Gometra
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Gometra | |
---|---|
Elevation | 155 m (509 ft) |
Location | Off the coast of Mull, Scotland |
Prominence | 155 m |
Topo map | OS Landrangers 47, 48 |
OS grid reference | NM361414 |
Listing | Marilyn |
Gometra is an island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, lying southwest of Mull. It lies immediately northwest of Ulva, to which it is linked by a bridge, and at low tide also by a beach. It is approximately 2 square miles in extent.
The island is agricultural, formerly growing grain for the monastery on Iona. Once home to a population of over a hundred, it is now down to a tight-knit community of a handful of people, up to a thousand black face sheep, a flock of feral goats, and red deer. Historical sights on the island include an old burial ground, the remains of two duns and old settlements. It has no school, doctor, ferry or postal service. The etymology of the name has been traced to both the Norse Godrmadray meaning "warrior priest's island" and the Gaelic Gu mòr traigh meaning "only at low tide", but the latter is an example of folk etymology. Gometra's Gaelic name is 'Gòmastra', showing its Norse origin.
Gometra House had fallen into disrepair by the 1980s, but was reoccupied and restored as a family home in the 1990s.
For most of its history, the Island has belonged to descendants of viking settlers of Sodor or the Kingdom of Man, who intermarried with the original Pictish rulers of the area.