The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Hebridean laird and farmer Lawrence MacEwen
The death of Lawrence MacEwen of the Isle of Muck at the age of 80 has caused outpourings of emotion.
The most fertile of the Small Isles, Muck has been in the MacEwen family since 1896.
While other islands have suffered through dubious ownership and the adverse effects of loss of community, Muck is an exemplar with an excellent working farm and fine livestock.
For the past 40 years, Lawrence and his hardworking wife, Jenny, and their family have kept Muck afloat, keeping pupils in the school and jobs on the island for residents.
Lawrence, the second of four children, took over the island’s running in 1969 when his older brother
Alasdair left to farm on the mainland.
He managed with a unique brand of benevolent paternalism which was far removed from the idea of feudal land ownership.
This laird was first and foremost a farmer who loved his flocks, both human and animal, especially his cows.
Lawrence was frequently compared to a noble Viking with red-blond hair, a beard, and huge hands ingrained with contour lines of hard graft.
This was apt, given that he spent so much time travelling by boat laden with livestock from Highland pony stallions and bulls to sheep or a Jersey house cow.
Tales of his herculean strength are legendary, and he could shunt weighty beasts on and off with ease.
Lawrence appreciated that if children are free to roam, they learn vital life skills – how to fish, clip sheep, mend roofs, tell a good beast from a bad, grow vegetables, weather storms, and be resilient.
As a result, Muck has always had an ethos of selfsufficiency and later, Lawrence would ensure that those that came to live on the island (they were vetted for suitability, and other residents took a vote) would have the ability to survive.
There were ambitious building ventures, battles for a new school, a village hall, and a suitable pier.
Lawrence insisted that the pier should be built at Port Mor rather than on the leeward side of the island for fear of spoiling the outstanding view of the vertiginous peaks of Rum and Skye.
Unfortunately, that decision meant that the island is cut off frequently in inclement weather.
Weather dominated Lawrence’s life and was recorded daily in his diaries.
Lawrence found solace in his hard-working ethic and the peaceful hours he spent caring for a few cows in the byre over winter and hand milking every day.
He also had a superb sense of humour, regularly regaling listeners with his epic sagas.
His life was immortalised in my book – A Drop in the Ocean, and a recent moving documentary film – Prince of Muck. Dozens came to the island for his funeral.
He is survived by Jenny, three children and nine grandchildren.