Columbia's Island: Iona from Past to Present

by E. Mairi MacArthur

The usual history of Iona tells of the monks and missionaries and ministers. This work, however, tells of the quieter, more personal tale of everyday life on a remarkable Hebridean island. Mairi MacArthur brings to the forefront of history the overlooked people and landscape of Iona. She describes how, through the dramas of history, from before the catalystic arrival of St Columba, to the even more dramatic arrival of hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, the crofters and fishermen of Iona have continued their working lives.

Genres: Scotland

208 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1995

About the author

E. Mairi MacArthur helped to establish Friends of the Earth (Scotland) in 1978 and later chaired the FoE International network from 1984 to 1986. She completed a Ph.D. thesis on the social and economic history of Iona and wrote books based on that material.

Reviews

[Birgitta Hoffmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book writing the history of a space between the "large historical events" and the personal experiences of the local population based on a lot of local research and oral history.
Written originally it is psycho-geography and landscape history/archaeology to a very high level and yes it could be shelved under local history - I only wish other local histories were that well researched and self critical at times.