The Earl of Seaforth was lord of Lewis, and the minister was Daniel Morison, whose glebe the island was. The omen connects an island with almost no outside contact to the two men through whom it was tied to the rest of the world. Martin does not say whether the omen had ever been tested, or give an example. The same cuckoo has a different association at Callanish, in a modern midsummer legend.
Curses & omens
The Cuckoo and the Death of Seaforth
North Rona
Reported 1703
This site is private property or has no public access. Coordinates shown are rounded and no directions are offered.
- Evidence
- Long-standing local tradition
- Access
- No public access
- Location
- 59.125, -5.823 (Sited to the building or field)
Sources: Martin Martin, A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland (1703), Islands off Lewis [public-domain]
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