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Luing

Scottish Gaelic name	Luinn
Meaning of name	pre-Gaelic name of unclear meaning
View from near Toberonochy, Luing
Location
LuingLuing shown within Argyll and Bute
OS grid reference	NM740100
Coordinates	56°13′42″N 5°38′28″W / 56.22829819°N 5.64124049°W / 56.22829819; -5.64124049
Physical geography
Island group	Slate Islands
Area	1,430 ha (5+1⁄2 sq mi)
Area rank	40
Highest elevation	Binneinn Furachail, 87 m (285 ft)
Administration
Council area	Argyll and Bute
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Demographics
Population	195
Population rank	32=
Population density	12.6/km (33/sq mi)
Largest settlement	Cullipool/Culapul
References

Luing (/ˈlɪŋ/ LING; Scottish Gaelic: Luinn) is one of the Slate Islands, Firth of Lorn, in the west of Argyll in Scotland, about 16 miles (26 km) south of Oban. The island has an area of 1,430 hectares (3,500 acres) and is bounded by several small skerries and islets. It has a population of around 200 people, mostly living in Cullipool, Toberonochy (Tobar Dhonnchaidh), and Blackmillbay.

Geology

The larger part of the bedrock of Luing is provided by the Neoproterozoic age Easdale Slate Formation, a pyritic, graphitic pelite belonging to the Easdale Subgroup of the Dalradian Argyll Group. Thin bands of quartzite are also present. Zones of metamorphosed intrusive igneous rocks occur within the northeast of the island. Luing is cut by NE-SW aligned Siluro-Devonian felsite dykes and by numerous later NW-SE aligned basalt and microgabbro dykes which form a part of the ‘Mull Swarm’ which is of early Palaeogene age. Raised marine deposits of sand and gravel occur widely around the margins of the island, a legacy of late Quaternary changes in relative sea-level.

Economy and culture

A regular ferry service crosses the 200-metre-wide (660-foot) Cuan Sound which separates Luing from the neighbouring island of Seil, which is in turn connected by bridge to the mainland.

The main industries on Luing are tourism, lobster fishing and beef farming, although slate quarrying was important until 1965, with quarries at Toberonochy, Cullipool, and a smaller one at Port Mary. Slate from Luing was used in the construction of the University of Glasgow and re-roofing of Iona Abbey.

For such a small island, Luing has produced numerous mòd gold medallists: Nan MacInnes (1926, in Oban), Sandy Brown (1938, in Glasgow) and Hughie MacQueen (1985, in Lochaber).

Luing cattle were first developed here, as a commercial beef breed hardy enough to prosper under adverse weather. They are a breed of red beef cattle, produced by the Cadzow family in 1947 from a cross between Beef Shorthorn and Highland cattle.

Etymology

According to Haswell-Smith (2004) the name "Luing" may derive from the Old Norse lyng, meaning "heather" or long meaning ship. However, Mac an Tàilleir (2003) states "this is probably a pre-Gaelic name of unclear meaning."

History

In the early part of the Christian era Luing would have formed part of the Gaelic kingdom of Dalriada. From the 9th to 13th centuries almost all of the Hebrides came under the control of Norse settlers and formed part of the Kingdom of the Isles. However, when Edgar of Scotland signed a treaty with Magnus Barefoot in 1098, formally acknowledged the existing situation by giving up Scottish claims to the Hebrides and Kintyre, Luing and Lismore were retained by the Scots.

The graveyard at the ruined church of Kilchattan documents the lives of past islanders, with quarriers, sailors and crofters side by side. Gravestones of note include those of Covenanter Alexander Campbell.

Footnotes

1. ^ Area and population ranks: there are c. 300 islands over 20 ha in extent and 93 permanently inhabited islands were listed in the 2011 census.
2. National Records of Scotland (15 August 2013). "Appendix 2: Population and households on Scotland's Inhabited Islands" (PDF). Statistical Bulletin: 2011 Census: First Results on Population and Household Estimates for Scotland Release 1C (Part Two) (PDF) (Report). SG/2013/126. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
3. ^ Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 70
4. Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 55 Lochgilphead & Loch Awe (Map). Ordnance Survey. 2011. ISBN 9780319231227.
5. ^ Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 83
6. ^ "Luing". Undiscovered Scotland. Retrieved 28 July 2007.
7. "Onshore Geoindex". British Geological Survey. British Geological Survey. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
8. "Kilmartin, Scotland sheet 36, Bedrock and Superficial deposits". BGS large map images. British Geological Survey. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
9. "Luing Cattle". Luing Cattle Society. Retrieved 28 July 2007.
10. "Overview of Luing". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 28 July 2007.
11. Sellar (2000) p. 191
12. "Luing: Heritage". Isle of Luing Website. Retrieved 28 July 2007.

References

• Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
• Mac an Tàilleir, Iain (2003) Ainmean-àite/Placenames. (pdf) Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. Retrieved 26 August 2012.

• Sellar, William David Hamilton (2000). "Hebridean sea kings: The successors of Somerled, 1164–1316". In Cowan, Edward J.; McDonald, Russell Andrew (eds.). Alba: Celtic Scotland in the middle ages. Tuckwell Press. ISBN 978-1-86232-151-9.

v t e Inhabited islands of the Hebrides
Inner Hebrides	Canna Coll Colonsay Danna Eigg Eilean dà Mhèinn Eilean Shona Eilean Tioram Erraid Gigha Gometra Iona Islay Isle of Ewe Jura Kerrera Lismore Muck Mull Oronsay Raasay Sanday Scalpay Rona Rùm Skye Slate Islands: (Easdale, Luing, Seil, Shuna) Soay Summer Isles Tiree Ulva
Outer Hebrides	Baleshare Barra Benbecula Berneray Eriskay Flodaigh Fraoch-eilean Great Bernera Grimsay (North) Grimsay (South) Lewis and Harris North Uist Scalpay South Uist Vatersay

v t e Islands of Scotland
Geography Northern Isles Shetland list Orkney list Hebrides Outer Hebrides list Inner Hebrides list St Kilda Other Islands of the Clyde Islands of the Forth Freshwater Islands Outlying Islands Sea Stacks
Prehistory Prehistoric Orkney Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site: Maeshowe Ness of Brodgar Ring of Brodgar Skara Brae Standing Stones of Stenness Prehistoric Shetland Zenith of Iron Age Shetland: Broch of Mousa Jarlshof Old Scatness Prehistoric Western Isles Callanish Stones Dun Carloway Rubha an Dùnain Dun Nosebridge
History Dál Riata Columba Hinba Kingdom of the Isles Scandinavian Scotland Rulers of the Kingdom of the Isles Bishop of the Isles Lordship of the Isles Treaty of Perth Treaty of Ardtornish-Westminster Finlaggan Earldom of Orkney Buckquoy spindle-whorl Udal law 18th and 19th Century Clearances Jacobite risings Flora MacDonald Literature Orkneyinga Saga Description of the Western Isles of Scotland (Monro) A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland (Martin) A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland (Johnson) The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides (Boswell)
Etymology General Scottish island names Northern Isles Hebrides Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba Specific Arran Gigha Islay Skye St Kilda
Economy Towns Kirkwall Lerwick Rothesay Stornoway Stromness Agencies Community Energy Scotland Crofters Commission Highlands and Islands Enterprise Scottish Islands Federation Oil industry Flotta Sullom Voe
Culture Shetland Aly Bain Thomas Fraser Peerie Willie Johnson Shetland Amenity Trust Up Helly Aa Vagaland Orkney George Mackay Brown Peter Maxwell Davies F. Marian McNeill Kirkwall Ba game Orkney Heritage Society St Magnus Festival Outer Hebrides Compton Mackenzie Fèis Bharraigh Free Church of Scotland Iain Crichton Smith Inner Hebrides Islay whisky Runrig Sorley MacLean West Highland Free Press
Politics Local authorities Shetland Islands Council Orkney Islands Council Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Highland Council Argyll and Bute North Ayrshire
Wildlife Fauna Fair Isle wren Orkney vole Shetland wren St Kilda field mouse St Kilda wren Flora Arran whitebeams Scottish Primrose Shetland Mouse-ear Domesticated animals Cairn Terrier Eriskay Pony Hebridean Blackface Luing cattle North Ronaldsay sheep Scottie Sheltie Shetland cattle Shetland Goose Shetland pony Shetland sheep Soay sheep Westie
Geology Shetland Geopark Shetland Geology of Orkney Eday Group Orcadian Basin Yesnaby Sandstone Group Hebrides Colonsay Group Great Estuarine Group Hebridean Terrane Lewisian complex Lorne plateau lavas Moine Supergroup Moine Thrust Belt Mull Rhinns complex Skye Staffa Torridonian Islands of the Clyde Highland Boundary Fault

• Scotland

56°13′45″N 5°38′44″W / 56.22917°N 5.64556°W / 56.22917; -5.64556

• Luing
• Slate Islands
• Islands of Argyll and Bute