Isle of Muck History












Last Updated 1st Aug 2020

All pages and pictures copyright © Anne M White 2001-2020

Books

Pullar, Polly (2014) A Drop in the Ocean. Birlinn, Edinburgh
"Polly Pullar tells the fascinating tale of one of the Hebrides unique thriving small communities through the colourful anecdotes of Lawrence MacEwen, whose family have owned the island since 1896."

MacEwen, Lawrence (2002) The Isle of Muck - A Short Guide. Published Privately.
This edition replaces the 1977 edition and has a much revised and extended history section.

Munby, Julian (2000) Isle of Muck, Small Isles Parish, Highland Region, Scotland - AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE HISTORIC LANDSCAPE

Banks, Noel (1977) Six Inner Hebrides. David & Charles, Newton Abbot.
Useful book about Muck, Eigg, Rum, Canna, Coll and Tiree. Difficult of get hold of now but shoud be able to find it in libraries or second hand.

Rixon, Denis (2001) The Small Isles; Canna, Rum, Eigg and Muck. Birlinn, Edinburgh.
A comparative study of the Small Isles. Mostly history pre 1800. Quite a few inaccuracies about Muck from 1750 onwards (don't know about before that).

Urquhart, Judy & Ellington, Eric (1987) Eigg. Canongate, Edinburgh.
Mostly about Eigg but has some information about Muck.

Dressler, Camille (1998) Eigg: The Story of an Island. Polygon, Edinburgh.
Mostly about Eigg but has some information about Muck.

Campbell, John Lorne (2002) Canna: The Story of a Hebridean Island. Birlinn, Edinburgh
4th edition edited by Hugh Cheape.

Love, John (2001) Rum - A Landscape Without Figures. Birlinn, Edinburgh.
Useful reference about Rum, in particular Lord Salisbury's era. Some references to Muck.

Gregory, Donald (1881) History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland. John Donald Publishers Ltd., Edinburgh.
Has one brief reference to Muck referring to MacLean of Duart's plundering of it in about 1588. Reprinted in 1985.

Johnson, Samuel & Boswell, James (1924) Tour of the Hebrides. Oxford University Press, London.
Account of their tour on the West Coast of Scotland in 1773. Has a couple of references to Muck mostly about meeting the Laird of Muck (a MacLean) while on Skye.

Genealogy

MacLean Sinclair. The Clan Gillean
Not in print but if you can find it in a library is a reasonably comprehensive genealogy of the Clan MacLean, including the MacLeans of Muck.

MacLean, JP (1889) A History of the Clan MacLean
Another genealogy of the Clan MacLean.

Emigrants

MacDougall, JL (1922) History of Inverness County, Nova Scotia.
Has information about some of the people who emigrated from Muck in the early 19th century. (I think that it has just been reprinted by a publishers in Canada.)

Whyte, Donald (1986) Dictionary of Scottish Emigrants to Canada Before Confederation

Natural History

Dobson RH and Dobson RM (1985) The natural history of the Muck Islands, North Ebudes 1. Introduction and vegetation with a list of vascular plants. Glasgow Naturalist 21(1): 13-38

Dobson RH and Dobson RM (1986) The natural history of the Muck Islands, North Ebudes 3. Seabirds and Wildfowl. Glasgow Naturalist 21(2): 183-199

Dobson RH (1988) The natural history of the Muck Islands, North Ebudes 5. Landbirds. Glasgow Naturalist 21(4):

Evans PP and Flower WU (1967) The birds of the Small Isles. Scottish Birds 4: 404-445

Dobson RH (1984) Manx Shearwaters breeding in the Isle of Muck. Glasgow Naturalist 20: 491

Harker A and Barrow G (1908) The geology of the Small Isles of Inverness-shire. Memoirs of the Geological Survey 60: 1-120

Harrison, JW Heslop (1939) The flora of the islands of Rhum, Eigg, Canna, Sanday, Muck, Eilean nan Each, Hyskeir, Soay and Pabbay. Proceedings of the University of Durham Philosophy Society 10: 87-123

Murray CW and Birks HJB (2005) The Botanist in Skye and Adjacent Islands: An Annotated Check-list of the Vascular Plants of the Islands of Skye, Raasay, Rona, Rum, Eigg, Muck, Canna, Scarpay and Soay

Some other good books about areas of the West Coast of Scotland

Currie, Jo (2001) Mull: The island and its People. Birlinn
Amazing detail about the main families in Mull


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