Fuaigh Mòr

Fuaigh Mòr (sometimes anglicised as Vuia Mor)[6] is an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It is off the west coast of Lewis near Great Bernera in Loch Roag. It is 84 hectares (208 acres) and 67 metres (220 feet) at its highest point.

Fuaigh Mòr

Scottish Gaelic name	Fuaigh Mòr
Meaning of name	"Large Vuia", or "house island", from Norse
Location
Fuaigh Mòr Fuaigh Mòr shown within the Outer Hebrides
OS grid reference	NB129349
Coordinates	58.21°N 6.89°W
Physical geography
Island group	Outer Hebrides
Area	84 ha (^5⁄16 sq mi)
Area rank	159= [1]
Highest elevation	Mullach na Beinne 67 m (220 ft)
Administration
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	Scotland
Council area	Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
Demographics
Population	0
References	[2][3][4][5]

History

Ruins of homes and a grain kiln, on the east side of the island

In 1841, Fuaigh Mòr was the scene of a particularly nasty incident in the Highland Clearances, a subject that still evokes much bitterness in the surrounding area.

A local Lewis story goes that the Bernera Ground Officer, who was responsible for the evictions was later dismissed from his post, and ended up as a tramp in Ontario, Canada. While he was begging for food in Ontario, he came to the door of someone he had evicted from Fuaigh Mòr, but did not recognise them at first. The evictee is said to have given him food, and then reminded him of who she was.[4]

The island is currently uninhabited, and now used only for grazing sheep.

Geography and geology

The remains of houses and sheep fanks

The rock is Lewisian gneiss.[4]

The island itself is L-shaped, tapering towards the north. The south east has a small headland extended northwards, called Rubha na h-Athadh, which has a cairn on it. There are a couple of caves in the north as well. There are cliffs on the west coast such as Creag na h-Iolaire (eagle crag).

There are many skerries and small islands near it such as Geile Sgeir, Garbh Eilean, Eilean nam Feannag, Linngeam, Cliatasay, Grousam and yet another Floday, as well as Fuaigh Beag. Eunay Mòr is between the island and Great Bernera.

Notes and references

1. Area and population ranks: there are c. 300 islands over 20 ha in extent and 93 permanently inhabited islands were listed in the 2011 census.
2. General Register Office for Scotland (28 November 2003) Scotland's Census 2001 – Occasional Paper No 10: Statistics for Inhabited Islands. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
3. Ordnance Survey
4. Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
5. Iain Mac an Tailleir. "Placenames" (PDF). Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-05-29. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
6. "Vuia Mor". The Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 15 November 2012.