Photograph of ruined jetties in Fisgary Bay, Coll, in 2012.
Colour photograph of the ruins of two jetties in Fisgary Bay, Coll, taken in 2012, with an inset map showing their location. “The jetties were built to aid the loading of peat onto Tiree boats. Fisgary Bay is the nearest sheltered bay to the moss, although it is tidal as the photo shows. The two jetties are at the head of the bay, as close as possible it seems for the transport of the peat. Betty MacDougall (deceased Coll historian) wrote many years ago: “As the road rises to Aondairigh, a splendid view opens up seaward. As we proceed towards Loch Ronard, the village peat banks are on both sides of the road, few of them worked nowadays. There is no peat on Tiree, so at one time the men from that island used to come to Coll to cut their fuel and an area of moorland to the left of the road is still called the Tireemen`s Moss.””
Additional information provided by James Hill, Coll, May 2016: “Fiskary farm near the piers that were for the ponies carrying the peat to unload into the vessels was a subsistence farm and some associated structures on top of the hill were undoubtedly for storing peat and sheltering the peat cutters. The other ports were at Coalas en Eilean and Arinthluic close by that received peat from Tiree Mans Moss. The origin of the name of Fiskary Bay was part Norse and Gaelic. “Fisk” is fish in Norse, and “Kary” (“Caraigh”) is from the Gaelic meaning a wall in the sea i.e., “a Fish trap” that still exists but has been broken down to allow vessels to enter and leave the bay. It was Irish Gaelic that was spoken here. Fiskary Bay was also a Mesolithic fishing camp site that is dated to 9300 years BP but was probably earlier.”