Tiree
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Template:Infobox Scottish island
Tiree (Template:IPAc-en; Template:Langx, Template:IPA) is the most westerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The low-lying island, southwest of Coll, has an area of Template:Convert and a population of around 700.
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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Tiree is a popular windsurfing venue; it is sometimes referred to as the "Hawaii of the north".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In most years, the Tiree World Classic surfing event is held here.<ref>The perfect way to go island hopping in the Hebrides</ref> People native to the island are known as Tirisdich.
History
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Tiree is known for the 1st-century-AD [[Dun Mor Vaul|Template:Lang broch]], for the prehistoric carved Ringing Stone and for the birds of the Template:Lang headland.
Template:Lang, abbot of Iona Abbey 679–704, recorded several stories relating to St Columba and the island of Tiree.
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 Template:Lang 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 Template:Lang 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, Template:Lang 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 Template:Lang. 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.<ref>Thomas Innes, The Civil and Ecclesiastical History of Scotland, Aberdeen, 1853.</ref><ref>Carlos Herrero, and Elena González-Cascos, Philip Perry’s Sketch of the Ancient British History: A Critical Edition</ref>
In another story, Template:Lang claimed that Template:Lang 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. Template:Lang also records there being more than one monastery on Tiree in that time period, and that Template:Lang had been abbot of one of these monasteries.<ref>Adomnan of Iona. Life of St Columba. Penguin Books, 1995</ref>
Writing in 1549, Donald Munro, High Dean of the Isles wrote of "Thiridh" that it was: Template:Lang.<ref group="Note">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."<ref>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</ref></ref>
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 Template:Lang, '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, southeast 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, such as St Patrick's Chapel, Template:Lang (NL 938 401) and Soroby (NL 984 416).
Skerryvore lighthouse, Template:Convert south west of Tiree, was built with some difficulty between 1838 and 1844 by Alan Stevenson.
A large Royal Air Force station was built on Tiree during World War II. The weather observations from squadron 518 collected helped inform Group Captain James Martin Stagg's recommendation to General Dwight D. Eisenhower to delay the launching of the D-Day invasion of Normandy from 5 June to 6 June 1944.<ref name="BBC">Template:Cite news</ref> The airfield became Tiree Airport in 1947.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There was also an RAF Chain Home radar station at Kilkenneth and an RAF Chain Home Low radar station at Template:Lang. 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 Template:Lang.
Geology
Tiree is formed largely from gneiss forming the Lewisian complex, a suite of metamorphic rocks of Archaean to early Proterozoic age. Granite of Archaean age is found locally. Igneous intrusions of dolerite, felsite, lamprophyre and diorite of Palaeozoic age are encountered in places.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The eastern part of the island is traversed by numerous normal faults most of which run broadly northwest–southeast. Quaternary sediments include raised beach deposits which are extensive across the island and incorporate areas of alluvium locally. There are considerable areas of blown sand in the west and behind the major bays elsewhere.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Geography
The main village on Tiree is Scarinish. Mannal is a coastal hamlet in the south west.
The highest point on Tiree is Ben Hynish, to the south of the island, which rises to Template:Convert.
Transport
Caledonian MacBrayne operate a ferry to Scarinish. The daily crossing from Oban on the mainland takes four hours.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.
Tiree Airport is located at Crossapol. Loganair provide daily flights to Glasgow International and Hebridean Air Services fly to Coll and Oban.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Roads on Tiree, in common with many other small islands, are nearly all single-track roads. There are passing places, locally called 'pockets' or 'passing places', where cars must wait to enable oncoming traffic to pass or overtake. Template:S-rail-start Template:S-rail Template:Rail line Template:Rail line Template:S-end
Climate
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As with the rest of western Scotland, Tiree experiences a maritime climate (Cfb) with cool summers and mild winters. Despite its being on the same latitude as Labrador on the opposite side of the Atlantic Ocean, snow and frost are rare, and short-lived when they occur. Weather data is collected at the island's airport. The lowest temperature to occur in recent years was Template:Convert during the cold spell of December 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The extreme maritime moderation contributes to summer temperatures that are far below even coastal locations in continental Europe on similar latitudes. Winter temperatures are similar to those of coastal southern England.
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".<ref name="Isle of Tiree – Sunshine Island">Isle of Tiree – Sunshine Island</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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".<ref>THE 20 MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLANDS TO VISIT IN SCOTLAND</ref> A full dozen blackhouses, thatched with local marram grass, can still be found on Tiree.<ref name="Isle of Tiree – Sunshine Island"/>
Tiree is popular for windsurfing. The island regularly hosts the Tiree Wave Classic<ref>"The GMFCo Tiree Wave Classic" Template:Webarchive. tireewaveclassic.com. Retrieved 28 August 2009.</ref> and was the venue for the Corona Extra PWA World Cup Finals in 2007.<ref>"The Professional Windsurfing Association World Cup 2007"Template:Dead link STV. Retrieved 28 August 2009.</ref> It is visited regularly by surfing clubs, including Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow university clubs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There is a radar station which tracks civil aircraft.
The island's population was 653 as recorded by the 2011 census<ref name=NRS>Template:NRS1C</ref> a drop of over 15% since 2001, when there were 770 usual residents.<ref>Template:GRO10</ref> During the same period Scottish island populations as a whole grew by 4% to 103,702.<ref>"Scotland's 2011 census: Island living on the rise". BBC News. Retrieved 18 August 2013.</ref> However, in the 2022 census the resident numbers had increased again to 700.<ref name=RESAS/>
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, Template:As of, is producing Tyree Gin.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The distillery has plans to make Scotch Whisky.Template: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 did not mention a plan to make whisky on the island.<ref>A New Chapter in Scottish Gin</ref> In 2023 it was announced that the distillery had begun production of a Tiree whisky.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The first release of single malt whisky was made available for purchase in January 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>The story behind the Isle of Tiree’s first legal distillery in over 200 years</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> 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.<ref>Scotland's Census Results Online (SCROL), 2011 Census of Scotland, Table UV12.</ref><ref>2011 Census of Scotland, Table KS206SC & Table QS211SC.</ref>
Since 2010, the island has hosted the annual Tiree Music Festival, held in Crossapol in the fields beside the community hall 'An Talla'.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76kHRG96ciE DarK Island with lyrics</ref> 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.<ref>About Page for Skipinnish</ref> Tiree is also mentioned in the song “Calls to Tiree” by Hamish Hawk.
The Tiree Songbook is an album of songs from Template:Lang, a 20th-century book collecting songs from Tiree, and new compositions about the island.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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."<ref>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.</ref>
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
- Banks, Noel, (1977) Six Inner Hebrides. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. Template:ISBN
- Template:Haswell-Smith
External links
Template:Oscoor gbx Template:Commons category Template:Wikivoyage
- Community Website – The Tiree Community Website
- Summit of Tiree Template:Webarchive – a computer-generated panorama
- Gordon Scott's website keeps people up to date with Tiree events
- Template:Usurped – large collection of photographs
- Vaul Golf Club – Golf on Isle of Tiree
- Tiree Baptist Church Template:Webarchive – Tiree Baptist Church
- Tiree Wave Classic – The Tiree Wave Classic
- Template:Usurped – 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
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