Iona is an island of the Inner Hebrides in Strathclyde Region, Scotland. It is about 3 miles (5 kilometers) long and 1.6 miles (2.5 kilometers) wide. The island is separated from the island of Mull by the narrow Sound of Iona. A passenger ferry crosses the sound. Iona was a seat of the Druids. In A.D. 563, the Irish monk Colmcille—Saint Columba—sailed from Ireland and founded a Christian monastery there. The Scottish Gaelic name for Iona is Ì Chaluim Chille, after Colmcille. Many Scottish kings and chieftains were buried on Iona. The oldest building is St. Oran’s Chapel. A religious brotherhood, the Iona Community, was founded there in 1938. For many years, Iona belonged to the dukes of Argyll. In 1979, Iona was bought by the Hugh Fraser Foundation and was then administered by the secretary of state for Scotland. See also Columba, Saint .
