Flannan Isles Totally Explained

Everything about The Flannan Isles totally explained

The Flannan Isles (Scottish Gaelic: na h-Eileanan Flannach) are a small island group in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, lying approximately 32 kilometres (20 miles) west of the Isle of Lewis. They may take their name from St Flannan, the 7th century Irish preacher and abbot. The islands have been devoid of permanent residents since the automation of the lighthouse in 1971. They are the location of an enduring mystery which occurred there in December 1900 when all three lighthouse keepers vanished without trace.

Geography

The islands are split into three groups. The main cluster of rocks, which lie to the north-east, include the two principal islands of Eilean Mòr (English:Big Isle), and Eilean Taighe (House Isle). To the south lie Soray (Eastward Isle) and Sgeir Tomain, while the main western outcrops are Eilean a' Gobha (Isle of the Blacksmith), Roaireim (which has a natural rock arch) and Bròna Cleit (Sad Sunk Rock). The total land area amounts to approximately 50 hectares (124 acres) and the highest point is 88 metres (288 ft) above sea level on Eilean Mòr.]] The geology is comprised of a dark breccia of gabbros and dolerites intruding Archaen gneiss.
There are two possible landing places to the east and west for yachts visiting Eilean Mòr, although this can be hazardous given the regular heavy swells. or Bothain Chlann ‘ic Phaill. It isn't entirely clear which St. Flannan the chapel honours. It is likely that he was either the 7th century Abbot of Killaloe in County Clare or alternatively the half brother of the 8th century St Ronan who gave his name to the nearby island of North Rona. There was also a certain Flann, son of an Abbot of Iona called Maol-duine who died in 890, and who may have loaned his name to these isolated isles. Martin Martin (1703) lists a number of unusual customs associated with regular pilgrimages to Eilean Mòr such as removing one's hat and making a sunwise turn when reaching the plateau. It is possible that the saint or his acolytes lived on Eilean Mòr and perhaps Eilean Taighe as well. However, it's unlikely that there were permanent residents on the islands once the Celtic Church fell into decline in the Hebrides (as a result of 9th century Viking invasions), until the construction of the lighthouse and its occupation very shortly before the dawn of the 20th century.

Wildlife

The isles provide nesting for a population of seabirds, including Atlantic Puffins, Northern Fulmars, European Storm-petrels, Leach's Petrels, Common Shag and Black-legged Kittiwakes. There is a gannetry on Roaireim.

Lighthouse

Designed by David Alan Stevenson, the 23 metre (75 ft) tower was constructed for the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) between 1895 and 1899 and is located near the highest point on Eilean Mòr. Construction was undertaken by George Lawson of Rutherglen at a cost of £6,914 inclusive of the building of the landing places, stairs, railway tracks etc. All of the materials used had to be hauled up the 45 metre (150 ft) cliffs directly from supply boats, no trivial task in the ever-churning Atlantic. A further £3,526 was spent on the shore station at Breasclete on the Isle of Lewis. Other than its relative isolation it would be a relatively unremarkable light were it not for the events which took place only just over a year after it was commissioned.

Mystery of 1900

Flannan Isles Lighthouse

Location	Eilean Mòr west of Lewis, Western Isles, Scotland
Tower height	23 m (75 ft)
Characteristics	Two White Flashes every 30 seconds
Description	White circular tower
Date established	1899
Date of present tower	1899
Date automated	1971
Current use	Active aid to navigation
Engineer	David Stevenson
Open to the public	Grounds only. Landings by sea may be difficult.

Discovery

The first hint of anything untoward on the Flannan Isles came on 15 December 1900. The steamer Archtor on passage from Philadelphia to Leith passed the islands in poor weather and noted that the light wasn't operational. This was reported on arrival at Oban although no immediate action seems to have been taken. The island lighthouse was manned by a three man team, with a rotating fourth man spending time on shore. The relief vessel Hesperus was unable to set out on a routine visit from Lewis planned for 20 December due to adverse weather and didn't arrive until noon on Boxing Day (26 December). On arrival the crew and relief keeper found that the flagstaff was bare of its flag, none of the usual provision boxes had been left on the landing stage for re-stocking and, more ominously, none of the lighthouse keepers were there to welcome them ashore. Jim Harvie, captain of the Hesperus, gave a strident blast on his whistle and set off a distress flare, but no reply was forthcoming.
A boat was launched and Joseph Moore, the relief keeper, was put ashore alone. He found the entrance gate to the compound and main door both closed, the beds unmade and the clock stopped. Returning to the landing stage with this grim news he then went back up to the lighthouse with the Hesperus's second-mate and a seaman. A further search revealed that the lamps were cleaned and refilled. A set of oilskins were found, suggesting that one of the keepers had left the lighthouse without them, which was surprising considering the severity of the weather. The only sign of anything amiss in the lighthouse was an overturned chair by the kitchen table. Of the keepers there was no sign, either inside the lighthouse or anywhere on the island.
Moore and three volunteer seamen were left to attend the light and the Hesperus returned to the shore station at Breasclete. Captain Harvie sent a telegram to the Northern Lighthouse Board stating:

"A dreadful accident has happened at the Flannans. The three keepers, Ducat, Marshall and the Occasional have disappeared from the Island. The clocks were stopped and other signs indicated that the accident must have happened about a week ago. Poor fellows must have been blown over the cliffs or drowned trying to rescue a crane or something like that." Some were simply elaborations on the truth. For example, the events were commemorated in Wilfrid Wilson Gibson's 1912 ballad, Flannan Isle.

However, Nicholson (1995) makes it clear that this doesn't square with Moore's recorded observations of the scene which states that: "The kitchen utensils were all very clean, which is a sign that it must be after dinner some time they left."
Other rumours, such as that one keeper had murdered the other two and then thrown himself into the sea in a fit of remorse, that a sea serpent (or giant seabird) had carried the men away, that they'd been abducted by foreign spies, or that they'd met their fate through the malevolent presence of a boat filled with ghosts were less plausible. The baleful influence of the ‘Phantom of the Seven Hunters’ was widely suspected locally. Whether this explanation brought any comfort to the families is unknown. The deaths of Thomas Marshal, James Ducat (who left a widow and four children) and Donald McArthur (who left a widow and two children) cast a shadow over the lighthouse service for many years to come. This theory has the advantages of explaining the over-turned chair, and the set of oilskins remaining indoors, The mystery was also the inspiration for the composer Peter Maxwell Davies's modern chamber opera The Lighthouse (1979). The British rock group Genesis wrote and recorded "The Mystery of Flannan Isle Lighthouse" in 1968 while working on their first album, but it wasn't released until 1998 in Genesis Archive 1967-75. Angela J. Elliott wrote a novel about the disappearance of the lighthouse keepers. Published in 2005 it's called Some Strange Scent of Death, after a line from Gibson's poem.

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