The Mull of Kintyre refers to the most southerly section of the long Kintyre Peninsula in southwestern Scotland. Both the Ailsa Craig and the north coast of Northern Ireland are perfectly visible from the Mull. The steep sides rising out of the sea on all sides has made the area a hazard to flight. The remains of a number of second world war planes litter the area near the Mull of Kintyre lighthouse at its southermost tip.

History of the term 'mull'

A mull is an almost exclusively Scottish term for the geographic feature known as a promontory and, often more specifically, for the tip of that promontory or peninsula.

The term 'mull' became more commonly known when former Beatle, Paul McCartney and his band Wings released the hugely popular "Mull of Kintyre" (1977), a song penned by McCartney and bandmate Denny Laine in tribute to the picturesque district, where he owns a home and recording studio. The song, recorded with Kintyre's local Campbeltown Pipe Band, was the first single to sell over two million copies in the UK, earning McCartney the first ever 'rhodium disc' and becoming the UK's best-selling single of all-time until overtaken by "Do They Know It's Christmas" in 1984. The song remains the UK's best-selling non-charity single in history.

History of the Mull of Kintyre

The Mull was the site of a notorious crash of a Royal Air Force CH-47 Chinook on June 2 1994. The crash killed 4 crew members and 25 passengers who were senior members of British security forces (RUC, Army and MI5.) The Chinook was carrying the security experts from RAF Aldergrove, outside Belfast, to Inverness. In 1995 an RAF board of inquiry found that there was no conclusive evidence to determine the cause of the crash. However two air marshals, on reviewing the evidence, found the two pilots guilty of gross negligence.

This ruling has proved highly controversial. A subsequent fatal accident inquiry, House of Commons Defence Committee report and Commons Public Accounts Committee have all either left open the question of blame or challenged the original conclusion. The campaign for a new inquiry has been supported by the families of the pilots and senior politicians, including former Prime Minister John Major and former Defence Secretary Malcolm Rifkind (both men held those offices at time of crash).

Trivia

The Mull of Kintyre is used as a reference in the Mull of Kintyre test, an unofficial test for the propriety of images of naked men.

External links

• Official Kintyre Visitors Website
• Song information (MPL Communications)