| Oronsay | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
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Oronsay
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| Oronsay shown within Argyll and Bute | |
| OS grid reference | NR351892 |
| Names | |
| Norse name | possibly Örfirise |
| Meaning of name | "tidal island" or "Oran's isle" |
| Area and summit | |
| Area | 543 hectares (2.10 sq mi) |
| Area rank | 71 |
| Highest elevation | Beinn Orasaigh 93 m (305 ft) |
| Population | |
| Population | 5 |
| Population rank | 80= out of 99 |
| Main settlement | Oronsay Farm |
| Groupings | |
| Island group | Inner Hebrides |
| Local Authority | Argyll and Bute |
| References | [1][2][3] |
| If shown, area and population ranks are for all Scottish islands and all inhabited Scottish islands respectively. Population data is from 2001 census. | |
Oronsay (Scottish Gaelic: Orasaigh, pronounced [ˈɔɾəs̪a]), also sometimes spelt and pronounced Oransay by the local community, is a small tidal island south of Colonsay in the Scottish Inner Hebrides with an area of just over two square miles.
It rises to a height of 93m (305 feet) at Beinn Orasaigh (Beinn Oronsay) and is linked to Colonsay by a tidal causeway (called An Traigh ('The Strand')) consisting of sands and mud flats. In the 2001 census Oronsay was recorded as having a population of five people, who live at the farm adjacent to Oronsay Priory. The island has no facilities of its own, and is entirely dependent upon its tidal access to and from Colonsay. The rocks and skerries of Eilean nan Ròn (Seal Island), to the south-west, are an important Grey Seal breeding colony. In order to conserve the population of resident Choughs and breeding Corncrakes Oronsay and southern Colonsay became a Special Protection Area in December 2007.[4]
There are two theories for the origin of the name from Old Norse. Either it is Oran's Isle, St Oran being the founder of the island's monastery in 563, or it may be from the Old Norse Örfirisey meaning "island of the ebb tide".[5][6]
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On a visit to Colonsay in the 18th century, Sir Joseph Banks was informed that, "Macdufie was a factor or manager for Macdonald King of the Isles upon these islands of Oransay and Colonsay & that for his mismanagement & tyranny he was executed by order of that prince".[7] It is now owned by the Colburn family.
The island is best known for Oronsay Priory, a 14th century ruined Augustinian priory, probably on the same site as the original 563 building, and the Oronsay Cross, originally carved on Iona. The Priory was modest in scale, but has one of the most complete (though somewhat restored) cloister garths of any Scottish medieval religious house. In the late Middle Ages a distinct 'school' of monumental sculpture flourished on Oronsay, leaving many slabs with effigies or other carvings at the Priory itself, or at other religious sites throughout the Hebrides to which they were exported. See examples pictured below. The production of sculpture ceased at the Scottish Reformation.
Oronsay is one of several Hebridean islands that have furnished archaeologists with invaluable information about the Mesolithic period of prehistory, particularly about the diet of human beings.
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