A collection of seven islands and several smaller islets, arranged in three groups, the Flannan Isles lie 21 miles (34 km) northwest of Gallan Head and 31 miles (50 km) west of Carloway in Lewis. Also known as the Seven Hunters, the larger islands are Eilean Mor, Eilean Tighe, Soraidh, Sgeir Toman, Sgeir Righinn, Eilean a' Ghobha and Roaiream. On Eilean Mor there is a small ruined chapel dedicated to the Irish bishop St. Flann or St. Flannan. There is also a lighthouse, which was built in 1899 and automated in 1971. In 1900 the three lighthouse keepers disappeared under mysterious circumstances, an incident remembered in the poem Flannan Isle by English poet Wilfred Wilson Gibson (1878 - 1962).
The islands are known for their breeding sea-birds, which include fulmars, gannets and puffins.
