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 Mull of Kintyre thus refers to the most southerly section of the long Kintyre Peninsula in south western Scotland. Both the Ailsa Craig and the north coast of Northern Ireland are perfectly visible from the Mull.
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 in tribute to the picturesque district, where he owns a home and recording studio. The song was the first single to sell over two million copies in the UK, earning McCartney the first ever 'rhodium disc' and becoming the best-selling single of all-time until overtaken by "Do They Know It's Christmas" in 1984.
The Mull was the site of a 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 guilt 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.)