Harkness – MacGillivray Stories

Jacobites

The historical events discussed in this post is the first Jacobite rebellion in 1689 and the revenge that succeeded it. As committed Roman Catholics, Clan Ranald took part in the first Jacobite rebellion. According to Clan Ranald tradition, in May of the following year, Edward Pottinger decided to take revenge for this. Pottinger, a Royal Navy captain from Ulster, induced his men to carry out large scale rape and murder on Eigg; the ship’s log for Pottinger’s ship, however, does not mention these events.

To evade the restrictions the government subsequently imposed on Roman Catholic services, the remaining inhabitants of Eigg began to secretly hold services in a large high-roofed cave. The cave became known as the cave of worship (now “Cathedral Cave”).

Eigg tenants also joined the Jacobite rebellions of 1715 and of 1745. MacDonald of Laig, leader of the Eigg branch of Clan Ranald commanded the tenants from Canna. Whether or not the events of 1690 were simply blood libel rather than gunboat diplomacy, there was certainly retribution in 1746. All 38 surviving men who had taken part in the rebellions were arrested by the navy and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Many died from natural causes; however, the remaining 16 were eventually sent to Barbados, to work on sugar cane plantations.

After the defeat at Culloden, the Scottish Gaelic poet Raonuill Dubh MacDhòmhnuill moved from Arisaig to the farm of Laig. Raonuill was the eldest son of the Jacobite officer and poet Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair. The farm remained in the family until Raonuill Dubh’s grandson, Angus R. MacDonald, emigrated to the United States. Angus served as a Lieutenant in the 11th Wisconsin Regiment during the American Civil War.

Of course, the MacGillivrays, the ancestors of my mother’s father, were deeply involved in the Battle of Culloden. In other words, they played a crucial role in perhaps the most important event in Scottish history.

The Lairds of Eigg

The purchaser and new owner of Eigg in 1828 was one Dr. Hugh MacPherson, and for a while island society carried on normally. The Scottish geologist and writer Hugh Miller visited the island in the 1840s. He wrote a long and detailed account of his explorations in his book The Cruise of the Betsey (published in 1858). Miller was a self-taught geologist; so the book contains detailed observations of the geology of the island, including the Sgùrr and the singing sands.

He described the islanders of Eigg as “an active, middle-sized race, with well-developed heads, acute intellects, and singularly warm feelings”. He described seeing the bones of adults and children in family groups with the charred remains of their straw mattresses and small household objects still in the Massacre Cave; Sir Walter Scott was so appalled and moved on hearing about this, that he started a fund for a Christian burial. This eventually resulted in their removal.

 A Step Back in Time

In 1847, the financial woes of the crofters were compounded when the Highland Potato Famine struck. Dr. MacPherson decided that now was the time to evict his tenants, and replace them with sheep. The price of wool then have recently undergone substantial increases.

In 1853, the whole of the village of Gruilin – fourteen families – were forced to leave Eigg; Brae was cleared in 1858. In 1862, he built Sandavore Church to serve the religious needs of the remaining Church of Scotland residents. At the end of the century, in 1893, he sold the island to Lawrence Thompson, who built a church for Roman Catholic residents of the island (St. Donnan’s church in Cleadale).

After being sold by Thompson in 1917, the island passed through various hands, including a cabinet minister, until being purchased by Keith Schellenberg. Unlike his predecessors, who had sought to use the resources of the island for their own power, profit, or leisure, Schellenberg had conservationist motives; he wished to restore its listed buildings, and preserve the natural environment.

Community Buy-out

In the early 1990s, a fire at Schellenberg’s home on the island destroyed a 1920s Rolls-Royce; Police suspected the fire was due to arson. Some locals claimed that since the late 1980s, he had neglected homes, closed the community hall, and restricted leases. He admitted that he had closed the community hall (but only in the evenings) and had refused to continue one particular lease. He told the press that “drunken hippies and drop-outs” were unfairly branding him a despot.”

In 1994, now in his 60s, Schellenberg concluded that trying to conserve the island was not worth facing violent intimidation for, and in the following year sold it to Marlin Eckhard, an ‘artist’ from Germany; Schellenberg retained ownership of the 18th century Manse.

Nevertheless, by then a community trust had been formed by the Highland Council, the Scottish Wildlife Trust, and a number of residents – particularly those newly moved to the island – with a view to buying Eigg from the laird. In 1997, this Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust persuaded Eckhard to sell, and bought it from him.

The ceremony to mark the handover took place a few weeks after the 1997 General Election and was attended by the Scottish Office Minister, Brian Wilson, a long-standing advocate of land reform; he used the occasion to announce the formation of a Community Land Unit within Highlands and Islands Enterprise to support further land buy-outs in the region.

Between then and the 2011 census, the ordinarily resident population expanded from 65 to 83; the increase was 24%, 6x greater than for the Scottish islands as a whole. The population increase was principally formed by both young immigrants and former residents who intended to set up in business. However, by 2003, the residents’ representatives on the trust’s board were entirely people who had moved to the island since the trust took over.

A number of the longstanding residents complained that the trust focuses on the new residents, while ignoring the concerns of the families who have lived on the island for generations; for example, they complain that new mains power connections, and housing provision, is given to the families of trust members, not indigenous islanders. One islander from an old Eigg family declared that the trust “is not a democracy … it is the mafia”. More recently, more positive articles have been published, showing a different picture of the island.

Eigg was featured on the American television program “60 Minutes” in November 2017 and an extended feature on its companion web site “60 Minutes Overtime” in July 2018.

In its 2019 coverage of the island, National Geographic provided this summary of the ownership and current situation:

“After years of neglect by the previous laird, or estate owner, the people gained ownership themselves in 1997. Now, visitors to the nicknamed “People’s Republic of Eigg” contend with nothing more dangerous than negotiating walking territory with sheep; if not, it is engaging in cheeky yet informative banter with Charlie Galli, the sole taxi driver and self-proclaimed Eigg Gazette.

There is a single main road … and a single stoplight … to alert everyone when electricity is running low … humble attractions like the tiny post-office-turned-museum detailing island history; a wee, closet-size shed boasting handcrafted curiosities for sale by the honor system; herds of distrustful sheep; and pit stops such as ‘Rest and Be Thankful,’ a patio tea garden open only when the sun shines.”