Holy Island

The island was said to be the home of St Molaise who is reputed to have been born in Ireland in 570AD. He came to Holy Island to live as a hermit and Molaise’s cave is one of his reputed abodes. The cave has runic inscriptions within it, which may date from the twelfth century when the Vikings were fleeing defeat after the battle of Largs in 1215AD. There is also Molaise’s Well close by, which has water that is said to bring good luck.

Molaise was said to have a magical green stone, which he used to cure the sick. The stone also caused its owners enemies to lose courage. The stone was passed to the clan MacDonald, who carried it into battle in the hope that its courage draining powers would work on his enemies. The judgment stone near to the cave is a stone with a shallow bowl shaped dish, it is said to be the receptacle for this amulet.