Monach Islands

Not to be confused with Heysker/Hyskeir (Small Isles) or Haskeir

Location of the Monach Islands

The Monach Islands, also known as Heisker (Scottish Gaelic: Eilean Heisgeir / Heisgeir, pronounced [elanˈheʃkʲəɾʲ, ˈheʃkʲəɾʲ]), 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 off North Uist and visible from the group.

Geology and geography

Loch nam Buadh on Ceann Ear, with the ruins of the village and nunnery in the distance

The main islands of Ceann Ear (once home to a nunnery), Ceann Iar and Shivinish are all linked at low tide. It is said that it was at one time possible to walk all the way to Baleshare, and on to North Uist, five miles away at low tide. In the 17th century, a large tidal wave was said to have washed this route away.^[1] The islands of the group, tend to be low-lying and sandy, subject to intense coastal erosion. Not unlike the Isles of Scilly it is possible that Ceann Iar, Shivinish and Ceann Ear formed a single body of land within historic times, and that their land area has greatly decreased due to overgrazing and sea inundation, and wind erosion as well.

Smaller islands in the group include Deasker (Deas-Sgeir), Shillay (Siolaigh) and Stocaigh (Stockay).

History

The two lighthouses on Shillay. The old lighthouse was closed in 1942; the newer light was installed in 1997. The new light was deactivated in 2008, and the old lighthouse re-activated.

The islands have been uninhabited since 1942, but were inhabited by up to 100 people for centuries leading up to 1810 - possibly up to a thousand years before. They were originally abandoned due to overgrazing, but were resettled in the wake of the Highland Clearances.^[1]

Shillay (Siolaigh) is the location of Monach Lighthouse, built by David and Thomas Stevenson in 1864. The lighthouse was closed in 1942, but following the sinking of the Braer oil tanker in 1993, a new much smaller lighthouse was built in 1997. This had a range of 10 miles; when a range of 18 miles was deemed necessary, the new lighthouse was shut down in 2008 and the old lighthouse recommissioned with a new optic. Like all British lighthouses it is now unmanned and fully automated.^[2]

In 2007 renovations of the old schoolhouse were completed, enabling visitors to stay on the island, and learn about its history and wildlife. The old Heisgeir mailboat has also been restored at the Grimsay boatshed. The 28-foot motorised open wooden boat was built circa 1932 for the last family to leave the Monach Islands, and had lain unused at Lochmaddy before being rescued by the local history society.^[3]

Lady Grange

Jacobite sympathiser James Erskine, Lord Grange (1679-1784) had his wife Rachel Chiesley kidnapped and abandoned on the Monach Isles between 1732 and 1734. At the time the islands were owned by Sir Alexander MacDonald of Sleat and she was housed with his tacksman (leaseholder), another Alexander MacDonald and his wife. When Lady Grange complained about her condition, she was told by her host that he had no orders to provide her either with clothes, or food other than the normal fare he and his wife were used to. She lived in isolation, not even being told the name of the island where she was living, and it took her some time to find out who her landlord was. She was there until June 1734 when John and Norman MacLeod from North Uist arrived to move her on. They told her they were taking her to Orkney,^[4][5] but she was taken to Hirta where she lived from 1734-42 before being taken to Skye where she died after a failed rescue attempt.^[6][7]

Wildlife

A deserted cottage on the Monach Isles

The islands are a National Nature Reserve^[8] for the undisturbed machair and their grey seal population. About 10,000 come ashore each autumn to have their pups and mate, making it one of the largest such colonies in the world.^[9] There are also a large number of nesting seabirds and a rich flora. Grey herons nest in some of the abandoned buildings.^[10]

There are no trees on the islands.

References

1. Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
2. "Monach Lighthouse". Northern Lighthouse Board. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
3. Ross, John (7 April 2007). "Renovation breathes new life into windswept Monach Isles". The Scotsman (Edinburgh).
4. Macauley (2009) pp. 84-86
5. Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 254-56
6. Quine, David (2000). Island Guides: St. Kilda. Grantown-on-Spey: Colin Baxter.
7. Steel, Tom (1988). The Life and Death of St. Kilda. London: Fontana.
8. "Monach Islands". Retrieved 2007-12-08.
9. "Monach Islands". Western Isles Guide Book. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
10. Murray, W.H. (1966) The Hebrides. London. Heinemann. Page 205.

Coordinates: 57°31′N 7°40′W / 57.517°N 7.667°W