cara
Cara lies about one kilometre to the south of Gigha and is separated from the Kintyre Peninsula by the Sound of Gigha.
For centuries Cara has been part of the MacDonald estate of Largie on the Kintyre peninsula. It is not part of the Gigha estate. The MacDonalds of Largie claim direct descent from the Lord of the Isles.
In 1615 Sir James MacDonald escaped from a Crown prison and enlisted many islanders to help him free his lands from the Argyll Campbells. Hector MacNeil of Taynish and Gigha was thirled to Argyll and the rebels were keen to capture him. The rebels set up base on Cara as this belonged to their ally, MacDonald of Largie. MacNeil sent a raiding party to to Cara but the Largie servants on Kintyre warned the rebels by Beacon and they thwarted the initial attack. However, the rebels were in general an undisciplined collection of souls and it wasn't long before the head of the MacNeils and Campbell clans were once again in charge of Cara.
In a grisly end to this tale rumour has it that having recaptured Cara the heads of the Clans MacNeil and Campbell had a celebratory dinner in Cara house. Once dinner was over eight of the rebels were hung outside Cara house. They were later buried in the chapel.
In more recent times Cara was still home to 3 or 4 families in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Last person to be born on Cara was Charlotte McAlister who was eventually moved with the remaining islanders to neighbouring Gigha. Last farmed by Angus McGuigan in 1932 the island has been uninhabited since the 1940's.
In 1615 Sir James MacDonald escaped from a Crown prison and enlisted many islanders to help him free his lands from the Argyll Campbells. Hector MacNeil of Taynish and Gigha was thirled to Argyll and the rebels were keen to capture him. The rebels set up base on Cara as this belonged to their ally, MacDonald of Largie. MacNeil sent a raiding party to to Cara but the Largie servants on Kintyre warned the rebels by Beacon and they thwarted the initial attack. However, the rebels were in general an undisciplined collection of souls and it wasn't long before the head of the MacNeils and Campbell clans were once again in charge of Cara.
In a grisly end to this tale rumour has it that having recaptured Cara the heads of the Clans MacNeil and Campbell had a celebratory dinner in Cara house. Once dinner was over eight of the rebels were hung outside Cara house. They were later buried in the chapel.
In more recent times Cara was still home to 3 or 4 families in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Last person to be born on Cara was Charlotte McAlister who was eventually moved with the remaining islanders to neighbouring Gigha. Last farmed by Angus McGuigan in 1932 the island has been uninhabited since the 1940's.
Books. DVD's and Videos
Nothing out there, to my knowledge, with any great content about Cara. This is not an island which seems to have merited much space in the history of our country. As ever please contact Lonely-Isles if you know of any books you think would be of interest and we'll add them to the site !!
Links
Isle Of Gigha - For a close up look at Cara your best bet is first to get to Gigha. From here you may even be able to find a local fisherman willing to sail you over...if not you'll still get an excellent close up view of this abandoned island. This site tells you all you need to know about Cara's neighbour if planning a trip.