crops. This area surrounds the once main township of Dailachreagain (Scottish Gaelic: "rocky meadow") which once had around 20 dwellings. There is also the remains of a tidal fish trap in one of the bays on the eastern side of the island and at various points around the shore can be seen bait holes where inhabitants would have pounded their fish bait. Originally forming part of the Kingdom of Dal Riata, and later the Lordship of The Isles, the island was a strategic hub and used as a clan gathering site on a number of occasions. The MacDonalds were gathered on Carna by Donald Balloch in 1431 prior to the Battle of Inverlochy where they were on the winning side against the Scottish Crown. Later in 1543 the last remaining claimant to the Lordship of the Isles, Donald Dubh, led his final insurrection from Carna before dying a short time later. With the full decline of the Lordship by 1493 the Island then passed to the Duke of Argyll until it was sold off in the 19th century. In common with many Scottish islands the population has declined since the 19th century. At one point up to 18 families lived there but by 1881 the population was seven. In 1891 it was recorded as ten but this had dropped to only two in 1961. No permanent population was recorded in 1981, 2001 or 2011. The island has been privately owned by the same family since the 1880s and has three holiday homes with currently no permanent inhabitants. Carna House, rebuilt as a holiday home in 1920s and largely untouched since then, and Carna Cottage are available to rent on a self-catered basis through Carna Conservation Initiative. A graveyard still remains above and behind Carna Cottage, which has headstones marked from 1707 to 2008. The last use occurred there in 2009 when the ashes of Margaret Hewer, a former owner in the family, were scattered there. Her father Dr Earnshaw Hewer was also buried on Carna in 1931. Glencripesdale Estate Carna once formed part of the neighbouring Glencripesdale Estate stretched for along the entire south side of Loch Sunart, and the entire east side of Loch Teacuis. It comprised the smaller estates of Glencripesdale, Laudale and Rahoy, and measured , and its centre point was the 27-bedroom Glencripesdale Castle. It was purchased in the 1870s by the three Newton brothers (Canon