Most sources cite each other and eventually the New Statistical account of Scotland that “the origin of the name is uncertain. Tradition makes the burying-ground, which gives its name to the parish, to have been the burying-ground of Irenan, a Danish prince who fell in battle on the northern confines of the parish, where cairn Irenan still exists.”
Chapel of Sand or chapel of Sand of Udrigil, is an almost forgotten but somehow mystic place in Torridon, tucked away between a caravan park, a river, and the sea, close to the village of Laide. In the 18th century the chapel was still in use, then worship came to an end at the chapel... Continue Reading →
If ever there was holy ground, it surely is to be found on a small island of striking beauty and breathtaking light in the Ross of Mull: Iona, burial-place of the kings. To many Iona is an overcoming experience. It was here that Christianity made its way into Scotland. Irish monasteries have existed for centuries... Continue Reading →
This is a tale about a chapel, a saint and a bishop and rather surprisingly in that context, a tale about destruction, castration and a proud heart. The Isle of Skye at its wildest! The tale unfolds on graveyard on a small island in the river Snizort , just a few miles off Portree, and... Continue Reading →
The following lines were read in 1746 in Kilmore churchyard: If Heaven be pleased when sinners cease to sin, If Hell be pleased when sinners enter in, If Earth be pleased to quit a truckling knave, Then all be pleased; Macdonald’s in his grave. Otta F. Swire: Skye - The Island & its Legends, Birlinn;... Continue Reading →
Their beauty lies in their simplicity: ancient stone slabs and crosses keep memory alive. Some of the most beautiful in the Western Highlands are kept in Lochaline in Morvern on a graveyard known as Kiel or Cille Cholumchille, the church of St Columba of the church, that overlooks the Sound of Mull. The holy man... Continue Reading →
It seems appropriate to go upwards, along a narrow winding path, all the way towards the top of the hill that is known as the Hill of the Angels or Cnoc nan Aingeal, Knochan. It is an old burial ground near the beautifully set parish church of Kirkton, overlooking the Sound of Sleat and the... Continue Reading →
If ever there was holy ground, it surely is to be found on a small island of striking beauty and breathtaking light in the Ross of Mull: Iona, burial-place of the kings. To many Iona is an overcoming experience. It was here that Christianity made its way into Scotland. Irish monasteries have existed for centuries... Continue Reading →
The cross might have been the very first symbol man used. A line and another line crossing it – a saltire (the Scottish flag to this day); like a cross to mark a spot or to draw attention to something. The cross must have been the first stage of written communication man has developed. A... Continue Reading →
Graveyards of Scotland 
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