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".
Ewen Maclean
He was born on 15 October 1865 the second son of John Maclean of Kilmoluag on the Isle of Tiree, one of the most westerly of the Scottish islands. His father was a "master cordwainer" (shoemaker). His mother was Agnes Macmillan. The family were Gaelic speakers. His older brother was the politician, Donald Maclean.
Around 1870 the family moved to Haverfordwest in Wales, where Ewen was educated, before attending Carmarthen Grammar School. He then studied Medicine at Edinburgh University graduating MB CM with honours in 1889. In 1891, he received with honours the Edinburgh MD.