Introduction

The Island

These pages are intended to give some idea of the island and living on it, rather than its genealogy, and incorporate some early descriptions, its geography and its history and ownership.

They cover island life and making a living through farming and fishing as well as other activities that took place at different times. Life on an island sees the sea inextricably linked with the land and inevitably, there were accidents and wrecks. Perhaps the most dramatic was that of the "Hope" in 1908, which led to a number of islanders going to Balmoral to receive a presentation from the King. Transport by boat had its own problems.

Housing, health, religious life and schooling are important factors to life on a small island. Isolation led to a decline in the population with the last inhabitants leaving the island in 1947. While the population has left, there is still a subsequent story.