Hairy MacFerry

This intimidating lad is but one of the long line of MacFerrys that hail from the wee coastal village of Plockton, near Kyle of Lochalsh. along Scotland’s northwestern shore.

The MacFerrys gained their family name from their generations-long trade of ferrying their countrymen to and from the Isle of Skye (and supposedly a few times even as far as the Faroe Islands, far out in the North Atlantic). Hairy here supplements his ferry earnings with regular winnings in the caber toss at the Scottish Highland Games and local competitions.

So, be careful not to anger bull-strong Hairy with any obvious jest regarding his name. For though he’s wearing a kilt, evening pumps and delicate mesh stockings, he’d be happy to pound you to a pulp in a heartbeat if ridiculed.

Hairy’s name was actually intended to be Harry (or, rather, Harold, after his notable great-uncle). But, upon spying the furry wee child at the time of his baptism, the village vicar — who also tended all of the settlement’s civic records — mistakenly recorded his name as Hairy, not Harry. Thus, he has been Hairy MacFerry to this day.