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Tiree

Coordinates: 56°31′N 6°49′W / 56.517°N 6.817°W / 56.517; -6.817
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Tiree
Scottish Gaelic nameTiriodhⓘ
Old Norse nameTyrvist
Meaning of nameGaelic for 'land of corn'
Location
OS grid referenceNL999458
Physical geography
Island groupMull
Area7,834 hectares (30.2 sq mi)
Area rank17 [1]
Highest elevationBen Hynish 141 metres (463 ft)
Administration
Council areaArgyll and Bute
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Demographics
Population770
Population rank17 [1]
Largest settlementScarinish
Lymphad
References[2][3][4][5]
Looking west to Balephuil Bay, across the famous Hebridean Machair.

Tiree (Scottish Gaelic: Tiriodh, pronounced [ˈtʲʰiɾʲəɣ]) is an island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides southwest of Coll. It has an area of 7,834 hectares (30.2 sq mi) and a population of around 800. The low-lying island is highly fertile, and crofting, alongside tourism, are the main sources of employment for the islanders. Tiree, along with Colonsay enjoys a relatively high total of hours of sunshine during the late spring and early summer compared to the average for the United Kingdom.[6]

Tiree is the most westerly of the Inner Hebrides.

Geography

The main village on Tiree is Scarinish, from which ferries sail to Arinagour on Coll and to Oban on the mainland, as well as a once weekly trip to Castlebay on Barra. Tiree Airport is located at nearby Crossapol. The island's other settlements include Hynish and Sandaig, both of which boast small museums.

The roads on Tiree, in common with many other small islands, are nearly all single-track roads. There are passing places, locally called 'pockets', where cars must wait to enable oncoming traffic to pass or overtake.

The highest point on Tiree is Ben Hynish to the south of the island which rises to 141 metres (463 ft).

History

Tiree is known for the 1st century BC Dùn Mòr broch, for the prehistoric carved Ringing Stone and for the birds of the Ceann a' Mhara headland.

The Ringing Stone - a Cup and ring mark stone in 1892. [7]

Writing in 1549, Donald Munro, High Dean of the Isles wrote of "Thiridh" that it was: "ane mane laich fertile fruitful cuntrie... All inhabite and manurit with twa paroche kirkis in it, ane fresh water loch with an auld castell. Na cuntrie may be mair fertile of corn and very gude for wild fowls and for fishe, with ane gude heavin for heiland galayis".[Note 1]

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 salt beef in barrels to get better prices. The rest of the island was let to 45 groups of tenants on co-operative joint farms: agricultural organisations probably dating from clan times. Field strips were allocated by annual ballot. Sowing and harvesting dates were decided communally. It is reported that in 1774, Tiresians were 'well-clothed and well-fed, having an abundance of corn and cattle'.

Its name derives from Tir Iodh, 'land of the corn', from the days of the 6th century Celtic missionary and abbot St Columba (d. 597). Tiree provided the monastic community on the island of Iona, south-east of the island, with grain. A number of early monasteries once existed on Tiree itself, and several sites have stone cross-slabs from this period, e.g. St Patrick's Chapel, Ceann a' Mhara (NL 938 401) and Soroby (NL 984 416).

Skerryvore lighthouse lies 12 miles (19 km) south west of Tiree, built with some difficulty between 1838 and 1844 by Alan Stevenson. It is at the centre of a proposed offshore wind farm development.[9]

A large RAF airfield was built on Tiree during World War II; this became the civil airport after the war. There was also an RAF Chain Home radar station at Kilkenneth and an RAF Chain Home Low radar station at Beinn Hough. These were preceded by a temporary RAF Advanced Chain Home radar station at Port Mor and an RAF Chain Home Beam radar station at Barrapol. Post war there was RAF Scarinish ROTOR radar station at Beinn Ghott.

A restored 'spotted house'.
Satellite image of Tiree.
Climate diagram of Tiree

Economy

The fertile machair lands of the island provide for good quality farming and crofting.

Tiree is also popular for windsurfing. The island hosts the Tiree Wave Classic on a regular basis[10] and was the venue for the Corona Extra PWA World Cup Finals in 2007.[11]

There is a radar station which tracks civil aircraft and the local development trust are currently proceeding with a community-owned wind turbine project.[12]

Culture

The island is known for its vernacular architecture, including 'blackhouses' and 'white houses', many retaining their traditional thatched roofs, as well as its unique 'pudding' or 'spotted houses' where only the mortar is painted white.

Tiree has a considerable percentage of Gaelic speakers (48.6% from the 2001 Census[13]) which is high for the Inner Hebrides.

See also

References

General references
  • Banks, Noel, (1977) Six Inner Hebrides. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. ISBN 0715373684
Notes
  1. ^ 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."[8]
Citations
  1. ^ a b Area and population ranks: there are c. 300 islands over 20 ha in extent and 93 permanently inhabited islands were listed in the 2011 census.
  2. ^ 2001 UK Census per List of islands of Scotland
  3. ^ Haswell-Smith, Hamish. (2004) The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh. Canongate.
  4. ^ Ordnance Survey
  5. ^ Anderson, Joseph (Ed.) (1893) Orkneyinga Saga. Translated by Jón A. Hjaltalin & Gilbert Goudie. Edinburgh. James Thin and Mercat Press (1990 reprint). ISBN 0-901824-25-9
  6. ^ Mayes, Julian (1997). "The Highlands and Islands of Scotland". Regional Climates of the British Isles. Dennis (Perback ed.). Routledge. p. 247. ISBN 0415139317. Retrieved 14 September 2009. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ Renewable Communities
  10. ^ "The GMFCo Tiree Wave Classic". tireewaveclassic.com. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
  11. ^ "The Professional Windsurfing Association World Cup 2007" STV. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
  12. ^ "Tiree renewable energy". tireerenewableenergy.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  13. ^ 2001 Census


56°31′N 6°49′W / 56.517°N 6.817°W / 56.517; -6.817

External links

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