Whitefarland

Whitefarland Scottish Gaelic: An Aoirinn
The view from Whitefarland point to Kintyre
Whitefarland Location within North Ayrshire
OS grid reference	NR864421
Civil parish	Kilmory
Council area	North Ayrshire
Lieutenancy area	Ayrshire and Arran
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ISLE OF ARRAN
Postcode district	KA27
Dialling code	01770
Police	Scotland
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
UK Parliament	North Ayrshire and Arran
Scottish Parliament	Cunninghame North
List of places UK Scotland 55°37′34″N 5°23′35″W / 55.626°N 5.393°W / 55.626; -5.393

Whitefarland (Scottish Gaelic: An Aoireann) is a clachan on the Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It is located approximately 1 mile (2 kilometres) to the south of Pirnmill. There is evidence of settlements here dating back to the Bronze Age. Its name is derived from Old Norse, not Gaelic. Arran was ruled by the Vikings for 400 years (roughly 800–1263 AD) and was a significant part of the Norse Kingdom of Norway, specifically the Suðr-eyjar (Kingdom of Mann and the Isles). The name may refer to Olaf the White who was King of Ireland and the Western Isles. The alternative name for Whitefarland, cited in 1351 in papers in the Scottish Records, is 'Irachonan' - which means King of Ireland, in Old Norse. The Gaelic of Arran by Nils Magnus Holmer (published by the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies, 1957) lists an alternative and later Gaelic name, as An aoireann. Holmer states that this means ferry point. The 17th century cartographer, Timothy Pont, published an antique map of Arran (published in J. Blaeu Grooten Atlas, 1664. (Van der Krogt 2, 621) and Whitefarland is shown on the map as Row na heren. This is likely to be a phonetic or literal translation or Rhu na Aoireann - point of the ferry/ferry point). It is the nearest westerly point to the Kintyre Peninsula.

Throughout its history Whitefarland seems to have been an outlier - it was not owned by the Dukes of Hamilton (who owned the majority of the island for 500 years). It was given to the MacLoy/Fullarton family in the 14th century, by King Robert II, for helping Robert the Bruce gain the crown of Scotland. The Fullartons owned the Kilmichael Estate in Brodick and also 150 acres of Whitefarland for 600 years, until the 1960s. Their land stretched from the seashore to the foot of Beinn Bharrainn.

External links

• Historic Environment Scotland. "Arran, High Whitefarland (Site no. NR84SE 11)".
• Historic Environment Scotland. "Arran, Whitefarland Cemetery (Site no. NR84SE 6)".