The Isle of Staffa

In 2008, we sailed by the isle of Staffa from the Iona to Mull ferry and I was dumbstruck by the beauty of all that columnar basalt dressed in lichen, moss, and sea spray. I wanted to jump off the deck of the small ferry boat. Of course there was no time to backtrack and visit the island. 

Ours was a mad overnight run from Oban, courtesy of a newfound friend who scored us coveted ferry tickets for locals on an overbooked ferry. Driving down Mull from the wee village of Craignure to catch the Iona ferry at Fionnphort, we were late late late, so we barreled down the one-lane road like banshees along the glaciated Ross of Mull which took my breath away, such ragged beauty. 

Iona was extraordinary, on my bucket list for ages, My Irish grandmother, who inspired me to visit Iona, often talked about Iona and Tír na nÓg, the land of the ever-young, in the same breath—it was a whirlwind visit replete with several missed ferries, no place to stay, last minute reprieve, but then, it was over, we had to leave that singular beauty. 

Leaving Baile Mór, Iona, I was bereft. Not enough time. Not enough time to last a lifetime. I will never pass this way again. I wept. We sailed past the Isle of Staffa, looking like a wayward Stetson hat afloat on an incredible turquoise sea. Puffins on the wing headed for the island. I knew a little about the story of Fingal’s Cave. But that was it. 

And then, because the unfettered mind wanders down such strange labyrinths, today, I began to wonder about  the toponym of the island. The standard definition begs the question: what was the isle called before it was renamed Stafyi-øy, meaning staff, stave, stick, or pillar by the Vikings? Or did the original Irish name sound similar, a homonym?

Which led me to a segue, what was the Irish word for staff or crozier? Sheepherder’s crook, or bachall didn’t help, but led me to barra, a grassy place, or fair haired. Eilean Bharraigh is associated with St. Barr, or St. Finnbar of Cork. An entomological treasure hunt for another day. The Vikings first sacked Iona in 795, and then three more times to 825. So the island must’ve been renamed during that timeframe.

I asked that because, weirdly, the place-name Staffa resurfaced in Switzerland, when an Irish monk from Iona—perhaps following in the footsteps of St. Gall—named the village of Stäfa/Steveia, after the Isle of Staffa. The hamlet was associated with the Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey, founded in the 800s, on the north shore of Lake Zurich. It was a a major pilgrimage stopover to Santiago de Compostela. Nothing to do with Vikings.

Usually place-names hold their own, and persistently defy renaming from invaders (see my stories of how Irish place-names survived in Viking Iceland and the Faroe Islands). Since the Hebrides were heavily settled by the Irish, it probably had another Irish name—which is lost to time, unless St. Columba mentioned it. Or, perhaps the Viking etymology is too facile. 

The outlying basaltic rocks, pillars and islets, including Eilean Dubh, and Am Buachaille, retain their Irish placenames. Fingal's Cave (after the 3rd-c. Irish warrior Fionn MacCool—by way of Macpherson’s cribbed poem, which inspired Felix Mendelssohn’s composition, Hebrides Overture.) was an 18th century renaming from An Uaimh Bhinn – "the melodious cave". The singing cave of the Otherworld, perhaps it was the gateway to Tír na nÓg, the land of the ever-young. 

This is how I spent the last day of the year. Pondering distant memories and otherworldly place-names.

This is a morph post from a Facebook Geology Page comment: I saw Staffa from the Iona ferry. The definition begs, what was it called before it was renamed Stafyi-øy by the Vikings?  Usually place names hold their own, and defy renaming from invaders.(Irish placenames even persisted in Iceland). Since that area was heavily settled by the Irish, it probably had another name, or, the Viking etymology is too facile. The outlying rocks including Eilean Dubh, and Am Buachaille, retain their Irish placenames. Fingal's Cave (after the 3rd-c. Irish warrior Fionn MacCool—by way of Macpherson’s poem) was an 18th century renaming from An Uamh Bhin – "the melodious cave".

Lol spellcheck hates the word facile…. Fourth time is a charm.