Saw this photo circulating online described as a photo of Éamon de Valera's visit to the Isle of Barra in 1947. I'm not sure of its provenance, but the visit certainly happened.

From the West Highland Free Press on De Valera's death in 1975: "In 1947, De Valera undertook a tour of the Irish islands by naval corvette. Word reached Alex Smith from the British Home Office that he had expressed a wish to make a private detour to Barra to hear Mass.

The privacy of the event - which would have been hugely controversial - had been totally respected by the Barra people so that the visit was never reported at the time. After Mass, the party adjourned to the Castlebay Hotel for lunch and a ceilidh.

Calum MacLeod, whose father ran the hotel, recalled that Margaret MacInnes sang two songs in Irish Gaelic, and that De Valera was "in his element in among the Gaelic surroundings".

Canon MacInnes remembered: "There were a few worthies there - Coddy MacPherson and Fr. John MacMillan. We thought he was a great man. Fr. John thought he was a great Highlander - we could hardly get them apart. They were full of Celtic lore; all the Fenian tales and Ossian too.

As far as I remember, not a word of politics or war was mentioned."

@MAML84, would you know anything about this? I'm a wee bit sceptical about the photo (sure I can see a lad in a Garda uniform in the background), but it's no less fascinating.

Seem to have confirmation that the photo is Barra right enough! https://twitter.com/cat_mackinnon/status/1249702802324144131?s=19

And the journalist who wrote the original WHFP story in 1975. https://twitter.com/BrianWilson1967/status/1249739724950036480?s=19

Some more information, including the precise date (Sunday 20th July, 1947; having steamed over from Tory Island the day before and anchored off Barra Head), and an outline of his intinerary.