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This deserted township lies close to and just west of the Bunessan Graveyard. The name means "seat" and may refer to a resting place at the top of the steep hill out of the present village of Bunessan (NM 370221).
The site is now a scheduled monument, and it is an offence to damage or disturb it in any way - take nothing but photographs and leave nothing but footprints.
The site was recorded on maps of the 1650's, and was still a thriving community in the early 1800's (there were 60+ people there in 1779).
The last occupants of the township were the McDermott's who originally came from Islay, but with rising rents in the 1930's, farming Suidhe became unprofitable and they left.
Today, there are only the ruins of five buildings, and enclosure and the head dyke, but these show signs of the reconstructions which have taken place over the centuries, while the site was in continuous occupation.
For a detailed study of the site, see: www.jeffree.co.uk/suidhe.html
Back to: History of Bunessan
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