Am Politician (The Politician) is situated on the remote Hebridean Island of Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
It is named after the SS Politician which was part of the Harrison Line Shipping Company. She sank in February 1941 en-route to Jamaica in the waters between Eriskay and South Uist. All crew were rescued and the islanders helped themselves to some of the 40,000 cases of Scotch whisky before winter weather broke up the ship. No islander regarded it as stealing; for them the rules of salvage meant that once the bounty was in the sea, it was theirs to rescue. Unfortunately their happiness was short-lived when Customs and Excise descended upon the island and decided to make an example of a few people who had been suspected of being on the ship and taking the whisky.
named after the SS Politician which was part of the Harrison Line Shipping Company. She sank in February 1941 en-route to Jamaica
The pub was built in 1988 when the island had approximately 200 residents and was accessed only by boat. It was named in her honour and carries a couple of the famous whisky bottles from that time. There have been numerous films and books such as ‘Whisky Galore’ written about the SS Politician.
Today we try to keep the story alive as well as providing a service for islanders.
