Editing Tiree (section)

== History ==
{{More citations needed section|date=December 2018}}
[[File:Tiree ringing stone.jpg|thumb|left|The Ringing Stone – a [[Cup and ring mark]]  stone in 1892.<ref name="Buckley">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.</ref>]]
[[File:Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (1899) (14598330869).jpg|thumb|Map of Tiree (bottom, southwest) and [[Coll]] (top, northeast), 1899.]]
Tiree is known for the 1st-century-AD [[Dun Mor Vaul|{{lang|gd|Dùn Mòr|italic=no|nocat=y}} broch]], for the [[prehistoric]] carved Ringing Stone and for the birds of the {{lang|gd|Ceann a' Mhara|italic=no}} headland.

{{lang|gd|[[Adomnán]]|italic=no}}, 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 {{lang|gd|[[Baithéne mac Brénaind]]|italic=no}} 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 {{lang|gd|Baithene|italic=no}} 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, {{lang|gd|Adomnán|italic=no}} 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 "[[homosexual clergy in the Catholic Church|in a carnal way]]" to {{lang|gd|[[Áed Dub mac Suibni]]|italic=no}}. 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, {{lang|gd|Adomnán|italic=no}} claimed that {{lang|gd|Baithéne mac Brénaind|italic=no}} 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. {{lang|gd|Adomnán|italic=no}} also records there being more than one monastery on Tiree in that time period, and that {{lang|gd|Baithéne mac Brénaind|italic=no}} had been abbot of one of these monasteries.<ref>Adomnan of Iona. Life of St Columba. Penguin Books, 1995</ref>

Writing in 1549, [[Donald Monro (Dean)|Donald Munro]], High Dean of the Isles wrote of "Thiridh" that it was: {{lang|sco|"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"|italic=no}}.{{#tag:ref|English translation from [[Scots language|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 [[Scottish Highlands|Highland]] [[galley]]s."<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>|group="Note"}}

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 {{lang|gd|Tìr Iodh}}, 'land of the corn', from the days of the 6th century [[Celts|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, {{lang|gd|Ceann a' Mhara|italic=no}} (NL 938 401) and Soroby (NL 984 416).

[[Skerryvore]] lighthouse, {{convert|12|mi|km|abbr=off}} 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 [[No. 518 Squadron RAF|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">{{cite news |last=Buttle |first=Cameron |date=5 June 2019 |title=The RAF weathermen who helped save D-Day |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-48498383 |work=BBC Scotland |access-date=9 June 2019}}</ref> The airfield became [[Tiree Airport]] in 1947.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.controltowers.co.uk/T-V/Tiree.htm |title=RAF Tiree airfield |publisher=Control Towers|access-date=26 July 2012}}</ref> There was also an RAF [[Chain Home]] radar station at Kilkenneth and an RAF Chain Home Low radar station at {{lang|gd|Beinn Hough|italic=no}}. 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 {{lang|gd|Beinn Ghott|italic=no}}.

[[File:Tiree, Balephuil Bay.jpg|thumb|left|Looking west to Balephuil Bay, across the famous Hebridean [[Machair (geography)|Machair]]]]