"Columba's tears"

This collection of "Iona Marble" jewellery was very precious to my late mother-in-law. Nowadays the greenish white stones are imported from Connemara in Ireland but these are most probably from the island of Iona as they are fairly old.

The sea polished green pebbles can be found on some beaches in the south of Iona and were known as "Columba's tears." They were regarded as having sacred and healing properties and for centuries fishermen would always carry them for luck.