Sky
Iona’s canopy is a boundless sky of ever changing light and colour, as one weather front moves on to make space for another. Birds navigate this territory with such seeming ease that in Columban times they were seen as messengers between heaven and earth. Columba was known as Colum Cille meaning ‘Dove of the Church’. In his native Ireland the crane was considered a holy bird, connected to life and death and Columba is attributed to nursing a crane back to life during his time on Iona. Saints such as Columba would have been considered able to speak the language of birds, so bringing them closer to the voices of the heavens.
