Hellisay

---

title: "Hellisay" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["islands-of-the-sound-of-barra", "cleared-places-in-the-outer-hebrides"] description: "Island in the Sound of Barra" topic_path: "general/islands-of-the-sound-of-barra" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellisay" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Island in the Sound of Barra ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox Scottish island |"]

Field	Value
Image	Sound of Gighay - geograph.org.uk - 648155.jpg
ImageCaption	The Sound of Gighay looking northwest from Càrais on Hellisay
coordinates
location_map	Scotland Outer Hebrides
caption	Hellisay shown within the Outer Hebrides
GridReference	NF756040
celtic name	Theiliseigh
meaning of name	Old Norse: island of the caves
area	142 ha
area rank	127=
highest elevation	Meall Meadhonach 79 m
Population	0
island group	Uists and Barra
local authority	Na h-Eileanan Siar
references
::

|Image=Sound of Gighay - geograph.org.uk - 648155.jpg |ImageCaption=The Sound of Gighay looking northwest from Càrais on Hellisay |coordinates = |location_map=Scotland Outer Hebrides |caption=Hellisay shown within the Outer Hebrides |GridReference=NF756040 |celtic name=Theiliseigh |norse name= |meaning of name=Old Norse: island of the caves |area= 142 ha |area rank=127= |highest elevation=Meall Meadhonach 79 m |Population=0 |population rank= |main settlement= |island group=Uists and Barra |local authority=Na h-Eileanan Siar |references= Hellisay (Scottish Gaelic: Theiliseigh) is a currently uninhabited island and is one of ten islands in the Sound of Barra, a Site of Community Importance for conservation in the southern Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The narrow Sound of Gighay lies between Hellisay and its neighbouring island.

Geography and geology

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Hellisay.jpg" caption="Bàgh Hintis looking west"] ::

Hellisay is one of ten islands in the Sound of Barra, a Site of Community Importance for conservation in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. of a string of islands in the Sound of Barra, Hellisay lies close to its neighbour Gighay, with a narrow channel, the Sound of Gighay, between.

The bedrock is mainly gneiss with quartz veins.

There are several peaks on the island including Beinn a' Chàrnain in the west (mountain of the small cairn; 73 m), Meall Meadhonach (middle rounded hill; 79 m) and Meall Mòr (east of Meall Meadhonach and south of the peninsula of Càrais; 76 m).

Wildlife

Along with a variety of seabirds, raptors including falcons and golden eagles have been seen on Hellisay. The island has a profusion of sea thrift

History

The island's name is Old Norse in origin. It possibly means "island of the caves", which appears to be confirmed by the name Rubha na h-Uamh (headland of the cave) in the east of the island. However, Blaeu's map has "Hildesay", which suggests that the name may derive from the Norse for "Hilda's Island". ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/A_view_into_the_natural_harbour_from_Gighay-Gioghaigh_-geograph.org.uk-_1477214.jpg" caption="Hellisay from [[Gighay"] ::

The island's settlement was at Buaile Mhòr (anglicised to Bualavore and meaning "the big fold") near Eilean a' Ghamhna in the north west of the island. The remains of a sheep pen and a well can still be seen.

Like so many other islands in the region, Hellisay was badly affected by the Highland Clearances. Firstly, refugees from clearances in neighbouring islands swelled the population, and latterly the island's inhabitants themselves were evicted, and many went to live on Eriskay. The population peaked at 108 in 1841, and the island was cleared in the 1840s – however it continued to have some inhabitants up until 1890.

Alasdair Alpin MacGregor's stories reveal a rich folklore and mythology extant on the island, possibly only a fraction of which has been preserved.

In Media

Franciscan priest, specialist in mystical theology and author Rayner Torrington wrote a book describing how he was influenced by meeting a hermit called Peter Calvay who lived on Hellisay for a number of years in the first half of the twentieth century. The book titled ‘Peter Calvay, hermit: A personal rediscovery of prayer’ was first published in 1977 and has had at least eleven reprintings. Torkington's book ‘Wisdom from the Western Isles: the making of a mystic’, published in 2008, also describes the author's meetings with Peter Calvay whilst the author was staying on the nearby island of Barra.

References

1. {{NRS1C
2. Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 226-28
3. {{Ordnance Survey
4. and the Sound of Gighay has been described as a "quiet secret place of wild irises and marshmallows".[http://www.highland-news.co.uk/Whats-On/Books/Best-of-Scotlands-Islands-08082013.htm "Best of Scotland's islands"] {{Webarchive. link. (17 October 2013 . (9 August 2013) Highland News. Retrieved 16 October 2013.)
5. Rayner Torkington. (1991). "Peter Calvay, Hermit: A Personal Rediscovery of Prayer". Mercier.
6. David Torkington. (30 January 2015). "Wisdom from the Western Isles: The Making of a Mystic". John Hunt Publishing.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::