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".
Cail MacLean
MacLean was born in Middleton, Nova Scotia. He played his junior career with the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL. After being skipped over in the NHL Entry Draft, MacLean signed his first professional contract with the ECHL's Jacksonville Lizard Kings in 1997. He played two partial seasons with Jacksonville while also playing games in the AHL and the now defunct IHL.