Raasay
The poet Sorley MacLean was born in Osgaig, a small crofting community on the west coast of the island; perhaps his most famous poem is about "Hallaig", an abandoned community on the east coast. MacLean's writings often combine an ancient traditional awareness, with a modernist political outlook, in which Raasay, and the areas adjacent to it are frequently referenced. But while MacLean's work dwells on the brutality of war, of the Highland Clearances and modern exploitation, he also writes about nature. Thus, although the Clearances leave an empty landscape populated only by the ghosts of those evicted or forced to emigrate, "Time, the deer, is in the Wood of Hallaig".
Sorley Boy MacDonnell
Sorley Boy was born at Dunanynie Castle near Ballycastle, County Antrim in Ireland, and came to prominence during the mid-to-late 16th century, when the Dublin administration waged periodic campaigns in the Route. During the first campaign in 1550, Sorley Boy was taken prisoner and confined in Dublin Castle for twelve months, and was finally released in exchange for certain prisoners held by his brother, James, who was leader of the clan.