Islay, the 'pagan isle'

In the Islay of the 1950s, the Church of Scotland and Sabbatarianism had a strong and important influence in Islay.

Sunday was kept as a Holy Day when only essential work was caried out. But as always, there were backsliders and a local minister decided to preach a strong sermon from the pulpit to denounce such deplorable behaviour, going as far as accusing some of his parishioners of being no better than pagans!

As luck would have it, a journalist got hold of the story and published an article about Islay being a pagan isle. There are certainly a lot of ancient traditions handed down from Islay’s celtic past, such as sailors never turning their boat to the sun, however, turning the stone at the bottom of the Kilchoman cross sunwise when making a wish, hammering a nail in the Tooth-ache Stone near Port Charlotte to get rid of toothache and hanging the Cailleach Bhuain (harvest witch) - as the last harvest sheaf was called – above the fireplace until spring when it was ploughed back in the earth are things of the past . Whether that makes Islay a ‘pagan isle’ despite its association with St Columba, its thirteen chapels and its many crosses is a different story!

More information on visiting the area can be found here.