Islay

Islay lies off the west coast of Scotland, its indented shores facing the Atlantic and the waters between the Hebrides and Ireland. Inland, small islands in Loch Finlaggan formed the political centre of the Lords of the Isles. From this seat the MacDonald lords ruled a far-reaching maritime domain whose power rested on the islands and the coasts of the western mainland.

The lordship flourished in the later centuries of the Middle Ages, but its relationship with the Scottish Crown was often contentious. John, the last Lord of the Isles, forfeited his title and lands in 1493, bringing the lordship to an end. Finlaggan's remains recall a time when authority in the western seas was exercised from this quiet loch on Islay.