| Scottish Gaelic name | Gunnaigh |
|---|---|
| Old Norse name | Gunni-øy |
| Meaning of name | "Gunni's island" |
| Location | |
  Gunna Gunna shown within Argyll and Bute | |
| OS grid reference | NM100513 |
| Coordinates | 56°34′N6°43′W / 56.56°N 6.72°W /56.56; -6.72 |
| Physical geography | |
| Island group | Mull |
| Area | 69 ha (1⁄4 sq mi) |
| Area rank | 176 [1] |
| Highest elevation | 35 m (115 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Council area | Argyll and Bute |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
| Population rank | 0 [1] |
 | |
| References | [2][3][4] |
Gunna (Gaelic:Gunnaigh) is an island in theInner Hebrides of Scotland.
Gunna lies betweenColl andTiree, closer to Coll. It is69 hectares (1⁄4 square mile) in area and 35 metres (115 feet) at its highest point. Nowhere is it wider than 500 metres (550 yards). It has no permanent inhabitants; the only house is used as a holiday residence by its owner, Marcus de Ferranti.[5]
It is surrounded by various smaller islands including Eilean Frachlan (just off the north coast), Eilean nan Gamhna off the south coast, Soy Gunna to the north east, and Eilean Bhoramull, which is nearer Coll. It is surrounded by many rocks, especially in Gunna Sound (Scottish Gaelic:Am Bun Dubh[6]), between it and Tiree.
According to Haswell-Smith, the island has a: "bedrock ofparagneissschist with a light sandy soil. Metasediments in the west grade into undifferentiated gneiss in the east".[3]
"Gunni" is a Norse forename, and Haswell-Smith suggests thatGunni-øy means "island of Gunni the Dane" (although it is not recorded for which Gunni the island was named) or conceivably that the modern name is fromEilean nan Gamhna, Gaelic for "island of the stirks". Mac an Tàilleir suggests that the Norse means "Gunnar (hard R)'s island".[7]
It was possibly ananchorite/culdee's island at some point – beside the old well, there is Port na Cille, which means Port of the Monk's Cell. Uamh Mòr, (big cave) on the north coast, could well be where the hermit sheltered.
According to Iain Mac an Tàilleir, Gunna is mentioned in the lines of a song, "Farewell beyond Gunna to Mull of the great mountains".[7]
Gunna supports a wide range of sea birds, as well as geese, andshelducks.Grey seals also breed there.
It is currently used for grazing from Coll.[3]
Sandy Duncanson, the villain of Neil Munro's novelThe New Road, comes from here, one chapter is titled "The Man from Gunna". It is suggested that this symbolises his ambiguous nature, since Tiree was "one of MacCailean Mór's loyal islands", and Coll was wild country.
56°34′N6°43′W / 56.567°N 6.717°W /56.567; -6.717
