APPLECROSS HISTORY
The history of the peninsula is a microcosm of that of HighlandScotland.
The common influences are the coming of Christianity, of the Norsemen, the union of Pict and Scot under Kenneth MacAlpine and the emerging influence of the clan system,
in this case that of the politically adept Mackenzies after the watershed of the battle of
Harlaw in 1411 which saw the weight of power move from the Macdonald Lords of the
Isles to the Crown.
The considerable influence of the Church and the impact of the Reformation in the 16thCentury are reflected, as are the effects of the Jacobite risings. The breakdown of the clan
system and the sorry picture of the clearances are evident, as are the problems of land
utilisation and absentee landlords.
The Disruption of 1843 had a greater impact in the Highlands than elsewhere and the
years from then to the union in 1929, which also saw the breakaway of the Free
Presbyterians in 1893, saw much bitterness.
It is worth noting that while only 37% of the ministers supported the Church of Scotland
Free, the Highland exodus from the state Church was almost complete.
Educational reforms in the 19th Century had the twin effects of discouraging the Gaelic
language and accelerating the move from rural areas of those who benefited from
secondary schooling. In the late 19 Century, pupils were actively discouraged from
speaking their native language in school playgrounds in much the same way that, under
the State education system in Wales, the Welsh language was outlawed. (See Jan Morris,
'The Matter of Wales').
BACKGROUND
What makes Applecross history so interesting is that the nature of the peninsula'sgeography determined that, until the mid point of this century, its principal means of
communication with the rest of the country was by sea.
As a result, the Applecross of living memory was probably the most insular and unspoiled
on the mainland. I am unable to identify any other mainland community which has seen
so much change in the last fifty years.
In the 1931 census, over 75% of the population was Gaelic speaking. In 1971, of the
mainland, only Applecross and Stoer (another peninsula) had a Gaelic-speaking
population of over 50%.
APPLECROSS THE NAME
The Annals of Tighernac give 'Appercrossan' in the 9th Century Latin. Records from
1500 use 'Apilcors' or 'Abilcors'. This evidence gives the lie to speculation in the Old
Statistical Account of 1792 that the name is a 'fanciful designation' and in recent
correspondence in An Carrannach. It is clear that the present name has been developed
from 'Aber' and 'Crossan'.
However, the peninsula was more widely known by the Gaelic name 'A'Chomraich' (the
sanctuary) from the time of Saint Maelrubha. Throughout the ages, with the exception of
the attention of the Norseman in the 9th Century and during clan feuds between the
Mackenzies and the Glengarry Macdonalds in the 16th Century, the sanctuary has been
respected. Over the years, it has provided refuge and there is a strong oral tradition that
the body snatcher Hare, who gave evidence against his partner William Burke (hanged in
1829), came to Applecross under an assumed name and worked in Camustiel as a weaver.
The weaver is buried in the cemetery.
APPLECROSS FIFTY YEARS AGO
The famous Bealach nam Bo, built as one of the last Parliamentary roads and completed
in 1822, had to wait until the 1950s for a bitumen surface, and electricity reached
Applecross about the same time. There were fewer than a dozen cars in the community
in 1950 and the first tractor arrived in 1952.
The Bealach, named after the old drove route used by cattle on their way to market, was
then, as now, impassable in winter and the community pressed for years for a route round
the peninsula that would avoid this two thousand feet high road and the equally uncertain
rowing boat access to Macbrayne's Stornoway steamer. In fairness to the authorities of
the time, we rarely spoke with unanimity, those on the north coast favouring the long
coastal road that would open up their inaccessible village while the south preferred a
shorter road from Toscaig to Russel. Those used to the sea felt that their own dedicated
ferry service to Kyle of Lochalsh was best. This easiest of options was given in 1955 and
the coast road was not provided for a further sixteen years by which time the indigenous
population of the more isolated villages had almost disappeared.
However, it will be readily understood that a community dependent on paraffin and
precarious communication was both resourceful and self-sufficient. Family and Church
ties were strong and hospitality and neighbourliness were taken for granted.
A vigorous oral tradition and awareness of Celtic culture together with a high level of
church attendance, albeit divided into three variations of presbyterian worship mainly on
family lines, made for continuity and contentment.
Before that community disappears for ever, it is appropriate to look at what is known of
the past.
THE ADVENT OF CHRISTIANITY
Applecross has an illustrious past. That it has been little publicised is surprising and the
reasons why it has failed to attract attention as an important Christian settlement may
become apparent as we examine what we do know.
I should mention that there is no shortage of academic research and I am particularly
indebted to the late Kenneth MacRae's draft history and Kenneth D. Macdonald's 'The
Mackenzie Lairds of Applecross'. (Gaelic Society of Inverness).
On the other hand, little remains to remind us of the prosperous Monastery or the ancient
castle. While we shall discover the reasons for this, it is fitting to quote MacRae's words
on the more recent neglect: 'What the illiterate natives commemorated for over four
hundred years, one educated generation despised and forgot'.
It should be noted at this point that while we are concerned with the Applecross
peninsula, the term has also covered in times past the parish of Applecross which
included Torridon, Shieldaig and Kishorn. This is important to those who may wish to
study the Old (1792) and New (1836) Statistical Accounts and other historical documents
and should be remembered by the reader of this paper. It is difficult to separate fact from
mythology and there are many examples of the confusion caused by oral tradition.
However we depend on the Annals of Tighernac, the Irish historian, for confirmation of
both the advent of Maelrubha and the ancient origin of the name 'Applecross':
'673 AD Maelrubha flindavit ecclesiam Appercrossan'. (Maelrubha founded the Church
of Applecross).
The Nineteenth Century Bishop of Down, Dr. Reeves, traces Maelrubha's ancestry to
Niall of the Nine Hostages.
It is probable that Maelrubha and his party did land initially on Saint Island, off
Camusterrach. It would be a prudent move to get a first sight of the natives from a secure
vantage point.
The Monastery founded by him was to last for one-hundred-and-twenty years and was to
occupy the favoured ground from the river to the slopes of Beinn a'Chlachain, so it is
reasonable to assume that his Christianity was fairly muscular.
From the peninsula, Maelrubha spread the Gospel throughout the Pictish north and he is
remembered in many place names including Loch Maree. Maclean disputes the tradition,
mentioned in a number of writings and in Calendars of the Saints, that Maelrubha was
martyred by the Norsemen. His basis for this is that Tighernac records his death at the
age of eighty as 'a natural death in Applecross'. He also considers that the year 722 was
too early for Norse activity.
In any event, there is no dispute that the final resting place of the Saint's body is beside the ruined chapel in Clachan cemetery. Although there are now no external markings for the grave, past excavation has disclosed a mosaic of flat stones. At the centre of these there is a large slab of stone covering the sarcophagus. The location is referred to as 'Cladh Maree' (Maelrubha's burial ground).
Earlier this Century, the two sections of carved stone displayed in the Church were excavated close to the grave. Expert opinion is that they date back to the Eighth Century. That these are the only significant finds and that the grave of a Christian Saint ranking second only to Columba of Iona is unmarked are criticisms of our civilisation. Maelrubha continued the work begun by Columba who, a century earlier, had made friends with the Pictish King Brudei.
Irish records tell us that his successor was Failbe Macguaire and it appears that the close association with the parent Monastery at Bangor was maintained. Macguaire and twenty-two companions were drowned when returning from there to Applecross in 737 (Tighernac). The rock between Ardban and Coilleghillie, known as 'Sgeir na Maoile' (rock of the tonsured ones) is thought to be the location. DESTRUCTION OF THE MONASTERY
There is reference in the Irish records to the death of the Abbot Ruaridh Mor MacAogan ofMenchair in 801.
During his time as Abbot in Applecross, the first Viking raids on that part of Scotlandtook place.
The Monastery and all the records were destroyed and MacAogan had to flee. This was probably between 790 and 800.
On his death, the body was taken back to Applecross for burial. There is a tradition that it floated on a stone slab and that the stone was used to mark his grave. Floating stones and other contradictions of natural law are common in Celtic mythology but no matter how it came to be there, the large stone to the left of the churchyard entrance is said to be that which originally showed where the last of the Celtic Abbots lay. MacRae says, without disclosing his source, that it was moved to its present position 'about a century and a half ago'. As I write this, I regret, not for the first time, that I did not listen to him more carefully! The stone is of considerable interest in itself. It is roughly hewn but it is evident from the markings that a Celtic collared cross was planned. It may be that following the destruction of the Monastery, there was neither opportunity nor skill to complete the project.
CHANGING TIMES
If the tale is only partly true, the stone is an appropriate memorial to the influence of the
Celtic Christians and before we look at their successors, we need to be aware of the
complex changes of the times.
Maelrubha carried Christianity far into the PictishKingdom, following from his
Applecross base the work begun by Columba.
There were constant power struggles between Scots, Picts, Britons and Northumbrians.
In the Seventh Century, we find King Brudei of the Picts (MacBili, not to be confused
with Mac Maelcon, friend of Columba) defeating Ecgfrith of Northumbria at
Nechtansmere in Angus to the relief of both Scots and Britons. However, one of his
successors, Nechton, removed the Columban clergy from Pictland churches around 710
when the Picts conformed to the Church of Rome. Maclean considers that the Applecross
link with Bangor continued and that Applecross could not have conformed to Rome
during the life of the Monastery.
VIKING INFLUENCE
As we have seen, the raids by the Norsemen affected Applecross towards the end of the
Eighth Century. These raids were precursors of their extended settlement in the Ninth
and Tenth Centuries. For over four hundred years, the Norse influence was felt in the
Isles, the mainland seaboard, the Isle of Man, Ireland and Cumbria. The Battle of Largs
in 1263 was the signal of the end of Norse supremacy.
Its effects were twofold. In the first place, Pict and Scot were obliged to unite against a
common foe and about 843 Kenneth Macalpine of Dalriada became King of Alba (or
Scotia).
Secondly, as we have seen in Applecross, the Norseman sacked the religious houses of
the west coast and the centre of gravity for both church and state moved east.
The long settlement can still be traced in place names and loan words. Magne Oftedal of
the university of Oslo suggests that 'if a name on a map is not evidently Gaelic or
English, it is very likely to be Norse'. (While the greatest traces are apparent in the Isle
of Lewis, examples like Toscaig, Cuaig and Shieldaig are confirmation of presence
there).
THE LAY ABBOTS
We know that Ruaridh Mor MacAogan was succeeded by his chamberlain, Obeolan,
some time before 801. MacRae considers that in assuming responsibility for both
spiritual and secular matters he conformed to the Church of Rome rather than the old
ColumbanChurch.
There is a Scandinavian tale that his daughter was carried off by raiders and in other
references his name is shown as MacBeolan. The use of both the Irish and Scottish
prefixes is of interest. It highlights the move away from Irish influence to the role of the
Lay Abbot.
Obeolan repaired the damage caused by the raiders and had his castles near the site of the
present farm buildings. The area was known as 'Borrowdale' within recent memory and
is shown as such in documents in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries.
Rev. John Macqueen writing in the Old Statistical Account in 1792 says 'From the
Danish are derived all these names which have 'Burgh' in the compound, as Burghdale.
It is observable that in all places of this designation, there has anciently been a Danish
Dun'. The word 'Dun' is itself at home in both Irish and Scottish Gaelic as well as Anglo
Saxon and Old Norse so its presence in the present Gaelic name for what is now the
campsite, 'Cul an Dun' (The back of the fort) proves nothing but if Macqueen is right,
Borrodale may signify that the Norsemen as well as MacBeolan had a hand in building
the castle.
The Obeolan line was followed by the lay abbot Gillandreis family. Like Obeolan they
married and their family structure determined succession. Little is known of the
Applecross of these dark ages but we do know that the clan system became influential
from the Tenth Century. Two clans are then mentioned in the Book of Deer and the
system developed in Scotland during the Twelfth to the Fourteenth Centuries, thriving
into the Eighteenth.
Out of this developed the strength to challenge the might of the Norse dynasty in the
west.
In 1156 Somerled Lord of Argyll forced a division of the isles, taking over the southern
Hebrides including Islay and Mull. Somerled's descendants, by astute backing of Robert
Bruce and by politically correct marriages, became the lost influential in the Western isles
and on the mainland from Kintyre to Morar.
In those turbulent times, Applecross was surrounded by wild Noresmen, emerging Lords
of the Isles and, increasingly, Kings of Scotland determined to control their nation.
The Gillandreis chiefs of Applecross eventually recognised the lesson of history that
might is right and aligned themselves with the King.
In 1215 Ferchair Mac an t Sagairt, son of the lay abbot of the time, took on and defeated
descendants of Malcolm Canmore and of the MacEth Earl of Ross. He was knighted by
the King. He also subdued Argyll and Galloway and was further rewarded with the
Earldom of Ross.
He had two sons. William became Earl of Ross and Malcolm was given Applecross.
THE HERMIT ABBOT
Unlike his predecessors from the time of MacBeolan, Malcolm took Holy Orders and
apparently lived the life of a hermit at Cnoc Dubh an t Strath, above Hartfield. He is
remembered in the name of the glen there, Srath Maolchaluim, and although the cave
above Hartfield is today referred to as Maelrubha's cave, this is part of the general
confusion of oral tradition.
As Malcolm left no heir, the succession went to the Earls of Ross. Malcolm's nephew,
the Ab Uaine or Green Abbot took over and reverted to the role of the Lay Abbot. He
married and was succeeded by his son Ruairidh.
The Green Abbot's brother, another William Earl of Ross fought at Bannockburn and his
force included men from Applecross.
THE LAST LAY ABBOT
Ruairidh's son was GiUaphadrick, the Sagart Ruadh or Red Priest of Applecross.
He appears to have aligned himself with Donald, Lord of the Isles during the latter's
claim to the Earldom of Ross and he died at Harlaw in 1411. That indecisive battle was a
major turning point for Highland culture leading, as it did, to the reduction and eventual
extinction of the Macdonald lordship. With the demise of that Kingship went many
aspects of Gaelic culture including a structured bardic tradition.
With it also went the Applecross lay abbots. The men carried their commander home to