Iona is an island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there are other buildings on the island. Iona Abbey was a centre of Gaelic monasticism for three centuries, and is today known for its relative tranquility and natural environment as well as for its importance to pilgrims.Murray (1966) p 81 It is a tourist destination and a place for spiritual retreats. Its modern Scottish Gaelic name means "Iona of (Saint) Columba" (formerly anglicised as "Icolmkill").
Iona's resident population is about 180. In March 1980, the Hugh Fraser Foundation donated much of the main island (and its off-lying islands) to the current owner, the National Trust for Scotland. The abbey and some church buildings are owned by the Iona Cathedral Trust.
One publication, describing the religious significance of the island, says that the island is "known as the birthplace of Celtic Christianity in Scotland,” and notes that “St Columba came here in the year 563 to establish the Abbey, which still stands".
Etymology Because the Hebrides have been successively occupied by speakers of several languages since the Iron Age, many of its islands' names have more than one possible meaning.Haswell-Smith (2004) p. xiii Nonetheless, few, if any, have accumulated as many different names over the centuries as the island now known in English as "Iona".
The place-name scholar William J. Watson has shown that the earliest recorded names of the island meant something like "yew-place".Watson, Celtic Place-Names, pp. 87-90 The element Ivo-, denoting "yew", occurs in inscriptions in the ogham alphabet (Iva-cattos [genitive], Iva-geni [genitive]) and in Gaulish names (Ivo-rix, Ivo-magus); it may also be the basis of early Gaelic names like Eógan (ogham: Ivo-genos).Watson, Celtic Place-Names, pp. 87-88.The name of the Gaulish god Ivavos, which has a similar origin, is associated with the healing-well of Evaux in France. The island's name may also be related to the name of a mythological figure, Fer hÍ mac Eogabail, the foster-son of Manannán, whose forename meaning "man of the yew".Watson, Celtic Place-Names, pp. 88-89
Coates (2006) disputes the "yew" interpretation due to a lack of archeological evidence for yew on the island. Coates instead compares the Punic term ’y ("island, isolated place").
Mac an Tàilleir (2003) has analyzed the more recent Gaelic names of Ì,For etymology of Ì and Latinised derivative Iona, see Watson (2004), pp. 87-90. Ì Chaluim Chille and Eilean Idhe. He notes that the name Ì was "generally lengthened to avoid confusion" to Ì Chaluim Chille, which means "Calum's Iona" or "island of Calum's monastery". ("Calum"'s latinized form is "Columba".)Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 67.Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 80. This confusion would have arisen because ì, the original name of the island, would have been confused with the now-obsolete Gaelic noun ì, meaning "island", which was derived from the Old Norse word for island (ey).Dwelly (1911) Eilean Idhe means "the isle of Iona", also known as Ì nam ban bòidheach ("the isle of beautiful women"). The modern English name comes from yet another variant, Ioua, which arose either from Adomnán's 7th-century attempt to make the Gaelic name fit Latin grammar, or spontaneously, as a derivative of Ivova ("yew place").Watson, Celtic Place-Names, p. 88 The change in the island's name from Ioua''' to Iona, which is attested from c. 1274, resulted from a transcription error due to the similarity of "n" and "u" in Insular Minuscule script.Fraser (2009) p. 71.
Despite the continuity of forms in Gaelic from the pre-Norse to the post-Norse era, Haswell-Smith (2004) speculates that the island's name may be connected with the Norse word Hiōe, meaning "island of the den of the brown bear". The medieval English-language version of the name was "Icolmkill" (and variants thereof).
+Table of earliest forms (incomplete) Form Source Language NotesIoua insulaAdomnán's Vita Columbae (c. 700)LatinAdomnán calls Eigg Egea insula and Skye Scia insulaHii, HyBede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis AnglorumLatinEoa, Iae, Ie,I Cholaim ChilleAnnals of UlsterIrish, LatinU563 Nauigatio Coluim Chille ad Insolam Iae"The journey of St Columba to Í"U641 Naufragium scaphe familie Iae."Shipwreck of a vessel of the community of Í."U716 Pascha comotatur in Eoa ciuitate"The date of Easter is changed in the monastery of Í")original (translation)U717 Expulsio familie Ie"The expulsion of the community of Í"U778 Niall...a nn-I Cholaim Chille"Niall... in Í Cholaim Chille"Hi, EuLebor na hUidreIrishHi con ilur a mmartra"Hi with the multitude of its relics" in tan conucaib a chill hi tosuċ .i. Eu"the time he raised his church first i.e. Eu"EoWalafrid Strabo (c. 831)LatinInsula Pictorum quaedam monstratur in oris fluctivago suspensa salo, cognominis Eo"On the coasts of the Picts is pointed out an isle poised in the rolling sea, whose name is Eo"Watson, Celtic Place-Names, p. 88, n. 2Euea insulaLife of St Cathróe of MetzLatin
Folk etymology Murray (1966) claims that the "ancient" Gaelic name was Innis nan Druinich ("the isle of Druidic hermits"), but there is no evidence for the "ancient" use of such a name before the 19th century when it appears in the New Statistical Account and it may arise from a misunderstanding of the name Cladh nan Druineach, which means 'burial ground of the embroideresses or artificers' – a cemetery on the east shore of the island. He also repeats a Gaelic story (which he admits is apocryphal) that as Columba's coracle first drew close to the island one of his companions cried out "Chì mi i" meaning "I see her" and that Columba's response was "Henceforth we shall call her Ì".Murray (1966) p. 81.
Geology The geology of Iona is quite complex given the island's size and is quite distinct from that of nearby Mull. About half of the island's bedrock is Scourian gneiss assigned to the Lewisian complex and dating from the Archaean eon making it some of the oldest rock in Britain and indeed Europe. Closely associated with these gneisses are mylonite and meta-anorthosite and melagabbro. Along the eastern coast facing Mull are steeply dipping Neoproterozoic age metaconglomerates, metasandstones, metamudstones and hornfelsed metasiltstones ascribed to the Iona Group, described traditionally as Torridonian. In the southwest and on parts of the west coast are pelites and semipelites of Archaean to Proterozoic age. There are small outcrops of Silurian age pink granite on southeastern beaches, similar to those of the Ross of Mull pluton cross the sound to the east. Numerous geological faults cross the island, many in an E-W or NW-SE alignment. Devonian aged microdiorite dykes are found in places and some of these are themselves cut by Palaeocene age camptonite and monchiquite dykes ascribed to the "Iona-Ross of Mull dyke swarm". More recent sedimentary deposits of Quaternary age include both present day beach deposits and raised marine deposits around Iona as well as some restricted areas of blown sand.
Geography
Iona lies about from the coast of Mull. It is about wide and long with a resident population of 125. Like other places swept by ocean breezes, there are few trees; most of them are near the parish church.
Iona's highest point is Dùn Ì, . Iona's geographical features include the Bay at the Back of the Ocean and Càrn Cùl ri Éirinn (the Hill/Cairn of [turning the] Back to Ireland), said to be adjacent to the beach where Columba first landed.
The main settlement, located at St Ronan's Bay on the eastern side of the island, is called Baile Mòr and is also known locally as "The Village". The primary school, post office, the island's two hotels, the Bishop's House and the ruins of the Nunnery are here. The Abbey and MacLeod Centre are a short walk to the north.Murray (1966) pp. 82-83. Port Bàn (white port) beach on the west side of the island is home to the Iona Beach Party."It's Been Emotional" ionabeachparty.co.uk. Retrieved 8 July 2009.
There are numerous offshore islets and skerries: Eilean Annraidh (island of storm) and Eilean Chalbha (calf island) to the north, Rèidh Eilean and Stac MhicMhurchaidh to the west and Eilean Mùsimul (mouse holm island) and Soa Island to the south are amongst the largest. The steamer Cathcart Park carrying a cargo of salt from Runcorn to Wick ran aground on Soa on 15 April 1912, the crew of 11 escaping in two boats."Cathcart Park: Soa Island, Passage Of Tiree" RCAHMS. Retrieved 13 July 2009.The record is tentative, the press cutting the record refers to identifying "'Sheep Island', one of the Torran Rocks near Iona" but there is no other obvious contender.
Subdivision On a map of 1874, the following territorial subdivision is indicated (from north to south):John Bartholomew: Modern Hy (1874) Ceann Tsear (East Head); Sliabh Meanach (Middle Mountain); Machar (Low-lying Grassy Plain); Sliginach (Shelly Area); Sliabh Siar (Rear Mountain); Staonaig (Sloping Ground).
History Dál Riata
In the early Historic Period Iona lay within the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata, in the region controlled by the Cenél Loairn (i.e. Lorn, as it was then). The island was the site of a highly important monastery (see Iona Abbey) during the Early Middle Ages. The monastery was founded in 563 by the monk Columba, also known as Colm Cille, who sailed here from Ireland to live the monastic life. Much later legends (a thousand years later, and without any good evidence) said that he had been exiled from his native Ireland as a result of his involvement in the Battle of Cul Dreimhne.Admonan The Life of St. Columba, Founder of Hy ed. William Reeves (1857) University Press for the Irish Archaeological and Celtic Society. pp. 248-250. Columba and twelve companions went into exile on Iona and founded a monastery there. The monastery was hugely successful and may have played a role in the conversion to Christianity of the Picts and Gaels of present-day Scotland in the late 6th century, and was certainly central to the conversion of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria in 635. Many satellite institutions were founded, and Iona became the centre of one of the most important monastic systems in Great Britain and Ireland.Koch, pp. 657-658.
By the last quarter of the sixth century Iona lacked adequate woodland resources to meet the needs of the Columban community and the monks were obliged to source the stakes and withies for wattle to build a guest house from a layman called Findchan, who may have been based on the Ross of Mull.Oram, Richard D. (2025). A Land Won from Waste: Scotland AD 400 - 1400, John Donald, Edinburgh, pp. 84 & 85,
Iona became a renowned centre of learning, and its scriptorium produced highly important documents, probably including the original texts of the Iona Chronicle, thought to be the source for the early Irish annals. The monastery is often associated with the distinctive practices and traditions known as Celtic Christianity. In particular, Iona was a major supporter of the "Celtic" system for calculating the date of Easter at the time of the Easter controversy, which pitted supporters of the Celtic system against those favoring the "Roman" system used elsewhere in Western Christianity. The controversy weakened Iona's ties to Northumbria, which adopted the Roman system at the Synod of Whitby in 664, and to Pictland, which followed suit in the early 8th century. Iona itself did not adopt the Roman system until 715, according to the Anglo-Saxon historian Bede. Iona's prominence was further diminished over the next centuries as a result of Viking raids and the rise of other powerful monasteries in the system, such as the Abbey of Kells.