Isay () is an uninhabited island in 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 ...

of the west coast of

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 lies in

Loch Dunvegan Loch Dunvegan (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Dhùn Bheagain''), is a sea loch on the west coast of the island of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Dunvegan, the village it was named after is located by its southern shore. The settlements of Gal ...

, off the northwest coast of the

Isle 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 of ...

. Two smaller isles of Mingay and

Clett Clett is a name used for many uninhabited Scotland, Scottish islets and one to the south, though also in the area inhabited by Vikings. They include - * One at 58.623644°N 3.5424908°W, near the north coast of Caithness, just to the west Holborn ...

lie nearby. The name originated from the

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 ...

''ise-øy'' meaning

porpoise Porpoises () are small Oceanic dolphin, dolphin-like cetaceans classified under the family Phocoenidae. Although similar in appearance to dolphins, they are more closely related to narwhals and Beluga whale, belugas than to the Oceanic dolphi ...

island. The island of Lampay is due south. The area of Isay is . Isay

History

The first recorded owner of Isay and its surrounding islets was

Olaf the Black Óláfr Guðrøðarson (died 1237) (Scottish Gaelic: ''Amhlaibh Dubh''), also known as Olaf the Black, was a thirteenth-century King of the Isles, and a member of the Crovan dynasty. He was a son of Guðrøðr Óláfsson, King of the Isles and F ...

, the 13th-century ruler of the

Kingdom of the Isles The Kingdom of the Isles, also known as Sodor, was a Norse–Gaelic kingdom comprising the Isle of Man, the Hebrides and the islands of the Clyde from the 9th to the 13th centuries. The islands were known in Old Norse as the , or "Southern I ...

. In the 16th century, the main house on the island was inhabited by the

MacLeods of Lewis Clan MacLeod of The Lewes, commonly known as Clan MacLeod of Lewis (), is a Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan, which at its height held extensive lands in the Western Isles and west coast of Scotland. From the 14th century up until the be ...

, and it was here that Roderick Macleod of Lewis ('Nimheach' - the venomous) implemented his plan to ensure that his grandson would inherit

Raasay Raasay (; ), sometimes the Isle of Raasay, is an island between the Isle of Skye and the mainland of Scotland. It is separated from Skye by the Sound of Raasay and from Applecross by the Inner Sound, Scotland, Inner Sound. It is famous fo ...

and the lands of

Gairloch Gairloch ( ; , meaning "Short Loch") is a village, civil parish and community on the shores of Loch Gairloch in Wester Ross, in the North-West Highlands of Scotland. A tourist destination in the summer months, Gairloch has a golf course, a ...

. He convened the two powerful families (names do not appear to have been recorded) of the time at Isay house for a banquet which he suggested was to inform them of good news. During the feast, he invited each person present to accompany him outside of the banquet hall in order to inform them of this news. Upon leaving the hall, the victim was promptly stabbed to death. In this way, both families were wiped out. The island was home to a small fishing community in around the 1830s, which included a general store and fishing station, and by 1841 supported 15 families "in considerable comfort". However, like many other small islands, the population of around ninety were removed during the

Highland clearances The Highland Clearances ( , 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 resulted from Scottish Agricultural R ...

to make way for

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

. The remains of the 18 or more cottages can be clearly seen from the

Waternish Waternish or Vaternish () is a peninsula approximately long on the island of Skye, Scotland, situated between Loch Dunvegan and Loch Snizort in the northwest of the island, originally inhabited and owned by Clan MacNeacail/MacNicol/Nicolsons a ...

peninsula, which overlooks the three islands. The island was briefly owned by the singer

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

in the 1960s.

References

{{coord, 57, 31, N, 6, 39, W, display=title, region:GB_type:isle Uninhabited islands of Highland (council area) Skye and Lochalsh