The Lismore Post 1831–1969

Lismore was late in getting a 6 day postal service and sometimes had to fight to keep it. Now that drones are flying about and relief local posties are no more, knowing the past may help if/when we have to fight again .

Four families have featured in our early postal history: The McColls of Balnagown, the Shanklands and Stewarts (now of the Mill) and the MacCormicks of Baligarve.

Before the introduction of the universal (prepaid) penny post, Appin had had a Post Office since 1788, receiving mail three times a week.

It is not certain how Lismore people received  mail then, as it had to be paid for by the recipient.

The service, as we know it, began when the penny post was introduced to Lismore in 1831. (The uniform pre paid penny post was introduced in 1840). The receiving house was thought to be at the north end but by 1839 it was at Clachan as that suited more people.

In 1855 the minister,  the Rev Gregor MacGregor, (an all round good egg), concerned that Lismore was being overlooked (as if) petitioned the Post Office to improve  the island’s service.  Fasnacloich, he wrote, was getting mail every day for its 200 inhabitants while Lismore, with 6 times that number, was getting it three times a week. Shabby he called this. Sound familiar?

In 1880 the service improved dramatically when David MacBrayne began a  steamer service from Oban to Fort William using the PS Iona 111. Although it made 3 runs a day, it called at Lismore only twice, at  11.20 and 1pm. This was no good for tourism but improved the post. A fine pier was built at Achnacroish (their words) and a main Post Office was opened there, while the Clachan branch was allowed to continue as a sub post office with Anne McColl and her mother Janet as postmistresses. Janet MacColl was the widow of Samuel MacColl the schoolmaster at Killandrist.

From the outset the service was dominated by the McColl family.  Dugald McColl,  referred to as “Post” in the1850s and 1860s was succeeded by his son John McColl  while his son, another John McColl, succeeded him working out of Achnacroish. In 1907 he handed over to a John McColl, known as Seonaidh Bàn, who retired in 1952. Before he retired  he was working the north end and Hugh MacIntyre the well scattered south end.  Seonaidh Bàn’s job  went to his nephew Calum MacCaig, the brother of Mairi Smith (nee MacCaig). Calum was famous for his many cats and Mairi was a  relief postie during the war.  Duggie MacPherson also worked out of Achnacroish.

In 1898 things had improved for the recipients if not the postmen, when the Achnacroish- Kilcheran route was extended to Dalnarrow (where there was a box for the lighthouse)  with a branch post to Achinduin.  A new sub post office was opened at Baligarve Farm in an extension called Bachuil Post Office.

There Catherine (Kate) McCormick, born in 1888 to James and Jessie McCormick in Baligarve, became the sub postmistress from the 1920s and served until 1943. The certificate on her retirement after more than 25 years with the Lismore Post Office, is pictured.

The main post office at Achnacroish (1881) was operated initially by John Shankland and, in the 1901 census, Jane Shankland had become the Post Mistress, while in the 1911 census Jane Stewart (same person?) was Post Mistress. Peggy Stewart, remembered by many today,  took over from her mother Jane, and, when Peggy died in 1969, all post office services became centralised at Lismore Stores  in Baleveolan. Richard Holyoak was the owner of the store and became the Post Master.

Bachuil sub Post office closed in 1940 but a new office, serving the north end was opened at Point House in 1945 but closed in 1955. The MacFadyen family ran the post office and Mary MacFadyen (pictured) delivered the mail by bicycle. However at this time a mail van was introduced at Achnacroish replacing the foot and bicycle riding postmen. That must have been huge improvement and presumably meant one postman could do it all.

And so the pattern was set apart from…..

War time disruption.

All  was severely  interrupted during  WW1 when, in May 1915, the Oban Fort William steamer was stopped (to save money) and the island reverted to getting mail via Appin 3 days a week. They were used to 6.  Neil Thomson of Point House was paid to convey the postmen to Port Appin to collect the mail. Paid well it seems though he agitated for and received more.

In 1920 the daily steamer (6 days as nothing happened on the 7^th) resumed and mail arrived on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from Oban and via the Appin ferry the other 3 days. On the Appin days, the postmen made a door to door delivery,  but at Achnacroish  it was caller delivery, i.e. you had to collect your own..

In 1922 Colin Cowan ran a motor boat delivery from Oban in place of the Appin ferry 3 day service.

Islanders though wanted things to revert to pre- war standards and formed  the Lismore Steamer Committee and began to agitate. It was possibly like the ferry debate. It went on for decades, generated meetings featuring passion plus hot and cold air, but went nowhere.

Finally: no way out was found until 1947 when the MV Lochnell was put on a twice daily (6 days) service between Lismore and Oban. From 1965  the MV Lochbuie and MV Loch Toscaig brought the mail and in the early 70s the MV Bruernish,  MV Morven or the MV Eigg.

With thanks to Archie and Ina MacColl and Bob Hay