Tiree

Infobox Scottish island |


GridReference=NL999458
celtic name=Tiriodh
norse name=Tyrvist
meaning of name=Gaelic for 'land of corn'
area=7,834 ha
area rank=17
highest elevation=Ben Hynish 141 m
Population=770
population rank=17
main settlement=Scarinish
island group=Mull
local authority=Argyll and Bute
references= [2001 UK Census per List of islands of Scotland] [Haswell-Smith, Hamish. (2004) "The Scottish Islands". Edinburgh. Canongate.] [ [http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/ Ordnance Survey] ] [ 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]

Tiree (Scottish Gaelic: Tiriodh) is an island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides southwest of Coll. It has an area of 30 square miles and a population of around 800 people. The low-lying island is highly fertile, and crofting, alongside tourism, are the main sources of employment for the islanders.

Geography

The main village on Tiree is Scarinish, from which ferries sail to Arinagour on Coll and to Oban on the mainland. There is also an airport in 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 feet).

History

Tiree is known for the first century BC Dùn Mòr broch, for the prehistoric carved Ringing Stone and for the birds of the Ceann a' Mhara headland. Tiree is also popular for windsurfing, having hosted the [http://www.scotlandontv.tv/scotland_on_tv/video.html?vxSiteId=60fdd544-9c52-4e17-be7e-57a2a2d76992&vxChannel=Advent%20Water&vxClipId=1380_SMG1277&vxBitrate=300 Corona Extra PWA World Cup Finals in 2007] , and has a radar station which tracks civil aircraft.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 forty-five 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 Christian 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).

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.

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 [ [http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/library/occpapers/occasional-paper-10.html 2001 Census] ] ) which is high for the Inner Hebrides.

References

External links

* [http://www.isleoftiree.com Community Website] - The Tiree Community Website
* [http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/ISL/Tiree_Hynish.gifSummit of Tiree] - a computer-generated panorama
* [http://tiree.blogspot.com Gordon Scott's] website keeps people up to date with Tiree events
* [http://www.tireeimages.com Tiree Images] - large collection of photographs
* [http://www.scottishgolfcourses.com/southwest/vaul.html Vaul Golf Club] - Golf on Isle of Tiree