iona02 Iona Nunnery This nunnery was founded in about 1200 by Reginald, son of Somerled of the Isles, and the first prioress was his sister Beatrice (or Bethoc). The nunnery was of the Augustinian Order hence its Gaelic name, An Eaglais Dhubh meaning 'the black church' after the color of the robes the nuns would have worn. The nunnery remained occupied until the Reformation, when it passed into the hands of the MacLeans of Duart. In memory of Rubina Jarvie Spencer. Her children have preserved the ruins and made the garden. 1922