Born in the 17th century in Uig on the Isle of Lewis, the Seer or ‘Dark Kenneth’ as he was known by some (Gaelic: Coinneach Odhar) reportedly belonged to the MacKenzie Clan. He worked as a farm labourer at the Brahan estate, seat of the Seaforth chieftains, but both the Seer and the Seaforths would meet their intertwined fates at the hand of his ‘dark’ powers.
Legend has it that he gained clairvoyance after napping on a fairy hill and finding a small stone with a hole carved through its centre in his coat when he woke up, peering through this object bestowed the ‘second sight’ upon him but cost him his vision in that eye. While some sceptics doubt his existence it is known that there are records of a man who lived in the 16th century called ‘Coinneach Odhar’ who stood accused of witchcraft.
Many of the Brahan Seer’s prophetic visions did come true in the years following his death, while others still loom over us… Here are thirteen of his prophecies with two yet to pass.
13. Silence of the Sheep?
"The day will come when the jaw-bone of the big sheep ... will put the plough on the rafters; when sheep shall become so numerous that the bleating of the one shall be heard by the other from Conchra in Lochalsh to Bun-da-Loch in Kintail they shall be at their height in price, and henceforth will go back and deteriorate, until they disappear altogether, and be so thoroughly forgotten that a man finding the jaw-bone of a sheep in a cairn (stone), will not recognise it or be able to tell what animal it belonged to." He went on to describe that people would mass-emigrate from the country and that the animals would once again rule the land until the native peoples eventual return. Photo: George Gastin via WikiCommons