-- History --
Vikings
who plundered many island settlements from distant Scandinavia
including Gigha gave the isle its name, Gudey, the Good Isle.
The Gaels adjusted the name to Gigha (Pronounced Geea) as time
passed.
Throughout
history, the isle has been noted for its fertile soil; from 1700
until 1850 it was completely without trees, until the owner planted
the woods around Achamore House. Its value in terms of agriculture
is reflected throughout its history - good land provided men and
women who could carry arms and take part in the islands battles,
with the means to survive and prosper. About the time of the fall
of the Lord of the Isles, in 1493, Gigha came into the possession
of the family of MacNeill of Taynish. The family fought many bitter
disputes with the Macdonald Clan to hold onto the island until
finally selling it in 1790 to another branch of the Clan Neill,
the MacNeills of Colonsay. Thereafter the island has had many
owners, the Scarletts, Allens, Hamers - until in 1944 it was sold
to Sir James Horlick, when the story of the creation of the great
gardens of Achamore began.
The
Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust now own the Isle of Gigha, including
Achamore Gardens.
The
small island of Cara, to the south had remained the property of
the MacDonalds of Largie, the last link with the Lord of the Isles.
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--
Books --
For books specifially on the Kintyre region there is a bookshop
in Campbeltown called The
Old Bookshelf which amongst other things stocks the title
listed here.
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Life
On Gods Island- Freddy Gillies
Freddy
Gillies, in his role as a 'Ferry man', lives and works on
Gigha ferrying the local folk and the Island's many visitor's
between the island and Tayinloan on Kintyre. With it's white
sands, fertile pasture, and peaceful atmosphere Gigha has
been settled since prehistoric times and Freddy's book gives
the reader an insight into both its past and it's present.
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