Gairsay, an island of Evie and Rendall parish, Orkney, 1¼ mile E of the nearest part of Orkney mainland, and 1½ NW of Shapinshay. It measures 2 miles in greatest length, and 1½ mile in greatest breadth; consists chiefly of a conical hill of considerable altitude; rises steeply on the W side; includes, on the E and on the S, some low, fertile, well-cultivated land; contains, close to the S shore, remains of a fine old mansion, once the seat of Sir William Craigie; and has a small harbour, called Millburn, perfectly sheltered on all sides, mainly by Gairsay itself, and partly by a small island in the harbour's mouth. Pop. (1851) 41, (1871) 34, (1881) 37.
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