Home / Scottish Clans - Histories, Tartans Crests and much more / Clan MacDowall (Tartans, Crest) and The Story Behind

Clan MacDowall (Tartans, Crest) and The Story Behind

By ScotsTee Shop

MacDowall / McDowall

Gaelic Name: Mac Dubhghaill

Clan Crest: Issuant from a crest coronet Or, a Lion’s paw erased and erected Proper holding a dagger point upwards Proper, hilted and pommelled Or

Clan Motto: Vincere Vel Mori (To conquer or die)

Origin of Name: Gaelic, son of Dubhghall, ‘dark stranger’

Clan Badge: Sprig of Oak

Historic Seat: Barr Castle

Clan Chief: Fergus D.H. McDowall of Garthland

⇨ View All MacDowall Tartan Products

MacDowall Clan History

Galloway's ancient history is intertwined with the name MacDowall. Galloway, a district in southwest Scotland, was named after the Galli or Gaelic settlers of the sixth and seventh centuries AD. There are many legends in Galloway, including the story of Dovall of Galloway killing Nothatus the Tyrant in 230 BC and the Galloway Royal House resisting the Roman armies.

Barr Castle is located in Renfrewshire. Fergus MacDowall, the MacDowalls' chief, owns it.

The Lords of Galloway wielded enormous power. The land was coveted by both the Scots and the English, and the lords scattered their ancient princedom with well-endowed abbeys and priories. Fergus of Galloway (1096-1161) became Lord of Galloway after marrying Elizabeth, the daughter of Henry I of England, in 1124. Under David I of Scotland, he became the first feudal Lord of Galloway. Alan Fitz Roland, the last of the MacFergus dynasty of Lords of Galloway, died in 1234. His daughter Devorgilla married Lord 'Balliol' of Barnard Castle. Through his maternal line, their son John claimed the Lordship of Galloway. In 1292, he was also a successful claimant to the Scottish throne.

John Balliol, Lord of Galloway, granted lands in Garthland to 'Dougal,' a descendant of King Somerled, and Fergus MacDoual, also a relation of Balliol. Balliol and Dougal both signed the Ragman Rolls in 1296, pledging their allegiance to England's Edward I alongside many other Scottish nobles. Fergus, third of Garthland and Dougal's grandson, was sheriff depute for Kirkcudbright during David II's reign.

Clan Comyn, once Scotland's most powerful family, was a bitter rival to Robert the Bruce for the right to the Scottish throne. The MacDowalls, like their neighbors the MacDougalls, joined forces with Clan Comyn. When Robert the Bruce assassinated John the Red Comyn, the chief of the Comyns, in February 1306, the MacDowalls became mortal enemies of the Bruces. The MacDowalls and MacDougalls fought against the Bruces in several battles. This came to an end when the Bruces killed Sir Dougal. Clan MacDowall switched sides several times as their priorities shifted, but eventually Scotland's defense became the most important to them, and they became Bruce supporters.

At the Battle of Humbleton Hill in 1402, Sir Fergus MacDowall, fifth Laird of Garthland and grandson of the third Fergus, was captured. At the battle, Sir Fergus led his Clan MacDowall men under the command of Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas, which was a crushing defeat for the Scots and left the country in a precarious political and military position. Only a series of events prevented a full-scale invasion of Scotland.

Isobel Gordon married Uchtred MacDowall the 9th of Garthland sometime near the end of the 15th century. During the Anglo-Scottish Wars in 1513, Uchtred MacDowall led the Clan MacDowall against the English at the Battle of Flodden Field. Uchtred and his son, Thomas MacDowall, were both killed. John MacDowall, the eleventh laird of Garthland, led the Clan MacDowall against the English at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh in 1547.

The young King James VI was kidnapped in 1582 during the "Ruthven Raid" to keep him safe from Catholic influences. The raid was led by William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie, and included Uchtred MacDowall, 12th of Garthland. The king was first imprisoned at Ruthven Castle, then at Edinburgh Castle.

The MacDowall surname spread widely, particularly west to Ireland during the Plantations of Ulster, and many descendants of these MacDowalls went even further west, to the United States, during Ireland's potato famine in the mid-nineteenth century.

Prof. Fergus Macdowall is the chief of Clan MacDowall. In 1987, he re-matriculated the clan's Arms with the Court of the Lord Lyon.

MacDowall Places & People

Clan MacDowall Individuals

MacDowall, Day Hort (1850-1927)

Day Hort MacDowall was a politician from Canada's former Northwest Territories. He was born in Carruth House, Renfrewshire, Scotland in 1850. He was elected to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly in 1883 and served until 1885. He was a prominent early resident of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, and was affiliated with the Conservative Party of Canada. In 1887, he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons, and in 1891, he was re-elected for Saskatchewan. He was in office until 1896.

He passed away on October 10, 1927. The Saskatchewan village of MacDowall is named after him.

Roddy McDowall is an actor.

McDowall, Roddy (1928-1998)

Actor from the United Kingdom. McDowall was born in Herne Hill, London, to Scottish father Thomas Andrew McDowall and Irish mother Winifred. Both of his parents were theater enthusiasts. Virginia, his sister, was also present. McDowall made his film debut at the age of ten. He made his name as "Huw" in How Green Was My Valley (1941), and he appeared in many other films as a child actor, including The White Cliffs of Dover (1944) and Lassie Come Home (1943), in which he co-starred (on one of many occasions) with lifelong friend Elizabeth Taylor.

McDowall was one of the few child actors to have a successful adult career, but it was usually in supporting roles, most notably in four of the five original Planet of the Apes films (1968-1973) and the TV series that followed. Cleopatra (1963), It! (1966), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), and Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974) were among her other film appearances. Overboard (1987) and Fright Night (1985). He also performed on stage and was a frequent television guest star, appearing on shows such as The Carol Burnett Show, Fantasy Island, and Quantum Leap.

During the 1990s, McDowall became involved in film preservation and served on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization that bestows the Oscar. For five terms, he was Chairman of the Actor's Branch. He was elected President of the Academy Foundation the year he died at the age of 70 from lung cancer in Studio City, California.

MacDowall Tartans

Tartan MacDowal

This name is also associated with the tartans listed below.

MacDougall the Elder

MacDougall Contemporary

MacDowall Crest & Coats of Arms

Clan MacDowall Crest

Issuant from a crest coronet Or, a Lion's paw erased and erected Proper holding a dagger point upwards Proper, hilted and pommelled Proper

Coats of Arms of MacDowall

A word about Coats of Arms:

A coat of arms is granted to an individual under Scottish heraldic law (with the exception of civic or corporate arms). A 'family coat of arms' does not exist. With the exceptions noted above, the arms depicted below are personal arms. Only the person who has been granted these weapons has the right to use them.