Mull in the county of Argyll, Scotland, part of the Argyll and Bute council area. It is one of three parishes on the island and extends over the south-weste ...

, in

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute (; , ) is one of 32 unitary authority, unitary council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod ...

History

The island is named after St Kenneth, a follower of

Saint Columba Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Gaelic Ireland, 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 ...

, who is said to have founded a monastery on the island.

Ownership and visitors

The island was visited in 1773 by

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

and

James Boswell James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 ( N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of the English writer Samuel Johnson, '' Life of Samuel ...

during their tour of the

Hebrides The Hebrides ( ; , ; ) are the largest archipelago in the United Kingdom, off the west coast of the Scotland, Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Ou ...

; they were entertained there by Sir Allan MacLean, head of the Maclean clan. Both Johnson and Boswell published accounts of their visit. In the early 1930s the island was owned by Sir Harold Boulton, 2nd Baronet, the writer of the words to the ''

Skye Boat Song "The Skye Boat Song" (Roud Folk Song Index, Roud 3772) is a late 19th-century Music of Scotland, Scottish song adaptation of a Gaelic song composed c.1782 by William Ross (poet), William Ross, entitled ''Cuachag nan Craobh'' ("Cuckoo of the Tr ...

''. He enlarged an earlier house to make the existing mansion, dying in 1935. The island's most celebrated subsequent owner in the twentieth century was the

Mitford family The Mitford family is an aristocratic British family who became particularly well known in the 1930s for the six Mitford sisters, the daughters of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale, and his wife, Sydney Bowles. They were celebrated and ...

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

sympathiser

Unity Mitford Unity Valkyrie Freeman-Mitford (8 August 1914 – 28 May 1948) was a British fascist and socialite and member of the Mitford family known for her relationship with Adolf Hitler. Born in the United Kingdom, she was a prominent supporter of Nazis ...

spent her final years on the island. Following the death of their father, Lord Redesdale, the island was inherited under Scots law by the surviving

Mitford sisters The Mitford family is an aristocratic British family who became particularly well known in the 1930s for the six Mitford sisters, the daughters of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale, and his wife, Sydney Bowles. They were celebrated and ...

and not his wife, as Lord Redesdale had willed it to his only son Tom, who had predeceased him. When their mother died in 1963, Nancy gave her share to Jessica, who bought the shares of

Diana Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), ...

Deborah According to the Book of Judges, Deborah (, ''Dəḇōrā'') was a prophetess of Judaism, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel, and the only female judge mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Many scholars contend that the phrase, "a woman of Lap ...

and Pamela. Jessica, a former

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

, teasingly suggested that it might become a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

submarine base. The island was sold by Jessica in the late 1960s to Andrew Barlow, son of

Sir Alan Barlow, 2nd Baronet Sir James Alan Noel Barlow, 2nd Baronet (25 December 1881 – 28 February 1968) was a British civil servant and collector of Islamic and Chinese art. He was Principal Private Secretary to Ramsay MacDonald, 1933–1934, and later Under-secret ...

. It remains with their family.

Other

The island was a location for the 1993 feature film ''Walk Me Home'' produced by author Timothy Neat. Inch Kenneth is classified by the

National Records of Scotland National Records of Scotland () is a non-ministerial department of the Scottish Government. It is responsible for civil registration, the census in Scotland, demography and statistics, family history, as well as the national archives and hist ...

as an inhabited island that "had no usual residents at the time of either the 2001 or 2011 censuses."

Notes and references

{{Commons category, Inch Kenneth Uninhabited islands of Argyll and Bute