WHERE THE MUCK CAME FROM

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 85, 7 October 1938, Page 10

WHERE THE MUCK CAME FROM

The lonely little Hebridean island of Muck, whose forty inhabitants are petitioning the Postmaster-General for an independent mail service (at present mails have to be collected by rowingboat from the neighbouring island of Eigg), has not always borne such a repellent name, says the "Manchester Guardian." In the days before the early cartographers got to work it was known to Highlanders as Eilean-nam-Muchd (phonetically "Mook" in the Gaelic tongue), which meant literally "Island of the Pigs." Owing to an unfortunate error the word "Muchd" appeared on the maps in English as "Muck," the "Eilean-nam" prefix was dropped altogether, and the Hebridean outpost became known to the outside world as Muck, an ugly appellation which continually mystifies English tourists. The laird who presided over the island during Dr. Johnson's Hebridean tour in 1773 was particularly sensitive about -the name and insisted on referring to his domain as "Monk." Neighbouring lairds, who invariably addressed one another by their territorial designations—such as Rum, Coll, and so on—tactfully avoided giving offence to the laird of Muck by calling him "Isle of Muck"!