Tiree
Scottish Gaelic name | Tiriodh |
---|---|
Pronunciation | [ˈtʲʰiɾʲəɣ] ⓘ |
Old Norse name | Tyrvist |
Meaning of name | Gaelic for 'land of corn' |
Sun of Barley flag adopted in 2018 | |
Location | |
OS grid reference | NL999458 |
Coordinates | 56°30′N 6°53′W / 56.5°N 6.88°W |
Physical geography | |
Island group | Mull |
Area | 7,834 ha (30+1⁄4 sq mi) |
Area rank | 17 [1] |
Highest elevation | Ben Hynish 141 m (463 ft) |
Administration | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Country | Scotland |
Council area | Argyll and Bute |
Demographics | |
Population | 653[2] |
Population rank | 18 [1] |
Population density | 8.3/km2 (21/sq mi)[2][3] |
Largest settlement | Scarinish |
References | [3][4][5] |
Tiree (
The land is highly fertile, and crofting, alongside tourism, and fishing are the main sources of employment for the islanders. Tiree, along with Colonsay, enjoys a relatively high number of total hours of sunshine during the late spring and early summer compared to the average for the United Kingdom.[6] Tiree is a popular windsurfing venue; it is sometimes referred to as the "Hawaii of the north".[7] In most years, the Tiree World Classic surfing event is held here.[8] People native to the island are known as Tirisdich.
History
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2018) |
Tiree is known for the 1st-century-AD
In one story, Columba warned a monk called Berach not to sail directly from Iona to Tiree, and instead to take a different route, and the monk went against his advice and sailed directly, but along the way, a huge whale came out of the sea and almost destroyed their boat. Columba gave the same warning to Baithéne mac Brénaind who replied that both he and the whale were in God's hands, and Columba told him to go because his faith would save him. And Baithene set off for Tiree, and when the whale appeared, he raised his hands and blessed it and it went back down into the ocean.
In another story, Adomnán claimed there to be a monastery on the island of Tiree that was called Artchain. The monastery had been founded by a priest called Findchan, who was very closely attached "in a carnal way" to Áed Dub mac Suibni. Columba took issue at Aed Dub's ordination because he had previously killed a number of men and prophesied that Aed Dub would ultimately leave the priesthood and return to his sinful life as a murderer, only to be killed violently himself.[10][11]
In another story, Adomnán claimed that Baithéne mac Brénaind asked Columba to pray for a good wind to get him to Tiree, and it was given to him, and he crossed the sea from Iona to Tiree with full sail. In another story, Columba instructed a particular monk to go to the monastery on Tiree and do penance for seven years. In another story, Columba banished some demons from Iona who then went to the island of Tiree to afflict the monks there instead. Adomnán also records there being more than one monastery on Tiree in that time period, and that Baithéne mac Brénaind had been abbot of one of these monasteries.[12]
Writing in 1549,
In 1770, half of the island was held by fourteen farmers who had drained land for hay and pasture. Instead of exporting live cattle (which were often exhausted by the long journey to market and so fetched low prices), they began to export
Its name derives from Tìr Iodh, 'land of the corn', from the days of the 6th century
Skerryvore lighthouse, 12 miles (19 kilometres) south west of Tiree, was built with some difficulty between 1838 and 1844 by Alan Stevenson.
A large
Geology
Tiree is formed largely from
Geography
The main village on Tiree is Scarinish.
The highest point on Tiree is Ben Hynish, to the south of the island, which rises to 141 metres (463 feet).
Settlements
OS settlements
Places classified as settlements[18] by the Ordnance Survey include:
- Balemartine
- Balephetrish
- Balephuil
- Balevullin
- Balinoe
- Barrapol
- Baugh
- Caolas
- Cornaigbeg
- Cornaigmore
- Crossapol
- Gott
- Heanish
- Heylipol
- Hough
- Hynish
- Kenovay
- Kilkenneth
- Kilmoluaig
- Kirkapol
- Mannal
- Middleton
- Moss
- Ruaig
- Salum
- Sandaig
- Scarinish
- Sraid Ruadh
- Vaul
- West Hynish
Not OS settlements
These places aren't classified as settlements by the Ordnance Survey but are shown on the A-Z Great Britain Road atlas 2022[19]
Transport
Caledonian MacBrayne operate a ferry to Scarinish. The daily crossing from Oban on the mainland takes four hours.[20] A call is made at Arinagour on Coll and once a week the ferry crosses to Castlebay on Barra. More limited services operate in Winter.
Roads on Tiree, in common with many other small islands, are nearly all
Preceding station | Ferry | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Coll
|
Caledonian MacBrayne Ferry |
Oban | ||
Coll
|
Caledonian MacBrayne Ferry (limited service, summer only) |
Castlebay |
Climate
As with the rest of western Scotland, Tiree experiences a
Climate data for Tiree, 9m asl, 1981–2010, Extremes 1951– | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 12.3 (54.1) |
12.9 (55.2) |
15.2 (59.4) |
19.8 (67.6) |
23.4 (74.1) |
25.0 (77.0) |
26.1 (79.0) |
25.0 (77.0) |
21.2 (70.2) |
19.1 (66.4) |
14.6 (58.3) |
13.2 (55.8) |
26.1 (79.0) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.8 (46.0) |
7.7 (45.9) |
8.7 (47.7) |
10.4 (50.7) |
13.0 (55.4) |
14.8 (58.6) |
16.3 (61.3) |
16.4 (61.5) |
15.0 (59.0) |
12.5 (54.5) |
10.1 (50.2) |
8.3 (46.9) |
11.8 (53.2) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 3.4 (38.1) |
3.1 (37.6) |
3.9 (39.0) |
5.1 (41.2) |
7.1 (44.8) |
9.5 (49.1) |
11.2 (52.2) |
11.4 (52.5) |
10.0 (50.0) |
8.0 (46.4) |
5.6 (42.1) |
3.9 (39.0) |
6.9 (44.4) |
Record low °C (°F) | −6.4 (20.5) |
−6.1 (21.0) |
−4.8 (23.4) |
−4.4 (24.1) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
2.3 (36.1) |
5.4 (41.7) |
4.9 (40.8) |
1.4 (34.5) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
−7 (19) |
−7 (19) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 137.8 (5.43) |
101.3 (3.99) |
103.0 (4.06) |
72.8 (2.87) |
59.6 (2.35) |
65.0 (2.56) |
79.7 (3.14) |
106.9 (4.21) |
112.0 (4.41) |
149.5 (5.89) |
135.8 (5.35) |
131.7 (5.19) |
1,255.1 (49.41) |
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 20.2 | 16.2 | 18.3 | 12.5 | 11.9 | 11.9 | 14.1 | 15.0 | 16.0 | 19.6 | 19.5 | 19.4 | 194.4 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 39.0 | 69.9 | 111.1 | 175.2 | 238.8 | 205.5 | 174.4 | 163.3 | 128.2 | 88.4 | 46.8 | 36.0 | 1,476.6 |
Source 1: Met Office[23] | |||||||||||||
Source 2: Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute/KNMI[24] |
Economy
The Southern Hebrides agency states that "while farming and, to a lesser extent, fishing, continue to provide most of the income of Tiree, tourism plays an increasing part in the island’s economy".[25] The fertile machair lands of the island provide for good quality farming and crofting
Tiree Community Development Trust owns and operates a 950 kW community-owned wind turbine project known as Tilley. This was the fourth such large-scale project in Scotland.[26] The first three projects were on Gigha and Westray and at Findhorn Ecovillage. The Argyll Array, an offshore wind farm development was proposed for development around Skerryvore but was subsequently abandoned.[27]
The island is a popular destination for family holidays. Tourists are attracted by the beaches, its many crofts, "traditional blackhouses and white houses, many retaining their charming thatched roofs, as well as unique ‘pudding houses’ where white mortar contrasts with dark stone".[28] A full dozen blackhouses, thatched with local marram grass, can still be found on Tiree.[25]
Tiree is popular for
The island's population was 653 as recorded by the
Tiree has a rich distilling history and is home to a distillery, which was set up to re-establish the island's whisky heritage and, as of 2019[update], is producing Tyree Gin.[34] The distillery has plans to make Scotch Whisky.[citation needed] An April 2020 article about the Tiree Whisky Company, producers of Tyree Gin, states that it began making gin on the island again in 2019 but does not mention a plan to make whisky on the island.[35] The company is said to be the first legal distillery on the island in over 200 years; distilling had been banned in 1802. In 2020, the company was marketing a Speyside whisky, The Cairnsmuir, but not made on Tiree.[36]
Culture and media
The island is known for its vernacular architecture, including a 'blackhouse' and 'white houses', many retaining their traditional thatched roofs, and for its unique 'pudding houses' or 'spotted houses' where only the mortar is painted white.
Tiree has a declining but still considerable percentage of Gaelic speakers.[37] In 2001, 368 residents (47.8%) spoke Gaelic. By 2011 the figure had decreased to 240 (38.3%), still the highest percentage of speakers in the Inner Hebrides.[38][39]
Since 2010, the island has hosted the annual Tiree Music Festival, held in Crossapol in the fields beside the community hall 'An Talla'.[40] In 2012, when Tiree appeared in the BBC Programme Coast for a second time, the actions of RAF weather forecasters, flying hazardous missions far out into the storms of the Atlantic during World War II, were discussed.
Tiree is mentioned in the traditional Scottish song titled "Dark Island", which tells a tale of a ship leaving Oban and passing the "isle of my childhood", Tiree.[41] Tiree is mentioned in Enya's 1988 single "Orinoco Flow". Tiree is also referenced in the song "Western Ocean" by Skipinnish, a traditional Scottish band co-founded by local Tirisdeach (Tiresian) Angus MacPhail.[42]
The Tiree Songbook is an album of songs from Na Bàird Thirisdeach, a 20th-century book collecting songs from Tiree, and new compositions about the island.[43] The album won the Community Project of the Year award at the Scots Trad Music Awards in 2017.
People connected to Tiree
- Iain mac Ailein, or John MacLean, (1787-1848), was a Tiree bard and highly important figure in both Scottish Gaelic literature and that of Canadian Gaelic.[44] According to Robert Dunbar, the Gaels of Tiree have a very long history of producing highly gifted songwriters and poets, but "MacLean is ...considered by some to be the greatest of the Tiree bards."[45]
See also
Notes
- ^ English translation from Lowland Scots: "a low-lying fertile fruitful country... Its entirety is inhabited and manured and there are two parish churches and a freshwater lake with an old castle. Nowhere is more fertile for corn and it is good for wild fowl and fish, with a good harbour for Highland galleys."[13]
References
- ^ 2011 census.
- ^ a b c National Records of Scotland (15 August 2013). "Appendix 2: Population and households on Scotland's Inhabited Islands" (PDF). Statistical Bulletin: 2011 Census: First Results on Population and Household Estimates for Scotland Release 1C (Part Two) (PDF) (Report). SG/2013/126. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- ^ a b Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 112
- ^ Ordnance Survey. OS Maps Online (Map). 1:25,000. Leisure.
- ISBN 0-901824-25-9
- ISBN 978-0-415-13931-1. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
- ^ "Ferry To & From Tiree | Visit Tiree | CalMac". www.calmac.co.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ^ The perfect way to go island hopping in the Hebrides
- ^ Harvie-Brown, J.A. and Buckley, T. E. (1892), A Vertebrate Fauna of Argyll and the Inner Hebrides. Pub. David Douglas., Edinburgh. Facing P. LXIV.
- ^ Thomas Innes, The Civil and Ecclesiastical History of Scotland, Aberdeen, 1853.
- ^ Carlos Herrero, and Elena González-Cascos, Philip Perry’s Sketch of the Ancient British History: A Critical Edition
- ^ Adomnan of Iona. Life of St Columba. Penguin Books, 1995
- ^ Munro, D. (1818) Description of the Western Isles of Scotland called Hybrides, by Mr. Donald Munro, High Dean of the Isles, who travelled through most of them in the year 1549. Miscellanea Scotica, 2. Quoted in Banks (1977) p. 190
- ^ Buttle, Cameron (5 June 2019). "The RAF weathermen who helped save D-Day". BBC Scotland. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- ^ "RAF Tiree airfield". Control Towers. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
- ^ "Tiree and Coll Scotland sheet 42 and 51W (Solid and Drift Geology)". BGS large map images. British Geological Survey. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ^ "Onshore Geoindex". British Geological Survey. British Geological Survey. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ^ "Search". Geograph Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 3 September 2021. put the 1st part of the name into the "near" box
- ^ "Great Britain A-Z Road Atlas 2022". Collins. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- ^ "Summer Timetables: Coll and Tiree". Caledonian MacBrayne. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
- ^ "Summer Timetable 2012". Hebridean Air Services. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
- UKMO. 18 December 2010.
- ^ "Tiree 1981–2010 averages". UKMO. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
- ^ "Extremes for Tiree". KNMI.
- ^ a b Isle of Tiree – Sunshine Island
- ^ "Tiree renewable energy". Tiree Renewable Energy. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
- ^ "Argyll Array Windfarm". ScottishPower Renewables. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
- ^ THE 20 MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLANDS TO VISIT IN SCOTLAND
- ^ "The GMFCo Tiree Wave Classic" Archived 2012-02-26 at the Wayback Machine. tireewaveclassic.com. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
- ^ "The Professional Windsurfing Association World Cup 2007"[permanent dead link] STV. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
- ^ "Tiree – the outermost Inner-Hebride". Edinburgh University Windsurfing and Surfing Club. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
- ^ General Register Office for Scotland (28 November 2003) Scotland's Census 2001 – Occasional Paper No 10: Statistics for Inhabited Islands. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ^ "Scotland's 2011 census: Island living on the rise". BBC News. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
- ^ "Tyree Gin". thescottishginsociety.com/. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
- ^ A New Chapter in Scottish Gin
- ^ The story behind the Isle of Tiree’s first legal distillery in over 200 years
- ^ Kurt C. Duwe (September 2006), "Muile, Tiriodh & Colla (Mull, Tiree & Coll)" (PDF), Gàidhlig (Scottish Gaelic) Local Studies, vol. 20 (2nd ed.), Linguae Celticae, retrieved 15 April 2012
- ^ Scotland's Census Results Online (SCROL), 2011 Census of Scotland, Table UV12.
- ^ 2011 Census of Scotland, Table KS206SC & Table QS211SC.
- Oban Times. Archived from the originalon 11 September 2011.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76kHRG96ciE DarK Island with lyrics
- ^ About Page for Skipinnish
- ^ "Tiree Songbook Launches". The Oban Times. 7 December 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
- ^ "John Maclean | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
- ^ Edited by Natasha Sumner and Aidan Doyle (2020), North American Gaels: Speech, Song, and Story in the Diaspora, McGill-Queen's University Press. Page 282.
Further reading
- Banks, Noel, (1977) Six Inner Hebrides. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-7368-4
- Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
56°31′N 6°49′W / 56.517°N 6.817°W
External links
- Map sources for Tiree
- Community Website – The Tiree Community Website
- Summit of Tiree – a computer-generated panorama
- Gordon Scott's website keeps people up to date with Tiree events
- Tiree Images Archived 9 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine – large collection of photographs
- Vaul Golf Club – Golf on Isle of Tiree
- Tiree Baptist Church – Tiree Baptist Church
- Tiree Wave Classic – The Tiree Wave Classic
- An Tirisdeach – The Island's local paper
- Tiree Music Festival – The Island's Annual Music Festival
- Tiree Community Development Trust - Community Led Development Organisation
- An Iodhlann - Tiree's Historical Centre - Museum & Archive
- Tyree Gin - Tyree Gin
- Tiree Tea - Tiree Tea