Isle Maree () is an island and traditional site of Christian pilgrimage and pattern day festivals in Loch Maree, Scotland.
History
It has the ruins of a
chapel, graveyard,
holy well, and
holy tree on it, believed to be the 8th-century hermitage of Saint
Maol Rubha (d. 722), a missionary from
Bangor Abbey in
Gaelic Ireland who founded the
Celtic Church monastery of
Applecross () in 672. The island contains ancient stands of
oak,
holly and other trees not found on the other islands in the loch. The waters of the loch were thought to be a holy well with curative effects. For example, as recently as the 18th century, being towed
sunwise three times
Circumambulation behind a boat followed each time by a dip in the loch waters was believed to impart a cure for
mental illness through St. Mael Ruba's
intercession. It is also traditionally said in Highland
Scottish culture that anyone acting irrationally, "must be wanting a dip in
Loch Maree."
Two incised cross-slabs of probably 8th-century date are to be seen in the ancient graveyard. The local oral tradition (still observed) commands that nothing must ever be taken from the island, be it even a pebble from the shore, lest the insanity formerly cured in past pilgrims follow the item back into the outside world.
In the 17th-century, the Church of Scotland Presbytery of Dingwall was disturbed by reports of several rituals, thought to be of pagan origin, such as the slaughter and roasting of bulls, on an island in Loch Maree, as part of the celebration of the saint's feast day. These revolved around, some believe, an allegedly debased memory of St Máel Ruba, who is thought to have become mixed with an ancient pre-Christian cult of 'God Mourie'. The island is near the north shore of the loch, and the adjacent shore is called in Scottish Gaelic Creag nan Tarbh, 'Cliff of the Bull', recalling these pattern day festivals.
Wish tree
On the island of St
Maol Rubha or
St Maree, in
Loch Maree,
Gairloch in the Highlands is an
oak wish tree made famous by a visit in 1877 by
Queen Victoria and its inclusion in her published diaries. The tree, and others surrounding it, are festooned with hammered-in coins. The original tree, now much decayed, died many years ago because of
copper . It is near the healing well of St Maree, to which votive offerings were made. Records show that bulls were sacrificed openly up until the 18th century
[Sharp, Mick (1997). Holy Places of Celtic Britain. Blandford. . P. 149.]
See also
-
List of islands of Scotland
Footnotes
External links
