Eilean Mhuire, island in Highland

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What is recorded here

Eilean Mhuire is the eastern Shiant Island, once inhabited and now used for sheep grazing. Dean Monro described it in 1549 as fertile, defensible and rich in fish and wild birds. Ruins on its western side underpin a disputed tradition of a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary, while the nearby tidal islet Seann Chaisteal means old castle.

How it formed

Eilean Mhuire is the most easterly of the three Shiant Islands. Its separate coast and the tidal flat-topped islet Seann Chaisteal give this part of the group its physical shape.

People and events

Dean Monro wrote in 1549 that the island belonged to M'Cloyd of Lewis and was strong, fertile, stocked with crops and wild birds, and surrounded by good fishing.

Local stories

There is an old tradition that suggests there was a chapel on Eilean Mhuire, although this has been disputed. The island may have been a hermitage in pre-Norse times.

What can be seen

Today, visitors can see the remains of possible chapel ruins on Eilean Mhuire's western side and Seann Chaisteal, a flat-topped tidal islet at its south-east end.

Why it mattered

The 1549 description and disputed chapel ruins preserve evidence that this now empty grazing island once mattered for food, defence and possibly worship.