| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | MV Eilean Na H-Oige |
| Namesake | Scottish Gaelic: Eilean na h-Òige "The Island of Youth" |
| Owner |
|
| Route | |
| Builder | Lewis Offshore Ltd, Stornoway |
| Launched | 1980 |
| Status | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 69 GT |
| Length | 18.6 m (61 ft 0 in) |
| Speed | 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) |
| Complement | 4 cars, 35 passengers |
| Notes | [1] |
MV Eilean Na H-Oige is a small passenger ferry built for the Outer Hebrides and now operating in Southern Ireland.
MV Eilean Na H-Oige was built for the Western Isles Council in 1980 for the service to Eriskay. Her name is taken from a poem about Eriskay by Fr. Allan MacDonald. [2] After a causeway opened in 2001, she was laid up, until acquired by Bere Island Ferries in 2003.
Eilean Na H-Oige is a small bow-loading landing craft type ferry.
Eilean Na H-Oige was built for the service from Eriskay to Ludaig on South Uist in the Outer Hebrides. [1] In July 2001, a causeway opened, making her redundant. [3] From March 2002, she started a new service across the Sound of Barra, from a new terminal at Ceann a' Ghàraidh to Ardmor on Barra. The service was taken over by CalMac vessels (MV Loch Linnhe then MV Loch Bhrusda) and she was laid up.
Since August 2003, she has operated from Castletownbere to Bere Island in County Cork, Ireland, alongside another former Comhairle nan Eilean Siar ferry, MV Eilean Bhearnaraigh. [1] [4]
The Outer Hebrides or Western Isles, sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. The islands are geographically coextensive with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. They form part of the archipelago of the Hebrides, separated from the Scottish mainland and from the Inner Hebrides by the waters of the Minch, the Little Minch, and the Sea of the Hebrides.
Harris is the southern and more mountainous part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Although not an island itself, Harris is often referred to in opposition to the Isle of Lewis as the Isle of Harris, which is the former postal county and the current post town for Royal Mail postcodes starting HS3 or HS5.
Benbecula is an island of the Outer Hebrides in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Scotland. In the 2011 census, it had a resident population of 1,283 with a sizable percentage of Roman Catholics. It is in a zone administered by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar or the Western Isles Council. The island is about 12 kilometres from west to east and a similar distance from north to south. It lies between the islands of North Uist and South Uist and is connected to both by road causeways. Benbecula's main settlement and administrative centre is Balivanich.
Eriskay, from the Old Norse for "Eric's Isle", is an island and community council area of the Outer Hebrides in northern Scotland with a population of 143, as of the 2011 census. It lies between South Uist and Barra and is connected to South Uist by a causeway which was opened in 2001. In the same year Ceann a' Ghàraidh in Eriskay became the ferry terminal for travelling between South Uist and Barra. The Caledonian MacBrayne vehicular ferry travels between Eriskay and Ardmore in Barra. The crossing takes around 40 minutes.
The island of Vatersay is the southernmost and westernmost inhabited island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, and the settlement of Caolas on the north coast of the island is the westernmost permanently inhabited place in Scotland. The main village, also called Vatersay, is in the south of the island.
Berneray is an island and community in the Sound of Harris, Scotland. It is one of fifteen inhabited islands in the Outer Hebrides. It is famed for its rich and colourful history which has attracted much tourism. It lies within the South Lewis, Harris and North Uist National Scenic Area, one of 40 such areas in Scotland which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection from inappropriate development.
Ardmhor is a small village in the north east of the Isle of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland.
The Caledonian MacBrayne fleet is the largest fleet of car and passenger ferries in the United Kingdom, with 34 ferries in operation, 2 on charter and another 6 on order. The company provides lifeline services to 23 islands off the west coast of Scotland, as well as operating routes in the Firth of Clyde.
Ceann a' Ghàraidh is the location of the ferry terminal on the south-western side of the island of Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It provides a service across the Sound of Barra to Ardmore on the island of Barra The placename literally means "The head of the garden". This location is so called due to the presence of the old crofting boundary walls, which can no longer be seen.
MV Hebrides is a ferry operated by Caledonian MacBrayne from Uig to Lochmaddy and Tarbert, the main settlements of North Uist and Harris respectively.
West Loch Tarbert, Argyll is a long and narrow sea loch on the western side of the Kintyre peninsula in Scotland.
Lewis and Harris, or Lewis with Harris, is a single Scottish island in the Outer Hebrides, divided by mountains. It is the largest island in Scotland and the third largest in the British Isles, after Great Britain and the island of Ireland, with an area of 841 square miles (2,178 km2), which is approximately 1% of the area of Great Britain. The northern two-thirds is called [the Isle of] Lewis and the southern third [the Isle of] Harris; each is referred to as if it were a separate island and there are many cultural and linguistic differences between the two.
Inverness-shire is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in population, with 67,733 people or 1.34% of the Scottish population.
MV Loch Portain is a Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited water-jet propulsion ro-ro car ferry, operated by Caledonian MacBrayne, built for the Sound of Harris crossing in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
MV Loch Bhrusda is a Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited water-jet propulsion ro-ro car ferry operated by Caledonian MacBrayne. After 11 years operating in the Outer Hebrides, she is now a Clyde-based relief small vessel.
MV Eilean Bhearnaraigh is a small passenger ferry built for the Outer Hebrides. After serving the monks on Papa Stronsay, she now operates in Southern Ireland as Sancta Maria.
Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited owns the ferries, ports, harbours and infrastructure for the ferry services serving the west coast of Scotland, the Firth of Clyde and the Northern Isles.
MV Rhum is a car ferry built for Caledonian MacBrayne in 1974. Until 1987, she operated the seasonal Lochranza crossing to Arran. Since 1998, she has been one of the Arranmore ferries in County Donegal.
The Vatersay Causeway is a 250-metre-long causeway that links the Scottish Hebridean Islands of Vatersay and Barra across the Sound of Vatersay.