Tales of mermaids

Tales of mermaids

Workshop explores how an idea becomes a story
Joe Keleher pictured during a visit to Scotland.

Tales of mermaids

Joe Keleher pictured during a visit to Scotland.
Mermaid sightings in Scotland

January 12, 1809: A sighting reported by two women of a creature with a female upper body and green hair seen in the water in Sandside, prompts a man, William Nonroe, to also speak of his account with a similar creature in the same area, perched on a rock combing her hair, before retreating to the sea.

October 13, 1811: John McIsaac and Katherine Loynachan both reported seeing merfolk in the waters of Kintyre. Their sightings were documented and deeemed credible.

Summer of 1814: A boy sighted a mermaid in the west coast waters of Scotland and was quickly ridiculed. A month later, several children also saw a mermaid. After collecting other villagers, they returned to find the mermaid closer to shore and emitting intermittent hissing sounds for two hours before swimming away.

August 15, 1814: William Gordon and Thomas Johnstone reported seeing a merman who disappeared under water only to return with a mermaid.

1830: The people of Benbecula, an island of the west coast of Scotland, sight a mermaid and try to interact with it. A boy hurts the mermaid, and they find her body ashore days later. They hold a burial for the creature in Nunton.

1947: Someone reports seeing a mermaid off the coast of the Isle of Muck.

2009: Many people in the Hebrides area report seeing a mermaid leaping from the waters. There is currently a $1,000,000 reward to anyone who can prove this mermaid’s existence.