Saint Columba's tears on Iona

On the second day of our trip to the Ross of Mull and Iona we awoke  to a splendid morning at Fidden. Actually we had been awake for some time. There was an order to the ornithological choir that entertained us through the night. The drumming of the snipe had started before we went to bed only to be followed by the rasping repetitive call of the corncrake which was interrupted only by the equally repetitive call of the cuckoo at first light but thankfully dawn brought the more subtle calls of the meadow pipit and skylark. It was wonderful.

 We set off across the Sound of Iona with the Abbey of Iona on the horizon. Iona is a place of pilgrimage for hundreds of thousands each year. Most pilgrims think that it was St Columba (521 to 597) who first brought Christianity to Scotland when he landed in Iona from Ireland in 563. However, this is nonsense as the earliest Christian relic in Scotland is the Latinus stone at Whithorn in Galloway. It dates from about AD 450. Whithorn was established by St Ninian (c.360-c.432) in 395 which predates the introduction of Christianity to Ireland. Columba had been effectively exiled to Scotland after copying St Finian's Latin bible and starting the Battle of Cúl Dreimhne which resulted in  the death of 3,000 people. However, the religious settlement founded by St Columba on Iona went on to serve as a beacon of Christian learning and spread enlightenment through both Scotland and Ireland. Indeed the famous Book of Kells in Ireland which is described as "Ireland's greatest cultural treasure and the world's most famous medieval manuscript" was actually made in here in Iona in Scotland!

Starting in 795 Iona suffered repeated sacking by the Vikings and some monks escaped with the Book to Kells in Ireland. What is less well known is that in 1204 the bishops of Tir Eogain and Tir Connail and the abbots of Derry and Armagh sacked Iona and razed it to the ground as they resented its continuing influence over the church in Ireland and its popularity as a religious shrine for pilgrims. They wanted the pilgrim business for their own shrines so they then spread propaganda that Iona had been a simple satellite of the church in Ireland and this misconception has lasted down the centuries, particularly in Ireland.

Whatever your reasons for visiting Iona you will fall in love with the place as soon as you set foot there. We landed on on this glorious shell sand beach on the SE coast.

We could not resist beachcombing and I was delighted to find two cowries and a small pebble called a "St Columba's tear". It is green translucent serpentine marble. They are quite hard to find these days as every visitor to Iona wants to find a piece.

Ian has the best eye for cowries I know...this was his haul!

It is not just the Iona marble that is green...

...the seas round the dark rocks of Lewisian gneiss are also...

...luminous green.

This pink boulder of Ross of Mull granite is an erratic, brought across the Sound of Iona by ice during the Ice Age. This is not the only place we have encountered an erratic from the Ross of Mull. We recently found one on the Mull of Ross on the Solway coast.

Thy dark grey of the Lewisian gneiss on the...

...south coast of Iona is quite a contrast to the pink granite of the Ross of Mull which is less than 3 miles to the east. We came to a gully where lighter metamorphic rocks have been forced through the surrounding gneiss. This is the Iona marble which was quarried and used in the building of churches across the world. Rusting machinery can still be seen above the rocks.

The complex and varied geology of Scotland...

...is one of the reasons it is so good for sea kayaking.

We had now reached the southernmost point of Iona at Rubha na Carraig-geire (headland of the sharp pinnacle) where...

...we turned to the west and came upon Port na Curaich (port of the coracle). This is where St Columba is reputed to have first set foot with 12 companions on Iona in 563. He reputedly climbed a knoll and looked back towards Ireland. When he had reassured himself that Ireland could no longer be seen he turned his back to that land and settled on Iona where he would atone for his previous sins with a life of piety.

The foundation of St Oran's Chapel and voices of ancient saints

The oldest building in the grounds of Iona Abbey is St Oran’s chapel. It stands on the site of Reilig Odhrain, or St Oran’s shrine, around which is an ancient burial ground containing the remains of many kings from Scotland Norway, Ireland, Northumberland and Man. The early Christians in Ireland and Scotland did not practice their religion in the same way as that of Rome. Indeed Iona had been a sacred place to the Druids for generations before St Columba’s time. There is a grim legend attatched to the building of the original Reilig Odhrain which hints that there was perhaps a long and drawn out transition between Druidism and Christianity.

The following account was quoted by Macleod Banks in 1931. Her source was a Dr Maclagan of Clachan, Kintyre in 1894.

“When this chapel was in the course of erection, no matter what they would do or how well the work was done, every morning all that had been built the previous day was found thrown down. At last a voice came to St Columba, telling him that the only way to get the chapel completed was to bury a living man under its foundation; without that, the voice said the chapel could never be finished. Columba decided that no one could be better to put under the foundation than his own son, and accordingly got him buried at once and proceeded to build on his top. One day, however, Odhran raised his head, and pushing it through the wall, said, - “There is no Hell as you suppose, nor Heaven that people talk about.” This alarmed St Columba, in case Odhran should communicate more secrets of the other world, and he had the body removed at once and buried in consecrated ground, and St Odhran never again troubled anyone.”

We looked through the door into the darkness within. Only the glint of a gilded Celtic cross on the altar was visible. A light breeze rustled round the door and we thought we heard whispering voices echoing round the dark walls of the chapel's interior. It sounded like it might have been only a house martin's nest but we decided that we did not want to hear what St Oran might have to say to us. We chose not enter and instead paid our respects to St Oran in the light of the summer evening. Then, in the gathering dusk, we left Reilig Odhrain for Martyr's Bay where our sea kayaks lay waiting to carry us back across the Sound of Iona. Our visit had been undistubed by the sound of the voices of either day visitors or ancient saints.

19/07/2007

A Hebridean Version of Colum Cille and St. Oran [Mrs.] M. Macleod Banks, Folklore, Vol. 42, No. 1 (Mar. 31, 1931), pp. 55-60

Hard rock, hard saints, rotting corpses, banished cows (and women) at the Ross of Mull.

On our return from Market Bay on the north coast of the Ross of Mull the wind got up and in truth it was a bit of hard work to get back into the shelter of...

 ...the islands at the north end of the Sound of Iona. From here we entered...

 ...the Bull's Hole a safe but tidal anchorage between the Ross of Mull on the left and Eilean nam Ban on the right. Today the Bull's Hole is the anchorage for many of the tour boats which operate from the Sound of Mull to Staffa and the Treshnish Isles.

Donald had waited for us on a little beach at the  NE of the rocky Eilean nam Ban. Although St. Columba was beatified by the church he was not exactly a saint in terms of modern understanding of the word. Not only had he caused the death of death of 3,000 people (men)  after starting the Battle of Cúl Dreimhne he fled to Iona then banished all cows (and women) to this barren and rocky isle.

The Bull's Hole can be quite a brisk paddle if the tide is running strongly but we only had a slight current to contend with and soon arrived at Tormore Pier at the south end of the Hole. It was here that blocks of pink Ross of Mull granite were exported to build parts of Iona Abbey, University of Glasgow, Ardnamurchan, Heskier. Skerryvore and Dubh Artach lighthouses, the Jamaica and Kirklee bridges in Glasgow and Blackfriars, Holburn Viaduct and Westminster bridges in London, docks in Glasgow Liverpool and New York not to mention buildings and monuments further afield in New Zealand and USA. A tramway leads up from the pier to the quarry at Torr Mor.

Above Alan's head at the base of some low cliffs you can see the dark opening of Uamh nan Marbh, the cave of the dead, where coffins were left before final transport to Iona for burial. The cave is really only big enough for one coffin and has a ventilation window at the back.This was probably quite important as corpses were brought here from all over Scotland and some would undoubtedly be in an advanced state of decomposition by the time they got here.

 Due to the fresh N wind and the building N going tide in the Sound of Iona we decided to leave exploring the Abbey until the following morning but Donald nipped across the Sound of Iona in his F-RIB as we...

 ...continued south to Fionnphort and the ferry terminal. The ferry MV Loch Buie was just about to leave and had already lifted its ramp when two young women tottering on high heels and pulling heavy suitcases on wheels made their way slowly down the slip. The captain clearly thought more of women than St. Columba and lowered the ramp while they sauntered (rather too slowly I thought) down the slipway. Ian gave the captain a quick call on the VHF and he replied that we had plenty of time to cross in front of him before he left.

From Fionnphort  to Fidden the coastline consists of a delightful series of pink granite tors and offshore islands and reefs. Alan enjoyed a try of my Greenland paddle and...

...before long we could see Fidden farm at the end of our long day.

Iona Abbey

The current day Iona Abbey is the reconstructed ruin of a Benedictine Abbey which dates from about the 13th century. St Columba had established a monastery here in 563AD but his buildings were of wood. At one time the monastery was one of the largest Christian centres in Europe. The Abbey was sacked in 1560 during the Scottish Reformation. It lay derelict until its restoration started in 1938.

St Columba was not the first saint to bring Christianity to Scotland. St Ninian established a mission at Whithorn in Galloway in 397AD.

The magnificent carved Celtic cross at the Abbey door is a replica of St John's cross, the broken remains of which are displayed in the Infirmary Museum at the rear of the Abbey.


Nearby St Martin's cross still stands. It dates from the eighth century.


By arriving late in the day by sea kayak, we were the only visitors . As we wandered round these ancient stones we experienced the peace of Iona.

19/07/2007

Possibly the base for a standing cross.

We made our way down from the summit ridge of Eileach an Naoimh to the site of what is reputed to be the site of  the grave of Eithne who was the mother of St Columba.

St Columba had followed St Brendan from Ireland, bringing Christianity to the west coast of Scotland. He founded a monastery and church on Iona. However, it thought that he and the monks came to Eileach an Naoimh on religious retreats. They knew the island as Hinba.

My (very) small part in The Great British Story.

Tonight, the BBC broadcast the first episode of The Great British Story: a People's History. The first programme, Britannia, dealt with the period following the fall of the Roman Empire. Throughout the Dark Ages, civilisation clung on in the western fringes of Britain as the east coast was invaded by the Anglo Saxons. The programme followed the voyage of St Columba from Ireland to Iona off the west coast of Mull. He brought Christianity into the northern land of the Picts (who had never been part of the Roman Britain having been isolated  by first the Antonine, then the Hadrian walls).

St Columba had founded religious settlements on many of the islands he stopped at on his route north. The programme showed the ancient Celtic Christian carved stone crosses that still stand on the islands of Islay and Oronsay. Standing at the foot of these wonderful crosses, which are worn by the gales of 1,200 winters, is a humbling experience.

The above photo is of one of the crosses of Oronsay. It was shown for all of several seconds. I was quite pleased. It was one of mine!

Mistaken location of St Fionnlugh's chapel, Cara?

Having arrived on Cara a day early we thought we might have a long lie but...

...our new neighbours had other ideas and low flying Canada geese can express their ideas very vocally. They started about 5am...

 The early summer flora was more laid back...

 ...and we set off to explore Cara on a path through the bluebells which...

 ...led to Cara House.

 First we inspected the old building to the NE of the house and found that the mortar that bound its ancient stones together...

 ...had been made from sand from the shore. Sea shells were clearly visible. This building looks very much like the mediaevel chapel of Cara. The chapel was dedicated to St Fionnlugh who was a contemporary of St Columba. The OS map, Hamish Haswell-Smith and Canmore all give the location of the chapel as a pile of stones to the SW of Cara house. However, the photograph in Canmore is quite clearly of this building by the house. Also Old Statistical Account (1793) description (quoted by Haswell-Smith) describes lancet-shaped windows with splayed inshots in the east ends of the side walls, which this building has....

Looking from the entrance in the south wall to the splayed inshot window at the east end of the north wall.

The chapel was also latterly used as a kitchen for Cara house and the pile of stones on the OS map is rather far to be convenient for the house. Also, although the pin on the Canmore map points to the OS "chapel", the 10 digit OS grid given by Canmore points to this building.

The corner of the sheep pen marked on the O map as the chapel.

Haswell-Smith himself says that the the OS "chapel" could easily be mistaken for a sheep pen. I think the stone structure to the SW of Cara House was a sheep pen. It measures some 30 yards by 4.5 yards and according to the OSA the chapel measured some 9yards by 6yards which are the measurements of the building on the NE side of the house. So based on the description of the Old Statistical Account of Scotland, the building close to the NE of the house was the chapel.

Cara House was built in 1733 by the Macdonalds of Largie for their tacksman. It was last used by a resident on Cara in the 1940's when the tennant farmer left.

It is rather grim looking and I am not surprised that the spirit of The Brownie has taken up residence there.

Despite The Brownie's presence Cara House was renovated as a holiday home in the 1990's.

We left Cara House to the hopefully sleeping Brownie and pressed on through the bluebells.

The crosses of Oronsay

Walking up to Oronsay House, I asked Mrs Colburn if it was easy to get to the Oronsay Cross.

"You will find two crosses very easily, they are just beside the Priory."

"Oh, I had wondered if we might have passed the old stump of a cross down by the dunes." I replied.

Without a hint of irritation, Mrs Colburn quietly answered "That 'old stump' is the memorial I erected to the memory of my dear husband in the Millennium year."

Oops! "Sorry!"

She continued "I do hope you enjoy your visit, it's such a nice day and there have been so few like it this year."


The Great Cross of Oronsay stands inconspicuously against the farm buildings at the back of the Priory graveyard. It is finely carved on both sides and is thought to have come from Iona.


It has suffered from the weathering of five centuries but this drawing, which was published in Thomas Pennent's, A Tour in Scotland and Voyage to the Hebrides, 1772, shows the west face in detail, when it had been standing for only 272 years. The inscription reads:

+HEC EST CR/UX COLINI F/ILII CRISTI/NI M(EIC)DUFACI
'This is the cross of Colinus (Malcolm), son of Christinus MacDuffie

It was carved for Malcolm MacDuffie, the Lord of Colonsay, some time after 1472 and erected before 1500.


This is the beautiful east face of the Oronsay Cross. Next to the Kildalton Cross, on nearby Islay, it is one of the finest crosses in all of SW Scotland.


Another interesting, but older, cross stands on a little knoll to the east of the Priory. In 1881 just the shaft was standing and the present head of the cross lay on the ground beside it. There is some doubt as to whether this is the original head but it has now been replaced atop the shaft.


It is decorated by a rather portly and smiling figure.


From the grounds of the Priory, you can look out over the sea to Jura, Islay and Ireland. It is said that St Columba, who had been banished from Ireland, landed here but proceeded to Iona because he could still see his homeland from Oronsay.