The following report appeared in 1901, a year after the death of the eighth Duke:
A good deal of speculation has been created by a report that the Duke of Argyll proposes to sell the island of Tiree. The island has an area of 34 square miles, and, in consideration of its fertility, it is often styled the ‘Granary of the Hebrides’. As a sporting estate it is most desirable. In snipe shooting, it is unrivalled. Partridges and hares are numerous, and there are about twenty fresh-water lochs. With the exception of one species of willow, there is no growing wood on the island. The price put upon the island is said to be £130,000 (the equivalent today of £13 million). It is thought that the proposed sale indicates a disposition on the part of Duke to follow the example of the Duke of Fife, who, in recent years, has sold a very large proportion of his ancestral estates in the north. (Belfast Weekly News, 28 March 1901, 9)
The following year, it was reported:
The Central News Tobermory correspondent wires that the Duke of Argyll has again advertised the Island of Tiree for sale by auction, to take place in London on July 14. About a year ago Tiree was put on the market, an advertisement being inserted in a New York paper, but there were no offers. The island … is noted for its salubrious climate and its magnificent shooting. (Liverpool Echo, 7 June 1902, 8)
TIREE OFFERED FOR SALE
At the Mart, Tokenhouse Yard, London, yesterday, Messrs Chancellor and Sons, on the instructions of the Duke of Argyll, offered for sale the island of Tiree, described as the ‘granary and flower of the Hebrides’. The island contains an abundance of white, pink and green marble, among which is found garnet-bearing rock. Game is also plentiful and the snipe shooting is said to be the finest in Europe. The auctioneer said that the reason for offering the isle for sale was that the Duke of Argyll had to meet heavy charges in payment of the Death Duties on the estates to which he had succeeded, and he was selling Tiree, which he described as a veritable island kingdom, to clear off the liability. The property was put in at £100,000, but no offer was made at this figure or £90,000, £80,000 or £50,000, and the property was withdrawn. (Dundee Evening Telegraph, 15 July 1902, 3)
The estate tried to sell the island for a third time in 1951:
Caption: Advertisement for the island of Tiree in 1951.
This was also unsuccessful.