The Isle of Skye, commonly known as Skye (/skaɪ/; Scottish Gaelic: An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or Eilean a' Cheò), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in the country. Although it has been suggested that the Gaelic Sgitheanach describes a winged shape there is no definitive agreement as to the name's origins.
The island has been occupied since the Mesolithic period, and its history includes a time of Norse rule and a long period of domination by Clan MacLeod and Clan Donald. The 18th century Jacobite risings led to the breaking up of the clan system and subsequent Clearances that replaced entire communities with sheep farms, some of which also involved forced emigrations to distant lands. Resident numbers declined from over 20,000 in the early 19th century to just under 9,000 by the closing decade of the 20th century. Skye's population increased by 4 per cent between 1991 and 2001. About a third of the residents were Gaelic speakers in 2001, and although their numbers are in decline, this aspect of island culture remains important.
The main industries are tourism, agriculture, fishing and forestry. Skye is part of the Highland Council local government area. The island's largest settlement is Portree, which is also its capital, known for its picturesque harbour. There are links to various nearby islands by ferry and, since 1995, to the mainland by a road bridge. The climate is mild, wet and windy. The abundant wildlife includes the golden eagle, red deer and Atlantic salmon. The local flora are dominated by heather moor, and there are nationally important invertebrate populations on the surrounding sea bed. Skye has provided the locations for various novels and feature films and is celebrated in poetry and song.
Content:
History
Prehistory
A Mesolithic hunter-gatherer site dating to the 7th
millennium BC at An Corran in Staffin is one of the oldest archaeological sites
in Scotland. Its occupation is probably linked to that of the rock shelter at
Sand, Applecross, on the mainland coast of Wester Ross where tools made of a
mudstone from An Corran have been found. Surveys of the area between the two
shores of the Inner Sound and Sound of Raasay have revealed 33 sites with
potentially Mesolithic deposits. Finds of bloodstone microliths on the
foreshore at Orbost on the west coast of the island near Dunvegan also suggest
Mesolithic occupation. These tools probably originate from the nearby island of
Rùm.
Rubha an Dùnain, an uninhabited peninsula to the south of
the Cuillin, has a variety of archaeological sites dating from the Neolithic
onwards. There is a 2nd or 3rd millennium BC chambered cairn, an Iron Age
promontory fort and the remains of another prehistoric settlement dating from
the Bronze Age nearby. Loch na h-Airde on the peninsula is linked to the sea by
an artificial "Viking" canal that may date from the later period of
Norse settlement.[50][51] Dun Ringill is a ruined Iron Age hill fort on the
Strathaird peninsula, which was further fortified in the Middle Ages and may
have become the seat of Clan MacKinnon.
Early history
The late Iron Age inhabitants of the northern and western
Hebrides were probably Pictish, although the historical record is sparse. Three
Pictish symbol stones have been found on Skye and a fourth on Raasay. More is
known of the kingdom of Dál Riata to the south; Adomnán's life of Columba,
written shortly before 697, portrays the saint visiting Skye (where he baptised
a pagan leader using an interpreter) and Adomnán himself is thought to have
been familiar with the island.[56] The Irish annals record a number of events
on Skye in the later 7th and early 8th centuries – mainly concerning the
struggles between rival dynasties that formed the background to the Old Irish
language romance Scéla Cano meic Gartnáin.
The Norse held sway throughout the Hebrides from the 9th
century until after the Treaty of Perth in 1266. However, apart from
placenames, little remains of their presence on Skye in the written or
archaeological record. Apart from the name "Skye" itself, all
pre-Norse placenames seem to have been obliterated by the Scandinavian
settlers. Viking heritage is claimed by Clan MacLeod and Norse tradition is
celebrated in the winter fire festival at Dunvegan, during which a replica
Viking long boat is set alight.
Clans and Scottish rule
The most powerful clans on Skye in the post–Norse period
were Clan MacLeod, originally based in Trotternish, and Clan Macdonald of
Sleat. Following the disintegration of the Lordship of the Isles, Clan
Mackinnon also emerged as an independent clan, whose substantial landholdings
in Skye were centred on Strathaird. Clan MacNeacail also have a long
association with Trotternish, and in the 16th century many of the MacInnes clan
moved to Sleat. The MacDonalds of South Uist were bitter rivals of the MacLeods,
and an attempt by the former to murder church-goers at Trumpan in retaliation
for a previous massacre on Eigg, resulted in the Battle of the Spoiling Dyke of
1578.
After the failure of the Jacobite rebellion of 1745, Flora
MacDonald became famous for rescuing Prince Charles Edward Stuart from the
Hanoverian troops. Although she was born on South Uist her story is strongly
associated with their escape via Skye and she is buried at Kilmuir in
Trotternish. Samuel Johnson and James Boswell's visit to Skye in 1773 and their
meeting with Flora MacDonald in Kilmuir is recorded in Boswell's The Journal of
a Tour to the Hebrides. Boswell wrote, "To see Dr Samuel Johnson, the
great champion of the English Tories, salute Miss Flora MacDonald in the isle
of Sky, [sic] was a striking sight; for though somewhat congenial in their
notions, it was very improbable they should meet here". Johnson's
words that Flora MacDonald was "A name that will be mentioned in history,
and if courage and fidelity be virtues, mentioned with honour" are written
on her gravestone. After this rebellion the clan system was broken up and Skye
became a series of landed estates.
Skye has a rich heritage of ancient monuments from this
period. Dunvegan Castle has been the seat of Clan MacLeod since the 13th
century. It contains the Fairy Flag and is reputed to have been inhabited by a
single family for longer than any other house in Scotland. The 18th-century
Armadale Castle, once home of Clan Donald of Sleat, was abandoned as a
residence in 1925 but now hosts the Clan Donald Centre. Nearby are the ruins of
two more MacDonald strongholds, Knock Castle, and Dunscaith Castle (called
"Fortress of Shadows"), the legendary home of warrior woman, martial
arts instructor (and, according to some sources, Queen) Scáthach. Caisteal
Maol, a fortress built in the late 15th century near Kyleakin and once a seat
of Clan MacKinnon, is another ruin.
Clearances
In the late 18th century the harvesting of kelp became a
significant activity but from 1822 on cheap imports led to a collapse of this
industry throughout the Hebrides. During the 19th century, the inhabitants of
Skye were also devastated by famine and Clearances. Thirty thousand people were
evicted between 1840 and 1880 alone, many of them forced to emigrate to the New
World. For example, the settlement of Lorgill on the west coast of Duirinish
was cleared on 4 August 1830. Every crofter under the age of seventy was
removed and placed on board the Midlothian on threat of imprisonment, with
those over that age being sent to the poorhouse. The "Battle of the
Braes" involved a demonstration against a lack of access to land and the
serving of eviction notices. The incident involved numerous crofters and about
50 police officers. This event was instrumental in the creation of the Napier
Commission, which reported in 1884 on the situation in the Highlands.
Disturbances continued until the passing of the 1886 Crofters' Act and on one
occasion 400 marines were deployed on Skye to maintain order. The ruins of
cleared villages can still be seen at Lorgill, Boreraig and Suisnish in Strath
Swordale, and Tusdale on Minginish.
Scottish Clans
The MacLeods of Dunvegan
Clann MhicLeòid | Clan MacLeod of Dunvegan
Arms of MacLeod
The history of the MacLeods of Dunvegan can be traced back
to a 13th century ancestor called Leòd (meaning “ugly” in old Norse) who, until
recently, was traditionally believed to have descended from the Norse King Olav
the Black, ruler of the Isle of Man and the Hebrides. Recent claims, however,
attest that Leod was not the younger son of Olaf the Black but a distant cousin
of Magnus, King of Mann, from a female bloodline.
Whichever is the true claim, Leod nevertheless was a
Norseman and his two descendants, Tormod (Norman) and Torcal (Torquill), were
founding fathers of the two existing clan branches. They are, respectively: the
MacLeods of Dunvegan, Harris and Glenelg (Sìol Thormoid) whose chief is MacLeod
of MacLeod, based at Dunvegan; and the MacLeods of Lewis (Sìol Thorcaill) whose
chief is MacLeod of Lewes, but whose lands and titles were lost to the
MacKenzies in the 17th century.
Fame & Infamy
Iain Ciar MacLeod, 4th chief
Iain Ciar and his wife were a particularly infamous couple.
He was described as a “tyrannical and bloodthirsty despot” who was not only
hated by his enemy but also his own clansmen. His wife apparently had her two
daughters buried alive in the castle dungeons for trying to escape the clan.
Alasdair Crotach, Alexander the Humpbacked, 8th chief
“The Crotach” is lauded as the MacLeods’ greatest chief.
Said to have been mutilated by a strike with a MacDonald battle axe during the
Battle of Bloody Bay off Mull, this belligerent warlord who was feared by many
had an aesthetic side to his nature. He embraced culture: he positively
encouraged dancing, poetry and music. He formed a piping college on Skye and
installed the MacCrimmons as pipers to the MacLeod chiefs, a relationship that
still lasts today. He built the castle’s Fairy Tower and entertained King James
V to a mountain feast on Healabhal Beag, one of the MacLeod’s tables
overlooking Orbost. ‘The Crotach’ spent the latter part of his final years
living as a monk on Harris and died there in 1547.
Norman MacLeod 23rd chief
In 1739, Norman MacLeod of Dunvegan and Sir Alexander
MadDonald of Sleat and others were accused of being involved in the kidnapping
of 96 of their kinsmen, men, women and children with a view to selling them
into slavery at £3 per head. The plot was led by Waternish tacksman Sir Norman
Macleod of Berneray who managed to herd his victims onto a ship bound for the
Americas. A storm wrecked the vessel off the coast of Northern Ireland and the
reluctant passengers were all rescued.
John MacLeod of MacLeod, 29th chief
In 2000, John MacLeod attempted to sell-off the Black
Cuillin for £10million in order, he said, to restore the dilapidated roof of
Dunvegan Castle. At the same time, he also put forward plans to build a 60-80
bedroom hotel and leisure complex near the village. The intended sale of
Scotland’s most iconic mountain range caused public outrage and fuelled a
heated debate about Scotland’s ownership. When the plans fell through and the
Cuillin taken off the market, MacLeod was forced back to the table for funding
ideas. A subsequent bid to the National Lottery for £25 million with a promise
to hand over the Cuillin and Dunvegan Castle to the public also failed. Further
controversy followed his death in 2007 when he left £15million in his will.
Spoiling for a Fight
Until the Lordship of the Isles was forfeited to King James
IV of Scotland in 1493, both MacLeod branches were loyal to MacDonald Lord of
the Isles, and kinsmen from both families fought side-by-side at the Battle of
Bannockburn in 1314 for the Bruce cause; the Battle of Harlaw (1411) for the
Chief of Clan Donald; and at the Battle of Bloody Bay in 1481 for John of
Islay. After the loss of the Lord of the Isles’ title and lands, however,
Scotland fell into a period of crisis and anarchy and the two major family
branches — the MacLeods of Dunvegan and MacDonalds of Sleat — became locked in
a violent feud that would last for over a century.
The enmity was bitter, the fighting barbaric, and both clans
committed terrible atrocities towards each other’s kinsmen in a bid to regain
and extend their powers over the Island. The fighting laid waste to farmland
and the collateral damage to communities was high with reports of the civilian
population being reduced to eating horses, pets “and other filthie beasts".
In addition to the battle sites during the Wars of the
One-Eyed Woman (see section on MacDonalds of Sleat), there are many places on
Skye which mark the historical hostilities between these two vying clans. One
such place is Trumpan Church, now a ruin, on the Waternish Peninsula.
In 1577, after a MacLeod raiding party landed on Eigg, the
island’s population of MacDonalds fled to a cave in the south of the island.
With a view to flushing them out, the MacLeods blocked the cave entrance with
heather and vegetation and set it alight. Instead of becoming prisoners,
however, all 395 MacDonalds were suffocated to death. Enraged by the slaughter,
the following year, the MacDonalds of neighbouring Uist landed eight birlinn
war galleys at Ardmore Bay. While the MacLeods were all gathered inside nearby
Trumpan church for their Sunday worship, the marauding MacDonalds barred the
doors and set alight to the church, killing all but one – a young girl. The
girl apparently managed to escape through a window, run the 10 miles to
Dunvegan Castle and raise the alarm. Unfortunately for the MacDonald party, a
low tide had grounded their escape vessels, leaving time for the MacLeods to
catch them. A battle ensued, during which MacLeod raised the fairy flag and
slaughtered his enemies to every man. The bodies of the fallen MacDonalds were
lined up behind a turf dyke which was collapsed over the top of them. This
bloody moment in history is widely known as the Battle of the Spoiling Dyke.
These are how the stories go and historians have cast doubt
on their historical accuracy. It is true that so violent was the feud it
claimed many lives on both sides and in the end the king himself intervened and
forced the two fighting families into a treaty of peace.
It was not only their neighbours the MacLeods picked a fight
with. Internal disputes too often ended in bloodshed. During the ’45 Jacobite
Uprising, Clan MacLeod’s main branch supported the British Government. Clan
MacLeod of Raasay, however, were strong Jacobite sympathisers who fought for
the House of Stuart at the Battle of Culloden and helped to hide and transport
the exiled Prince to safety. The repercussions were swift and ferocious and,
after the Culloden defeat, Raasay was pillaged and burned, not only by the
Royal Navy’s “cruel” Captain John Fergusson, but the island’s inhabitants were
allegedly harried by the MacLeods (under chief Norman “the Wicked Man”) who is
said to have embarked on daily sprees of violence.
Man, Myth & Magic
Visitors to Skye’s popular hotspots will notice there are a
fair amount of sites around the Island attributed to the supernatural. One
legend says the Old Man of Storr is the petrified remains of an unfortunate man
and his wife who, whilst being chased by a band of giants down the mountain,
took a glance backwards at their pursuers and were turned to stone. Another
explanation says this natural obelisk was chiselled by a brownie whose mortal
friend had died of a broken heart after the death of his wife. The remote Loch
Coruisk, at the foot of the Black Cuillin, is said to be the home of the
kelpies, while legend has it the Cuillin range was sculpted by a violent sword
battle between two giants. Some believe the magical Fairy Pools near Glen
Brittle and the Fairy Glen near Uig get their names from “the little people”
who dwell there.
Am Bratach Sith, the Fairy Flag of Dunvegan, is possibly
Skye’s most famous symbol of myth and magic. The silk flag, which is on display
at Dunvegan Castle and dates back to the 4th Century AD, is the MacLeods’ most
treasured relic. A common legend associated with the flag involves a MacLeod
chieftain who fell in love with a fairy princess. Her worried father, the king
of the fairies, eventually succumbed to her pleas to marry the young man. The
king granted her the wish on the condition that, after a year and a day, she
would return to the fairy realm forever.
A year and a day passed and the fairy princess, who was now
a mother, made her grieving husband promise to look after their son and never
allow him to cry. They parted at the castle’s Fairy Bridge, never to meet
again. Months later, during a feast, the nursemaid in charge of the boy left
his room to observe the festivities. Alone in his cot, the child began to cry
and, when the nursemaid returned, she witnessed a beautiful young woman
wrapping the infant in a cloth and singing softly to him before disappearing.
When the boy grew up, he remembered his mother’s visit and
repeated her words to his father: that the talisman cloth could be unfurled
three times and used as an advantage during times of danger.
The Fairy Flag was successfully raised during the Battle of
the Spoiling Dyke against the MacDonalds and during a devastating cattle
plague. It has yet to be used a third time.
Dunvegan Castle & Estate
On top of a basalt outcrop on the shores of Loch Dunvegan
stands one of northern Scotland’s oldest occupied castles. Home to 30
generations of MacLeods, spanning over 800 years, Dunvegan Castle has endured
centuries of building, demolition and rebuilding which has forged its rich
architectural history.
After James VI’s Statute of Iona in 1609, Highland warlords
were compelled to contribute to agricultural productivity. Drink and feasting
was restricted and imports cut. Lavish spending, building costs, famine and
political ambition resulted in debt and, over the years, forced the MacLeod
chieftains from their ancestral seat to seek a more provident fortune across
the globe. The castle is partially inhabited by the current clan chief, Hugh
Magnus MacLeod, who is based in London.
After centuries of war and social, political and economic
change, the Clan MacLeod Society was formed in 1891. A few decades later,
kinsmen finally began to return home under the gentle persuasion of Chief Dame
Flora who encouraged her clansfolk to embrace their ancestral lineage. This
culminated in the first MacLeod Parliament in 1956. Clan gatherings have been
held at Dunvegan ever since and family members from across the Globe descend to
the castle every four years to celebrate their history and family bonds. The
next Clan Gathering (the 18th Parliament) takes place between 21 to 28 July
2018.
The Dunvegan Estate lies across 42,000 acres with the family
seat at Dunvegan Castle in the north west of Skye. Several Special Areas of
Conservation and Sites of Special Scientific Interest lie across the land,
including the Black Cuillin mountains and the head of Loch Dunvegan. MacLeod
lands also include the Fairy Pools near Glenbrittle and the MacLeod Tables. The
Estate also has close historical links with the island of St Kilda.
The castle and grounds are open to the public from Easter to
October and the current custodian is Jeroen Roskam. Visitors
to the castle will witness an historical journey through MacLeod history and an
impressive collection of art and artefacts associated with one of Scotland’s
most enduring family lines.
Heraldry
Clann MhicLeòid
Clan Seat
Dunvegan Castle, Isle of Skye
Motto
Hold Fast
Crest
A bull’s head cabossed sable, horned Or, between two flags
gules, staved at the first
Badge
Juniper
The MacDonalds of Sleat
Clann Dòmhnaill Na Dòmhnallaich | Clan MacDonalds of Sleat
Per Mare Per Terras — by land by sea — is the motto of
arguably one of the oldest, largest and most powerful Scottish families in
history.
Arms of Macdonald
Although the story of Clan Donald began long before the
immemorial timeline, their history can be traced from the 12th century BC
through a warlord named Somhairle MacGillebride MacGilladamnan (Somerled): head
of the ancient Race of Conn and lineal heir of the Dál Riata, the Kingdom of
the Scots. Half Viking and half Celtic Irish, Somerled held the unique position
as overlord of the Kingdoms of Scotland and Norway which later emerged into the
Regulus, or Lordship, of the Isles. Through marriage to the King of Man (Olaf
the Red)’s, daughter, cunning and belligerence, Somerled seized the Kingdom of
the Isles from his brother-in-law in 1156 and expelled the Norsemen from the
Western Isles.
A simple rudder was one of the main reasons for Somerled’s
successful command of Scotland’s north-western seaboard. He favoured the
Hebridean Galley, a clinker-built vessel based on the Viking longboat, powered
by oars and sails. What made this galley different from the longboat was the
addition of a stern rudder which rendered the craft fast and manoeuvrable,
perfect for raiding and transporting goods and men. These boats were
instrumental in the MacDonalds command of the Hebrides until the coming of the
mounted gun in the late 16th century.
Now Rìgh Innse Gall, King of the Isles, Somerled directed
his maritime power from his base at Finlaggan on Islay. From there he kept the
sea lanes clear between the Irish Sea and Europe and protected his warbands by
setting up a chain of supply harbours guarded by forts across his 25,000-mile
kingdom of islands and lochs.
Sons of Somerled
After his fall in the Battle of Renfrew in 1164 against King
Malcolm IV’s forces, the great sea-lord Somerled was succeeded by an unknown
number of sons and a daughter, and what was left of his vast kingdom was
divided between the three sons of his marriage to Ragnhildis, Olaf the Red’s
daughter: Ruaidhrí Mac Raghnaill (MacRuari, now part of Clanranald and
Glengarry), Dughall (MacDoughall) and Raghnuill, of Clan Donald. Somerled’s
daughter, Bethoc, became prioress of Iona Nunnery.
Raghnuill, or Ranald, inherited his father’s title as King
of the Isles and it is his son, Dòmhnaill Mac Raghnuill (Donald, Son of
Ranald), who is the eponymous progenitor of Clan Donald.
Aonghus Mór Mac Dòmhnaill, son of Raghnuill, was born circa
1248 and is generally regarded as the first of the MacDonalds. Under his watch,
the Norwegian sovereignty of the Isles fell to the successful and violent
invasion by the Scottish king, Alexander III, to bring the Hebrides into the
realm of Scotland. Aonghas was forced to swear fealty to him or forfeit his
Clan Somhairle inheritance.
Aonghas was succeeded by his son, Alasdair Óg Mac Domhnaill
(born circa 1260). By this time, the three Somhairle families (Clan Dubhghaill,
Clan Ruairhri and Clan Domhnaill) were in bitter dispute. When King Alexander
III died, aged 44, from a fall from his horse in 1286, Scotland was plunged
into crisis and family blood ties were severed.
Alexander III left no successors and Scotland’s powerful
houses sought to take advantage of the empty throne. In the following years,
two interregnums were presided over by the Guardians of Scotland while House
Balliol and House Bruce, along with 12 other hopefuls, joined the race for the
crown in what came to be known as The Great Cause. While Clan Dubhghaill were
sympathetic to Balliol’s claim, Clan Domnhaill were strong supporters of the
Bruce cause. When Alasdair was killed by the MacDougalls, he was succeeded by
younger brother, Aonghus Óg of Islay (born 1314), who helped the newly crowned
King Robert 1, The Bruce, fight and win Scottish independence in the Battle of
Bannockburn. In return Aonghus was not only granted the honorary position on
the right wing of the king’s army but was also given the lands held by his
cousins the Dubhgaills under the condition that the Kingdom of the Isles would
bend its knees to Robert’s feudal Scotland to become the Lordship of the Isles.
That title continued for 224 years until it was declared forfeit by James IV.
Aonghus’ son Eòin Mac Dòmhnuill (John of Islay) was born
circa 1380. Known as the “Good King of Islay”, John’s alliance to Robert II of
Scotland secured his title as Lord of the Isles and expanded the MacDonalds’
lands to Morvern, Garmoran, Lochaber, Kintyre and Knapdale. His son, Dòmhnall
of Islay (born circa 1422 and grandson
of Robert II), fought for the Earldom of Ross against the Earl of Mar at the
Battle of Harlaw (Cath Gairbheach) in 1411, one of the hardest-fought battles
to have ever taken place in Scotland.
Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross, was Dòmhnall’s second son
and his successor was his illegitimate son Hugh of Sleat (1436), the first of
the Macdonalds of Sleat branch.
The MacDonalds of Sleat
The story of Clan Donald of Sleat began with Ùisdean, or
Hugh, the third son of Alexander of Islay and Somerled’s sixth great grandson.
Ùisdean’s successors sculpted their history with murder, war and infighting as
well as violent feuds with neighbouring families, namely the MacLeods of
Dunvegan and the MacLeans of Duart.
Over the centuries, the MacDonalds established themselves as
a strong and highly revered fighting force throughout the British isles and
their presence helped to tip the balance in favour of their allies in many
battles during the Jacobite Uprisings, the Napoleonic Wars, the American Wars,
the Great War and World War II.
But not all MacDonalds over the centuries spoiled for a
fight. Many favoured a civilian lifestyle and took to the aesthetic arts to
become poets and musicians. Some became important statesmen, learned scholars,
churchmen and humanitarians. Like their first forefather Somerled, poverty,
famine, the Clearances, courage and intrepidness forced many to take to the
waves and spread the family line across the globe to become one of the largest
Scottish clans in the world.
Moments in History
Land in Hand
According to ancient legend, Somerled’s grandson Donald won
the lands on Skye in a very unusual way. Sailing towards the Trotternish
peninsula in his galley, Donald engaged in a contest with rival clans to win
the enemy’s land. Whoever’s hand touched the shore first would own the land in
perpetuity. The canny Donald, eager to win the coveted prize, is said to have
taken out his dirk, sliced off his own hand and hurled it onto the shore near
Bornesketaig, securing the land for his descendants.
Bitter Rivalry
The blood of the fallen MacDonalds of Sleat and MacLeods of
Dunvegan has painted centuries of Skye’s history red.
During the late 16th century, as an offering of peace to end
the long feud between the two clans, MacLeod chieftain, Rory Mòr, offered his
sister’s hand in marriage to Donald Gorm.
This was a “handfast” arrangement meaning that, should the
intended betrothed not bear a male heir in the first year and a day of living
together, then the contract would no longer be valid. A year and a day came and
went with no heir in sight and poor Margaret appears to have lost an eye during
that time. Donald Gorm sent her back to her brother at Dunvegan Castle tied
backwards to a one-eyed horse, with a one-eyed servant and even managed to find
a one-eyed dog to add to the entourage. So incensed by the brazen insult, Rory
took up arms once again against the MacDonalds and the ensuing battles came to
be known as the Wars of the One-Eyed woman.
During these wars, Donald Gorm invaded Trotternish, at that
time held by the MacLeods, in an effort to extend his lands in the north. The
Battle of Trouternes is aptly named the Battle of Achadh na Fala (field of
blood). The fight took place on the banks of the Snizort River at Skeabost,
which bordered the territories of the two rival clans. It was said the victorious
Donald Gorm cut off the heads of the fallen MacLeods and threw them into the
water. As they bobbed out to sea, the heads got caught in the yair at the
river’s mouth and to this day that place is known as Coirre-nan-Ceann, “the
Yair of the Heads".
After his success over Trotternish, MacDonald took up home
in Duntulm Castle but could not rest until he had a decisive victory.
The Battle of Coire Na Creiche took place in 1601 on the
slopes of the Black Cuillin ridge, the site of Skye’s famous Fairy Pools. This
would be the last Scottish clan battle ever to be fought on the Island.
MacDonald defeated and captured Alasdair MacLeod and 30 of his clansmen but his
success came at a high price. The fighting raged throughout the day and night
and it is said the river, Allt Coir a ‘Mhadaidh, ran red with the blood of both
kinsmen.
In fact, the battle had been so violent that the Privy
Council decided to step in between the rivals and forced them to negotiate
terms of peace. The two families never took up arms against each other again
and it was also ruled that Margaret MacLeod was to take “such civil action
against Donald Gorme as she might be advised to do".
High spirits at Duntulm
For centuries, Duntulm Castle, “the once dwelling of a
king”, served as the seat of Clan Donald. This imposing fortress, now a ruin,
lies to the north of Staffin perched on a cliff between a sheer drop into the
Sound of Sleat on one side and a deep chasm on the landward side. It was home
to The Clan since the days of Donald Gorm but was abandoned in 1732, when Sir
Alexander MacDonald built a new house at Monkstadt. The family allegedly fled
their ancestral home because of a ghost.
Duntulm, with its history of violence, is said to be haunted
by many restless souls.
Donald Gorm: The ghost of this belligerent chief can
sometimes be heard challenging his invisible enemies to fight.
Hugh MacDonald: Hugh was cousin to Donald Gorm and his
ambition to appropriate Donald’s lands through murder came to an abrupt and
terrible end when his letter to an assassin fell into the intended victim’s
hands. The plot thwarted, Hugh fled to Dun an Sticir in North Uist but was
captured and thrown into Duntulm dungeon. Donald Gorm exacted his revenge by
leaving Hugh to die in his black prison, tormented with only a plate of salty
beef and an empty water pitcher to keep him company. The thirsty Hugh went mad
before he died and his ghostly piercing wails can still surprise visitors to
the ruins.
The nursemaid: The seannachies tell the sad tale of the
nursemaid who was charged with looking after the son of Donald Gorm. On her
watch, the child allegedly fell from the window onto the rocks far below. The
laird, in his fury and grief, ordered the nursemaid to be cast adrift on the
Atlantic in a boat full of holes. Shortly
after the deed was done, one of the castle’s staff saw a white cloth hanging
from the rocks and inside it, the baby was found safe and well.
One-eyed Margaret: Another regular ghostly apparition to
stalk the castle ruins is that of the hapless one-eyed Margaret MacLeod.
Over the Sea to Skye
Not all MacDonald’s were staunch supporters of the Jacobite
cause. During the ’45 Rising, the exiled prince Charles Edward Louis John
Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart, landed on Eriskay in 1745, raised the
Stewart standard at Glenfinnan and called the Jacobites to arms. His aim: to
reclaim the Scottish throne. Many of the MacDonald septs rallied to his call,
but not Sir Alexander MacDonald of Sleat, who was a staunch supporter of King
George II. Unbeknown to Alexander, his wife Margaret’s loyalties were to the
opposing side. It was Margaret’s niece and many other Sleat MacDonalds and
Scottish clansmen who would eventually become famous for saving the life of
Bonnie Prince Charlie and enabling his safe passage back to France.
When Bonnie Prince Charlie fled from his defeat at Culloden
in April 1746, the Government put a bounty on his head at £30,000. Fleeing
across the Scottish moors and mountains, with Government troops in close
pursuit, the young prince eventually came to the western shores where he
boarded a boat to Skye disguised as Flora MacDonald’s handmaiden, Betty Burke.
Thanks to the help of loyal supporters, the defeated prince eventually managed
to sail to France from Loch nan Uamh in Lochaber.
The Clan Today
War, the wrong alliances, poverty, lavish lifestyles,
emigration and forfeiture gradually narrowed the borders of Somerled’s mighty
sea kingdom and, in 1971, the last lands of The Clan chiefs were put on the
market.
The ruined shell of Armadale Castle represents the last
stronghold of the MacDonalds of Sleat and the mansion house, together with its
20,000 acres of land were bought by the Clan Donald Lands Trust as a heritage
site for MacDonalds across the globe.
The diaspora of MacDonalds over the years led to many
emigrant communities being set up in the New World and, in the early 1700s,
whole communities are said to have boarded ships bound for Auistralia, New
Zealand, Canada and the USA. North Carolina was one of the favoured
destinations for Skye settlers, as well as Georgia and New York. Thriving
Gaelic communities also began in Canada, in particular the Glendale Settlement
on Prince Edward Island and the Cape North Area of Cape Breton, and today still
maintain their strong ties to the homeland.
In 2002, the Museum of the Isles was opened at Armadale and
holds a wealth of information on the family name that lies at the very heart of
Gaeldom.
Heraldry
Clann Dòmhnaill, Na Dòmhnallaich
Motto
Per Mare per Terras (Air muir's tir, Gaelic) (By Land by
Sea, English)
Crest
Quarterly, 1st, argent, a lion rampant gules, armed and
langued azure; 2nd; Or, a hand in armour fessways holding a cross-crosslet
fitchee gules; 3rd, Or, a lymphad sails furled and oars in action sable,
Flagged gules; 4th, vert, a salmon naiant in fess proper, over all on an
escutcheon en surtout, Or, an eagle displayed gules surmounted of a lymphad
sails furled, oars in action sable (as Chief of the Name and Arms of
Macdonald).
Translation
1st quarter, silver, a lion rearing red, tongue, claws and
teeth bright blue; 2nd quarter, gold, a hand in armour horizontal holding a
small burning cross red; 3rd quarter, Gold a one-masted galley sails furled and
oars in action black, flag red; 4th quarter, green a salmon swimming horizontal
in its natural state; placed over all quarters on a shield, Gold an eagle with
wings spread red overlaid by a one-masted galley sails furled, oars in action
black (as Chief of the Name and Arms MacDonald).
Badge
Fraoch Gorm or Common Heath.
Tartans
MacDonald of the Isles, MacDonald of Sleat.
Chief
Godfrey James Macdonald, 8th Baron Macdonald, Chief of the
Name and Arms of Macdonald, High Chief of Clan Donald and 24th hereditary Chief
of Clan Donald.
The Nicolsons of Scorrybreac
Clan MacNeacail | The Nicolsons of Scorrybreac
Arms of Nicolson
On a tiny island at the head of Loch Snizort Beag in the
north of Skye lies “one of the most fascinating historical sites in Scotland.”
Surrounded by the waters of the Snizort River, Eilean
Chaluim Chille or Saint Columba’s Isle, was once the principal seat of the
Bishops of the Isles and the site of the Cathedral of the Isles, the centre of
Hebridean Christianity for over 400 years until its destruction during the
Scottish Reformation.
Scattered across Eilean Chaluim Chille are the mortal
remains of the ancient Hebridean bishops; former members of local families; and
the recumbent effigies of Crusader knights, displaying the weapons and armour
of their medieval military might.
For over 800 years, this little island has also provided the
tomb for 28 chieftains of one of the oldest Celtic Clans in Scotland who found
their final resting place beneath the ruined chapel house called Aite Adhlaic
Mhic Neacail, or Nicolson’s Aisle.
Like many of the Hebridean clans, the MacNeacails are
thought to have come from Norse and Celtic stock. Originally from the Isle of
Lewis, scant early records show the first chief John Mak Nakyl, or John Son of
Nicail, fighting for control of the Hebrides alongside the descendants of
Somerled against the Norwegian King of Mann. The MacNeacails supported the
Scottish campaign for Independence of 1315 when they aided Edward Bruce,
brother of Robert the Bruce, against the English during the invasion of
Ireland.
At around the same time, a MacNeacail heiress married
Torquil MacLeod and the MacNeacail’s ancient lands on Lewis were absorbed into
the Lewis MacLeod estate. The male descendants, however, set up home at
Scorrybreac House above Portree on the Island’s Trotternish Peninsula and this
remained the clan's heartland until 1825 when the Clan Chief, Malcolm Nicolson,
sold the lands to the Clan MacDonald and emigrated to Tasmania. During the
Highland Clearances, many Nicolsons followed suit, leaving their ancestral home
to pursue a life in the New World.
The current clan chief is John MacNeacail of MacNeacail and
Scorrybreac, who lives in Ballina, New South Wales, Australia.
In 1987 the international Clan MacNeacail Federation bought
the 130-acres of Scorrybreac ground (administered and maintained by Urras Clann
MhicNeacail) and established a circuitous nature trail and a number of paths
around Ben Chracaig, called the Scorrybreac Trails.
The return of the clan to their ancestral heartland has
allowed members of this ancient extended family to maintain its strong links to
Skye through clan gatherings and there remains a strong community of Nicolsons
in Portree.
Heraldry
Clan MacNeacail
Crest
A Hawk’s head erased Gules
Motto
Sgorr-a-Bhreac
Slogan
Meminisse sed providere (Remember but look ahead)
Plant badge
Juniper
Towns and Villages
Central
Trotternish
- Staffin
- Flodigarry
- Uig
Duirinish
- Dunvegan
- Glendale
- Waternish
- Edinbane
Strath
- Broadford
- Elgol
- Torrin
- Kyleakin
- Kylerhea
Sleat
- Armadale
- Isle Ornsay
- Tarskavaig
Minginish
- Carbost
Lochalsh
- Kyle of Lochalsh
Places on Skye
- The Cuillin
- Skye Bridge
- Fairy Glen
- Fairy Pools
- The Quiraing (photo)
- Talisker Bay
- Sligachan
- Old Man of Storr
- Loch Fada
- Elgol
- Nest Point
- Boust Hill
- Loch Cill Chriosd
- Uig Bay