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Home | CLAN MOTTO : BY SEA AND BY LAND | The name MacDonald comes from Donald of
Islay, King of the Isles and grandson of Somerled, who
fought for independence from Norway and died in 1164.
Once one of the most powerful clans in Scotland, the
MacDonalds were kings in their own right. Their lands
included all of the Hebrides, Mull, Uist, Barra, Skye,
Lewis and a great deal of Ross and Inverness-shire. They
lost the lordship of the Isles and their lands in Ross in
the 15th century but the present chief still holds lands
in Skye.
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| CLAN MOTTO : TO CONQUER OR DIE |
The MacDougalls are descended from
Dougall, the eldest son of Somerled. His grandson married
a sister of John Comyn and, when Robert the Bruce killed
John's son, the 'Red Comyn', in Dumfries, the MacDougalls
became his bitter enemies. After Bannockburn Robert took
the MacDougall lands, but the 7th chief married Robert's
granddaughter and David II returned the lands of Lorn to
their son. In 1388, John MacDougall of Lorn died without
a male heir and his lands passed to the Stewarts through
his daughters.
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| CLAN MOTTO : GOD ASSISTS | The name MacDuff means 'son of the dark
one' and the MacDuffs are descended from the same ancient
royal house as Shakespeare's MacBeth. Traditonally,
MacDuff was the first Earl of Fife, who opposed MacBeth
and helped Malcolm to the throne. The MacDuffs, under
their earl, had the privilege of crowning the king and of
always being in the front ranks of his army - a position
of great honour. In 1306, Robert the Bruce had Duncan
MacDuff, Earl of Fife, imprisoned for 7 years, as he had
been a supporter of th Comyns.
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| CLAN MOTTO : I GROW STRONG | Ewen of Otter, who lived at the
beginning of the 13th century, was the founder of the
MacEwen clan and there were 9 chiefs until the last
MacEwen of Otter, Swene MacEwen. Their lands were at Loch
Fyne and their castle was near Kilfinan. Swene gave some
of the Otter lands to Duncan Campbell in 1432 and, in
1523, James V gave Colin Campbell, the Earl of Argyll,
the barony of Otter. With no lands the MacEwens became a
'broken clan'. Some became bards to the Campbells, while
others were forced to disperse and live as best they
could.
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| CLAN MOTTO : THIS I'LL DEFEND | Bartholemew (Parlan in Gaelic),
the founder of the clan, was the great grandson of
Gilchrist, a brother of the Earl of Lennox in the 13th
century. Duncan, the 6th chief was given lands on the
north banks of Loch Lomond by the Earl of Lennox and, in
1395, gained more lands through marriage. After an earl
of Lennox was beheaded in 1425 the MacFarlanes should
have been given the title, but Sir John Stewart of
Darnley became earl. A feud began that lasted until a
MacFarlane eventually married the daughter of a later
Stewart earl of Lennox.
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| CLAN MOTTO : FOR THE KING | The Macfies or Macduffies are a branch
of Clan Alpine, descended from Kenneth MacAlpine. Their
Gaelic name Dubh-shithe means 'dark, peaceful
one' and their lands were on the islands of Colonsay and
Oronsay. They were hereditary keepers of the records of
the Isles. In 1623, Malcolm Macfie was killed with many
of his men by Coll Kitto MacDonald, who took Colonsay for
himself. Now a 'broken clan', some Macfies followed
MacDonald of Islay, while others moved to Lochaber to
follow Cameron of Lochiel, joining his clan at Culloden.
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| CLAN MOTTO : ROYAL IS MY RACE | The MacGregors, or the 'The Children of
the Mist', are a branch of Clan Alpine, descended from
Griogar, son of Alpin, 8th century King of Dalriada.
Alexander II gave them land on the Perth/Argyll borders
after they helped him conquer Argyll in 1221. The
Campbells believed that this land was rightfully theirs
and the Macgregors often had to fight to defend it. The
Macgregors were outlawed after a fight with the
Colquhouns in 1603 and, until 1775, the penalty for even
being called Macgregor was death.
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| CLAN MOTTO : THROUGH DIFFICULTIES | The Gaelic name of this clan, Mac
an t-Saoir, means 'son of the carpenter', and the
clan originally held lands in Kintyre, Glencoe and
Badenoch. The Macintyres of Glencoe were hereditary
forresters to the Stewart Lords of Lorn. Another branch
were hereditary bards to the Menzies chiefs and to
MacDonald of Clanranald. Donnachadh Ban Mac an t-Saoir
was a forrester. He fought against the Jacobites at
Culloden, but was later imprisoned for writing a poem
criticising the 1747 Act which forbade the wearing of
Highland dress.
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| CLAN MOTTO : WITH A STRONG HAND | The Mackays claim descent from the
Royal House of Moray. They are known as Clan Morgan, from
a 14th century Morgan, son of Magnus, and as Clan Aoidh,
from Morgan's grandson. From about 1160, a large part of
the clan lived in Ross and Sutherland, where they
supported Angus Dubh against the Lord of the Isles in the
15th century. After this time the power of the clan
declined until the last lands were sold in 1829 to the
Sutherland family. Many Mackays suffered during the
Highland Clearances.
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