Teampull na Trionaid ("trinity church") is a ruined 13th-century Augustinian nunnery, believed to have been a daughter foundation of Iona Nunnery, at Carinish, on North Uist, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
Teampull na Trionaid ("trinity church") is a ruined 13th-century Augustinian nunnery, believed to have been a daughter foundation of Iona Nunnery, at Carinish, on North Uist, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
According to Bill Lawson, an entry in the Red Book of Clanranald reads, Beathog inghen Shomhuirle do bhi na mnaoi riagalta & na cailligh duibh. Also do thoguibh Teampall Chairinis anuibhist. [1]
"Beathag, daughter of Somerled, was a religious woman and a Black Nun. It is she that erected Teampall Chairinis in Uist." [1]
Bill Lawson writes, "It is known that Beathag was prioress of Iona in about 1203, the only problem in the ascription to her being that the Islands were still under Norse rule, though of course many of the Norse families would have become Christianized by then." [1]
Amie mac Ruari is said to have rebuilt the church in the 14th century after her divorce from John of Islay, Lord of the Isles. [2]
In 1389, Godfrey, the son of John of Islay and Amie Mac Ruari, confirmed a grant to the Abbey of Inchaffray by his mother's aunt Christina of Sancta Trinita in Chairinis, so the original grant must have been at least two generations before. [3]
During the Scottish Reformation, however, the families of Roman Catholic priests and those of the tacksmen and Clan Chiefs all attempted to claim Church lands for their own. [4] Since then, the convent has been in ruins.
The Battle of Carinish, which was fought between the warriors of Clan MacDonald of Sleat and Clan MacLeod of Dunvegan, took place near the ruins of the nunnery in 1601.
According to Bill Lawson, "It is said that the Teampull in its early days was a college of learning - even that it was the first university." [1]
According to Bill Lawson, "T.S. Muir stated in 1867 that he was told 'that one Macpherson, an octogenarian living at Cladach Cairinis, remembers having seen, when a boy, stones figured with angels, armed men, animals, etc.' This must have been John MacPherson -- Iain Mac Eoghainn - whose descendants still live in the township. The description of the stones suggests something like the scene s on the tomb of Alasdair Crotach MacLeod in St. Clement's Church in Roghadal in Harris, but any such stones have long since disappeared. Alexander Carmichael surmises that, being of freestone, they were carried away for sharpening stones. Carmichael also states that there was formerly a pinnacle on the east gable, with the figure of a three-headed giant on the top, presumably representing the Trinity, but that too had long gone. One stone, carved in the shape of a human head, has been preserved, and is now in the museum of Taigh Chearsabhagh in Loch nam Madadh." [5]
Rev. Kenneth MacLeod of Gigha, who collaborated with Marjory Kennedy-Fraser in collecting Scottish Gaelic songs, wrote in 1907, "In the early days of the nineteenth century, the North Uist people, on a day still spoken of, reverently laid in their Temple of the Trinity an unknown body washed ashore by the flowing tide: at twilight a mysterious-looking barge glided into the bay, three of its crew marched up silently to the temple, opened the newly-made grave, carried off the body, and then disappeared forever into the darkness and the great open sea." [6]
The ruins are protected as a scheduled monument. [7]
The Hebrides are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebrides.
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 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. The Outer Hebrides are considered to be the traditional heartland of the Gaelic language. The islands form one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, which since 1998 has used only the Gaelic form of its name, including in English language contexts. The council area is called Na h-Eileanan an Iar and its council is Comhairle nan Eilean Siar.
North Uist is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
South Uist is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. The island, in common with the rest of the Hebrides, is one of the last remaining strongholds of the Gaelic language in Scotland. South Uist's inhabitants are known in Gaelic as Deasaich (Southerners). The population is about 90% Roman Catholic.
The Inner Hebrides is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, which experience a mild oceanic climate. The Inner Hebrides comprise 35 inhabited islands as well as 44 uninhabited islands with an area greater than 30 hectares. Skye, Mull, and Islay are the three largest, and also have the highest populations. The main commercial activities are tourism, crofting, fishing and whisky distilling. In modern times the Inner Hebrides have formed part of two separate local government jurisdictions, one to the north and the other to the south. Together, the islands have an area of about 4,130 km2 (1,594 sq mi), and had a population of 18,948 in 2011. The population density is therefore about 4.6 inhabitants per square kilometre.
Howmore lies on the island of South Uist to the southwest of Loch Druidibeg. The mountain of Haarsal rises to 139 m (456 ft) to the east and immediately south is the smaller settlement of Howbeg. Howmore is also within the parish of South Uist.
Carinish, is a hamlet on North Uist, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. It is in the south of the island, about two miles from the causeway to Benbecula. The hamlet is known for the Carinish Stone Circle and the Trinity Temple. Carinish is within the parish of North Uist and is situated on the A865.
John of Islay was the lord of the Isles (1336–1386) and chief of Clan Donald. In 1336, he styled himself Dominus Insularum, although this was not the first ever recorded instance of the title in use. Some modern historians nevertheless count John as the first of the later medieval lords of the Isles, although this rather broad Latin style corresponds roughly with the older Gaelic title Rí Innse Gall, in use since the Viking Age. For instance, the even more similar Latin title dominus de Inchegal, applied to Raghnall Mac Somhairle in the mid-12th century. In fact John is actually styled Rí Innsi Gall or King of the Isles shortly after his death in a contemporary entry in the Irish Annals of Ulster. Clan Donald considers the title "Lord of the Isles" to have been in use at least since Angus Mor Macdonald, who died in 1293, and the title "King of the Isles" in use since Somerled, the Norse-Gael who forged the Kingdom of the Isles in the 12th century.
Clan Macfie is a Highlands Scottish Clan.
The Iona Nunnery was an Augustinian convent of nuns located on the island of Iona in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. It was established sometime after the foundation of the nearby Benedictine monastery in 1203 by Ranald, son of Somerled. Bethóc, daughter of Somerled, and sister of Ranald, was first prioress. The ruins of the nunnery stand in a peaceful precinct adjacent to Iona's main village, Baile Mor. They form the most complete remains of a medieval nunnery extant in Scotland. After the Reformation, the priory was dissolved and reduced to a ruin.
Pabay Mòr or Pabaigh Mòr is an uninhabited island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
Garmoran is an area of western Scotland. It lies at the south-western edge of the present Highland Region. It includes Knoydart, Morar, Moidart, Ardnamurchan, and the Small Isles.
Swainbost is a village on the Isle of Lewis in the district of Ness, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. The name Swainbost meaning Sweins steading is of Viking derivation. The settlement is situated in the parish of Barvas. According to Ronald Black, Swainbost was re-settled during the Highland Clearances in 1842. The island's Anglo-Scottish landlord had expected the crofters evicted from Uig to emigrate and only reluctantly granted them land at Swainbost to avert the threat of violence.
Eoropie is the most northerly village on the Isle of Lewis in the parish of Ness, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Eoropie is within the parish of Barvas. The Teampull Mholuaidh is to be found here. Eoropie is situated at the end of the B8013 and B8014 roads, from Lionel and Port of Ness, respectively.
The Battle of Coire na Creiche was a Scottish clan battle fought on the Isle of Skye in 1601. It was the culmination of a year of feuding between Clan MacLeod of Dunvegan and the Clan MacDonald of Sleat, that ended with a MacDonald victory in Coire na Creiche on the northern slopes of the Cuillin hills. It was the last clan battle in Skye.
The Battle of Carinish was a Scottish clan battle fought in North Uist in 1601. It was part of a year of feuding between Clan MacLeod of Dunvegan and the Clan MacDonald of Sleat, that ended with a MacDonald victory and an enforced peace.
Amy of Garmoran also known as Amie MacRuari and Euphemia was a 14th-century Scottish noblewoman who was the sister of Raghnall mac Ruaidhri, Lord of Garmoran and the spouse of John of Islay. After her marriage had produced three sons, the ambitious John of Islay divorced her in order to remarry and cement his links with the House of Stewart. She then retired to her estates in the Highlands and Islands, and completed various ecclesiastical and other building projects. Her son Ranald was the progenitor of Clanranald.
Bethóc ingen Somairle was a 13th-century Scottish prioress, considered to have been the first of Iona Nunnery. She was a daughter of Somairle mac Gilla Brigte.
Ranald MacDonald was the eponymous ancestor of the MacDonalds of Clanranald and the MacDonells of Glengarry. He was a son of John MacDonald, Lord of the Isles, and his first wife Amie MacRory. John granted Ranald the lands of Garmoran, which he had acquired through his marriage to Amie. This grant may have been a form of compensation for Ranald's exclusion from the main inheritance of the family, which fell to Donald, the eldest son of John's second marriage. The Uists were later detached from Garmoran and given to Ranald's younger brother, Godfrey.
Iain Mac Fhearchair (1693-–1779) was a Scottish Gaelic-speaking Bard and seanchaidh "who lived and died in the island of North Uist." Later in his life, Iain served as Chief Bard to the Chief of Clan MacDonald of Sleat, had a friendship with Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair, and made an appearance in the Ossianic controversy surrounding the poet James Macpherson.
57°31′13″N7°19′12″W / 57.5203°N 7.3201°W
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