Southend, Argyll

Coordinates: 55°18′54″N 5°38′28″W / 55.315°N 5.641°W / 55.315; -5.641

Southend (Scottish Gaelic: Ceann mu Dheas, pronounced [kʲʰaunˠ̪ mə ʝes̪]) is the main settlement at the southern end of the Kintyre peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies 8 miles (13 km) south of Campbeltown, the main town in the area. The civil parish of Southend comprises the village and the surrounding land, used mainly for farming and forestry. The population of the parish is 497.

The community has a website at http://www.southendargyll.org.uk/ with links to the Community Council and a Facebook page.

The village is located beside Dunaverty Bay, which at one end has a rocky promontory called Dunaverty Rock, where a fort was located. It is reputed that during the Dunaverty Massacre the Catholic MacDonalds were burned alive in their stronghold at Dunaverty Castle (the trenches of this can still be seen).

The village is also reputed to be the location where Saint Columba first set foot in Scotland. On a rock near the village are two carved human footprints (Petrosomatoglyphs) called Columba's Footprints where it is claimed he first preached on Scottish soil, after being banished from Ireland.

Argyll

Argyll (/ɑːrˈɡaɪl/), archaically Argyle (Earra-Ghàidheal in modern Gaelic pronounced [ˈaːr̴əɣɛː.əɫ̪]), is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of ancient Dál Riata, which was located on the island of Great Britain. In a historical context, Argyll can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath. At present, Argyll (sometimes anglicised as Argyllshire) is also one of the registration counties of Scotland. Argyll was also a medieval bishopric with its cathedral at Lismore, as well as an early modern earldom and dukedom, the Dukedom of Argyll.

Between 1890 and 1975, Argyll was a county for local government purposes.

There was an Argyllshire constituency of the Parliament of Great Britain until the mid-20th century.

Etymology

The name derives from Old Gaelic airer Goídel (border region of the Gaels). The early thirteenth-century author of De Situ Albanie explains that "the name Arregathel means margin (i.e., border region) of the Scots or Irish, because all Scots and Irish are generally called Gattheli (i.e. Gaels), from their ancient warleader known as Gaithelglas."

Argyll and Bute

Argyll and Bute (Scottish Gaelic: Earra-Ghaidheal agus Bòd pronounced [ɛrˠəˈɣɛːəlˠ̪ akəs̪ pɔːtʲ]) is both one of 32 unitary authority council areas; and a Lieutenancy area in Scotland. The administrative centre for the council area is located in Lochgilphead.

Argyll and Bute covers the second largest administrative area of any Scottish council.

The council area adjoins those of Highland, Perth and Kinross, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire. Its border runs through Loch Lomond.

The present council area was created in 1996, when it was carved out of the Strathclyde region, which was a two-tier local government region of 19 districts, created in 1975. Argyll and Bute merged the existing Argyll and Bute district and one ward of the Dumbarton district. The Dumbarton ward, called 'Helensburgh and Lomond', included the burgh of Helensburgh and consisted of an area to the west of Loch Lomond, north of the Firth of Clyde and mostly east of Loch Long.

The council area can be described also by reference to divisions of the counties which were abolished in 1975. The council area includes most of the county of Argyll (Argyll minus the Morvern area, north of Mull, which became part of the Highland region in 1975), part of the county of Bute (the Isle of Bute) and part of the county of Dunbartonshire (the Helensburgh and Lomond ward).

Argyllshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Argyllshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 1950, when it was renamed Argyll. The constituency was replaced in 1983 with Argyll and Bute.

It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) using the first-past-the-post voting system.

Local government areas

Until Scottish counties were abolished, for most purposes, in 1975, the constituency represented the county of Argyll, except that constituency boundaries may not have coincided at all times with county boundaries, and any parliamentary burgh within the county would have been outside the constituency.

In 1975 most of the county plus the Isle of Bute became the Argyll district of the Strathclyde region. A northern area of the county became part of the Highland region. Until 1975 the Isle of Bute had been part of the county of Bute.

In 1996, 13 years after the abolition of the Argyll constituency and creation of the Argyll and Bute constituency, the Argyll district, plus a portion of the Dumbarton district of Strathclyde, became the Argyll and Bute unitary council area.