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Clan MacDonnell of Glengarry (Tartans, Crest) and The Story Behind

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MacDonell of Glengarry / MacDonald of Glengarry

Gaelic Name: MacDhomhnuill

Clan Crest: A raven Proper perching on a rock Azure

Clan Motto: Creag an Fhitich (The Raven’s Rock)

Origin of Name: Gaelic, Domhnull (World ruler)

Clan Badge: Heath

Lands: Glengarry

Historic Seat: Invergarry Castle

Clan Chief: Ranald MacDonell of Glengarry

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MacDonell of Glengarry Clan History

The Clanranalds descended from a branch of the MacDonald line that settled on the mainland near Inverness. The clan was named 'Glengarry' because they were based in Glengarry, where the Garry River runs through. There were also MacDonnells in Keppoch, which grew into its own branch in the same way.

Clan MacDonell of Glengarry chiefs were originally seated at Strome Castle, but were later relocated to Invergarry Castle.

The Strome Castle

They constructed Invergarry Castle and chose the spelling MacDonnell, which is closer to the Gaelic original MacDhomhnuill. The castle overlooks Loch Oich from Creagan an Fhithich, also known as the Raven's Rock, in the Great Glen, which served as a strategic position during clan warfare. For this reason, the MacDonnells depict the Raven in their Clan Crest.

For many yeasts, Invergarry Castle (Creacan an Fhithich) was the stronghold of the MacDonellls of Glengarry. In 1746, the Butcher of Cumberland set fire to it.

Glengarry is located in Lochaber, which was once part of the ancient Pict Kingdom of Moray.

The photograph was taken from the Glengarry Viewpoint.

The origins of the MacDonnells of Glengarry and the Lords of the Isles

The Lords of the Isles were the powerful Viking/Gaelic rulers of Scotland's west coast. They essentially operated as a separate country, with their Royalty being the all-powerful Clan Donald Chiefs. They were, after the Kings of England and Scotland, the largest landowners and most powerful lords in the British Isles at their peak. In 1156, Somerled, Gilledomman's grandson, seized the Isles from the King of Man and established a dynasty that became the Lords of the Isles. He was of Celtic ancestry on his father's side and Norse ancestry on his mother's: his contemporaries knew him as Somerled Macgilbred, Somhairle, or in Norse Sumarlidi Höld ('Somerled' means "summer wanderer," the Vikings' name). He was given the titles R Innse Gall (King of the Hebrides) and King of Man. Following Somerled's death, three of his sons divided the Kingdom among themselves:

Aonghus (Clan Macruari ancestor)

Clan MacDougall ancestor Dughall

Ragnald, whose son Donald Mor McRanald would give his name to the Clan Donald, which would compete with the MacDougalls for territory.

Donald's son Angus Mor (the Elder) Mac Donald (the first Macdonald) was confirmed as Lord of Islay by King Haakon IV of Norway (reigned 1217-1263).

Ranald, the 1st Lord of the Isles' younger son, had five sons. Alan, one of the sons, would be the Clanranald's progenitor. Another son, Donald, would have a son, Alexander, who could be considered Glengarry's first chief.

Loss of Land in the 15th Century

Uncle Godfrey had denied Donald, Alan, and the other brothers their lands.

The lands passed to the Crown when Godfrey's son Alexander was executed in 1427. The MacDonnells were made Crown tenants on what should have been their own land.

In 1491, James IV received the submission of the majority of Clan Chiefs regarding the new feudal relationships and recognition of Royal superiority. Alexander of Glengarry, on the other hand, resisted submission for another forty years with his rebellious attitude. On March 6, 1539, he was granted a Crown charter to Glengarry, Morar, half of Lochalsh, Lochcarron, Lochbroom, and Strome Castle. Despite this, he joined a rebellious attempt to assist Donald Gorm of Sleat in reclaiming the Lordship of the Isles.

Clan Conflicts in the 16th Century

The 5th Chief John, the 5th Chief of Glengarry, was murdered by Fraser of Lovat after being invited to a meeting with him in 1501.

He was succeeded by Alexander Ranaldson (Alasdair Mac Iain Mhic Alasdair), who fought against the Clan Fraser at the Battle of the Shirts in 1544 with the MacDonells of Glengarry. Alexandr, the sixth chief, passed away in 1560.

In 1581, a major feud erupted between the chief of Glengarry, who had inherited one half of the Wester Ross districts of Lochalsh, Lochcarron, and Lochbroom, and Colin Mackenzie of Kintail, who had inherited the other half. Disputes over land in western Ross-shire were at the heart of their problems, but it appears that the violence was exacerbated by the revenge taken by two Glengarry cousins for the murder of their fathers in Lochcarron in 1580. They burned down the home of one of the murderers at Applecross, killing him and his family, and also killed a Donald Mackenzie who happened to be staying there. The Mackenzie Chief, Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st Lord Mackenzie of Kintail, and the Glengary Chief, Donald Macdonell of Glengarry, both went to the Privy Council in Edinburgh to present complaints against each other, but Mackenzie of Kintail is said to have gotten the better of his opponent by producing Donald Mackenzie's shirt, covered in blood, as evidence before the Privy Council. Glengarry fled the city and, despite being summoned several times, failed to appear, and hostility between the Mackenzies and Macdonells of Glengarry persisted.

Angus Macdonell, younger of Glengarry, son of Glengarry Chief Donald, attacked the Mackenzie lands at Torridon in November 1601, killing many Mackenzies and looting the territory extensively. In response, Kenneth Mackenzie of Kintail petitioned the Privy Council in Edinburgh to hold Donald Macdonell of Glengarry accountable for his son's actions. Mackenzie of Kintail obtained from the government a Commission of Fire and Sword against Glengarry, authorizing him to take action and employ any means necessary against him. In early 1602, Mackenzie of Kintail gathered a large force of Mackenzies as well as men from his allies, the Ross clan, and invaded Glengarry's lands at Morar. There was a battle there against the Glengarry men, and many Mackenzies and Macdonells were killed, including Glengarry's son Angus, though some sources say Angus was killed in a later battle with the Mackenzies in Ross-shire in 1603. In 1602 Glengarry forces raided Mackenzie territory in Lochalsh and Applecross. On orders from the Privy Council, both Mackenzie of Kintail and Glengarry were made to swear to keep the peace, and Glengarry eventually abandoned any claims he had to land on the west coast of Ross-shire.

The Clan MacDonell of Glengarry and the Clan Mackenzie fought the Battle of Morar in 1602.

Donald, 8th of Glengarry, is said to have lived for over a century and was clan chief for over seventy years. He was successful in obtaining a charter under the Great Seal to make his lands a free barony in 1627. He was labeled a rebel after failing to appear before the Privy Council in Edinburgh in 1649 to answer charges of harboring fugitives from the Isles.

Conflicts with the Keppoch MacDonnells

Alexander, the 12th chief of Keppoch, and his brother were both killed in 1663 in what is known as Tobair-nan-ceann, the Well of Heads, near Invergarry. The heads of seven murderers were washed here before being presented to Lord MacDonnell of Invergarry.

In 1581, a major feud erupted between the chief of Glengarry, who had inherited one half of the Wester Ross districts of Lochalsh, Lochcarron, and Lochbroom, and Colin Mackenzie of Kintail, who had inherited the other half. After the Mackenzies attacked Glengarry's portion, the latter took up temporary residence in Lochcarron, and established a small garrison on the castle of Strone in that district, to protect his rights. He unfortunately fell into the hands of a Mackenzies party with some of his followers, and after being detained in captivity for a considerable time, only obtained his release by yeilding the castle of Lochcarron to the Mackenzies. The other prisoners, including several of his close relatives, were executed. After complaining to the privy council, Mackenzie of Kintail was imprisoned for a time in Edinburgh, and then in the castle of Blackness. In 1602, Glengarry was "easily intrapped within the compass thereof" by the clan Kenzie, who obtained a warrant summoning him to appear before the justiciary court in Edinburgh due to his ignorance of the laws. Glengarry, on the other hand, paid no attention to it and went about avenging the murders of two of his kinsmen by the Mackenzies after the summons had been issued. As a result, he and some of his followers were declared outlaws, and Kenneth Mackenzie, now Lord of Kintail, obtained a commission of fire and sword against Glengarry and his men, under which he invaded and ravaged the district of North Morar, stealing all the cattle. In retaliation, the Macdonalds plundered the district of Applecross, and later landed on the coast of Lochalsh, intending to burn and destroy all Mackenzie's lands as far as Easter Ross, but after their leader, Allaster MacGorrie, was killed, they returned home. To avenge his kinsman's death, Angus Macdonnell, the young chief of Glengarry, led his followers north to Lochcarron, where his tribe held the castle of Strone, now in ruins. He loaded his boats with the plunder and prepared to return after burning many of the houses in the district and killing the residents. In the absence of their chief, the Mackenzies, encouraged by his lady's example, stationed themselves at the narrow strait or kyle that separates Skye from the mainland in order to intercept them. Before they appeared, however, night had fallen, and some of the Mackenzies rowed out in two boats towards a large galley, on board of which was young Glengarry, which was then passing the kyle. They launched a surprise attack with musketry and arrows. In their panic, those on board crowded to one side, the galley overturned, and everyone on board was thrown into the water. The Mackenzies immediately dispatched those who were able to reach the shore, and among the slain was Glengarry's young chief himself. When the rest of the Macdonnells arrived in Skye, they left their boats and walked to Morar. When it was discovered that the chief of the Mackenzies had not returned from Mull, a large party was dispatched to an island near which he had to pass, which he did the next day in Maclean's great galley, but he managed to elude them and was soon out of reach of pursuit. He then laid siege to Strone Castle, which surrendered to him and was blown up.

The Jacobite Rebellions and the Clans' End

The Battle of Highbridge

The Highbridge Skirmish was the first strike against Government Men by Jacobite Loyalists in 1745 at Highbridge, Lochaber, on the River Spean. Prince Charles Edward Stuart had only recently arrived and was meeting with the Chiefs of Clan Cameron of Lochiel and Clan MacDonald of Clan Ranald. Jacobite forces loyal to Bonnie Prince Charlie began to gather and organize; in response, the government dispatched two companies of the Second Battalion of the Royal Scots regiment, led by Captain Scott of the Clan Scott. In total, 85 government men were marching towards Fort William to meet reinforcements. They marched unopposed until they reached High Bridge over the Spean River. Major Donald MacDonald of Tir nan dris, with only 11 men and one piper from the Clan MacDonald of Keppoch, stood on the Bridge, armed with swords and muskets, ready to meet the approaching enemy.

Today's High Bridge

Captain Scott halted his troops and dispatched a sergeant and a servant to negotiate, but both were captured. Scott then gave the order to retreat, and his men began marching back the way they came. They were being fired on from both sides of the road as they did so. Captain Scott's men returned fire, but they were forced to change course and move off the road.

Scott decided to take refuge in Invergarry Castle, the seat of the Clan MacDonell of Glengarry, and crossed the isthmus between the two lochs. This movement, however, only made his situation worse, as he had not marched far when he noticed another body of Jacobites, the Macdonells of Glengarry, approaching him from the opposite hill. In this predicament, he formed his men into a hollow square and marched on. Meanwhile, the chief's men, led by MacDonald of Keppoch, hastened the pursuit. The Royal Scots were eventually surrounded on all sides by the Clan MacDonald of Keppoch and the Clan MacDonnell of Glengarry. MacDonald of Keppoch advanced alone to Scott's party, demanded surrender, and offered quarters, but warned them that if they resisted, they would be cut to pieces. Captain Scott, who had been wounded and had two of his men killed, accepted the terms offered and surrendered, exhausted by the long march and surrounded on all sides by increasing bodies of Jacobites. The Jacobites are said to have lost only one man in this battle.

This incident signaled the start of the Jacobite uprising against the Hanoverian crown in 1745.

The Macdonells of Glengarry were also victorious at the Clifton Moor Skirmish and Battle of Prestonpans in 1745. They also fought in the Battle of Falkirk (1746) and the Battle of Culloden the following year.

The Clan was said to be 700 strong at the time of Culloden. At Culloden, the MacDonnell Chief MacDonell of Scotas was killed.

The Highland Clearances - The Dispersal of the MacDonnells of Glengarry

The Highland Clearances wreaked havoc on the Highlands. People who spoke Gaelic were visibly removed from their homes. This happened to the people of Locaber as well as the MacDonells of Glengary. Known Jacobite sympathizers were treated especially harshly. Protestantism was displacing Catholicism.

Duncan, the current Chief of the Glengarrys, had restored the family fortunes by marrying an heiress and introducing sheep farming on his estates, but his policies caused a large number of his clansmen to emigrate. (From £700 per year in 1761 to £5,000 by the end of the century, his rent rose from £700 to £5,000). This was known as the Highland Clearances. While the Chief became wealthier, his tenants and Clan members were evicted and replaced with sheep. This was a massive betrayal that was taking place throughout The Highlands. The Clearances occurred in the Lowlands and Borders, as well as the North of England, but in a more gradual manner over the next 100 years.

The MacDonnells were hit harder than other Clans by the Clearances. It is critical to remember that these clanspeople were forcibly removed and did not leave voluntarily. We talk about emigration as if it were a choice.

The Chiefs of Glengarry remained in the Highlands.

Highland Romantic Renaissance

Colonel Alexander Ranaldson Macdonell (15 September 1773 – 17 January 1828).

The 15th Chief of the MacDonnells of Gengarry was simply known as "Glengarry," and he inherited vast estates stretching from Glengarry in the Great Glen to Knoydart on the Atlantic.

Sir Walter Scott's friend Glengarry was described as a haughty and flamboyant man on whom Scott based the character Fergus Mac-Ivor, the Highland Chief in the pioneering historical novel Waverley of 1810.

Glengarry was commissioned as a Captain in February 1793, after the war with France had begun, to recruit a company of the Strathspey Fencibles, raised by Sir James Grant, a kinsman. He was given a colonel's commission in August 1794 to raise the Glengarry Fencibles regiment of Glengarry Highlanders, with recruits drawn from the Glengarry estates under threat of eviction if persuasion did not work. Glengarry commanded his regiment in Guernsey until his resignation in August 1796. His chances of becoming a regular officer in the British Army had been dashed by his commander-in-chief, the Duke of York and Albany, possibly due to concerns about his character.

The well-known 'Glengarry' comes from the distinctive boat-shaped cap with ribbons hanging behind that these soldiers wore. A number of Scottish regiments adopted this style of hat as part of their uniform.

When King George IV. When Glengarry paid a visit to Edinburgh in 1822, he brought a group of his clansmen with him, who astonished and awed the people. In his youth, he killed in a duel a young officer who was vying for the hand of Miss Forbes of Culloden at a county ball, and later in life, he picked a fight with a doctor at Fort Augustus, who was severely mauled by his henchman. He was fined £2,000 for this.

Glengarry saw himself as the last genuine specimen of a Highland chief, and he always dressed in Highland garb.

He was a member of the Highland Society and the Celtic Society of Edinburgh before establishing his own Society of True Highlanders in June 1815, after leaving the Celtic Society and complaining that "their general appearance is assumed and fictitious, and they have no right to burlesque the national character or dress of the Highlands." His outrage at the acceptance of Lowlanders turned into a bitter complaint about the Celtic Society's prominent role in King George IV's visit to Scotland, and he made several unauthorised and flamboyant appearances during the visit, much to the annoyance of his friend Walter Scott and the other organisers, but causing only mild amusement to the King.

Glengarry tried unsuccessfully in the Court of Session in 1824 to seize the chiefship of Clan Donald from Ranald George Macdonald.

Glengarry had carried on what his mother had started when his father was chieftain, clearing people from his land to make way for more profitable sheep, and most of the clan was forced to emigrate to British North America as part of what became known as the Highland Clearances. In the Address of Beelzebub, Robert Burns wrote a satirical poem about Glengarry.

Glengarry's fencibles were disbanded in 1802, and Glengarry failed to keep a promise to find land for the men. As a result, the regimental chaplain, Father Alexander Macdonell, led a mass emigration to British North America.

MacDonell, Alexander Ranaldson. He was a colonel and major of the Glengarry Fencibles, and he was a fervent supporter of the old Highland games, awarding prizes each year to the winners of the great sports at Inverness and Fort William. He invented 'traditional' highland games and even introduced a strength test that involved twisting off a cow's leg.

He placed a high value on preserving his home's historic memories and feudal splendors. In 1812, he erected the monument at the Well of the Heads, with his own name engraved on it as "Colonel M'Donell of Glengarry, XVII. Mac-mhic-Alaister."

All the while, he was expelling the Clans from his lands, as well as the people who had just fought for him.

"Glengarry farms contained 1500 souls," wrote David Stewart of Garth to Sir J MacGregor. These farms now employ 35 people. Isn't this extinction? and yet Glengarry goes about the country attending public meetings and making speeches in his own praise as a true friend to the Highlanders, only to be bemused by the rest of his character."

According to the Inverness Courier, Glengarry died on January 17, 1828, after jumping from a slipping boat and hitting his head on a rock, resulting in 'brain fever.' The funeral procession of five miles from Invergarry to Kilfinnan was followed by 1,500 men and 150 gentry, with the coffin being carried breast-high by eighteen Highlanders. Archie Munro, Glengarry's personal piper, and Allan MacDougall, the blind household bard, both wrote laments. "In Edinburgh, Sir Walter Scott was moved to compose Glengarry's Death Song, an undeniable expression of his genuine affection for the dead chief, if not perhaps a work of the highest literary quality," writes Brian Osborne.

A hero is Father Alexander Macdonell (bishop).

Glen Urquhart, Inchlaggan, 17 July 1762. His life was diametrically opposed to that of Chief Glengarry. Father Alexander McDonnell dedicated his life to assisting his fellow clansmen who had been cleared and displaced as a result of the Clearances, their homes destroyed, and their land now occupied by sheep and sheep farms. He worked hard to find these desperate people work in the lowlands.

In 1794, he organized the formation of the 1st Glengarry Fencible regiment, commanded by his cousin Glengarry and chaplained by himself. When the regiment was disbanded in 1804 Father MacDonell arranged for a plot of land in Canada and joined them. Following the eviction of his relatives, Father Macdonell led them to Glasgow. He is commemorated by the town of Alexandria in North Glengarry, Ontario.

The 1786 Glengarry Emigration

Alexander Ranaldson, the seventeenth/15th chief, left his son and successor in serious financial difficulties, and the estate was sold to the Marquess of Huntly in 1828, from whom it passed to the Earl of Dudley and then to Honourable Edward Ellice.

Alasdair Ruadh MacDonnell of Glengarry, portrait

A memorial to Air Commodore Donald MacDonell of Glengarry, 22nd Chief of Glengarry and father of the current Clan Chief, can be found just outside The Clan Donald Centre at Armadale Castle on Skye. During the Battle of Britain, he was a fighter pilot. He led No 64 Squadron in the thick of the air fighting over the South of England, notching up 1112 kills before being shot down in the spring of the following year while on one of Fighter Command's costly fighter sweeps over occupied France, which claimed so many of its best pilots. This is regarded as the decisive battle of the war.

Glengarry Air Commodore Donald MacDonell Memorial

Ranald MacDonnell of Glengarry, full name Aeneas Ranald Euan MacDonell, 23rd Chief of Glengarry, is the current chief.

MacDonell of Glengarry Places & People

Glengarry Clan MacDonnell People

Alasdair Ruadh (c.1725–61).

When the Jacobites rose in 1745, Alasdair Ruath, the 13th Chief of Keppoch, abandoned France and the Royal French Scots to lead his clan out for Bonnie Prince Charlie. However, a British man of war prevented his seaward return, and he was imprisoned in the Tower of London until the Rising was over.

When he was eventually released, he assisted in the planning of another rising, frequently transporting information between Scotland and France. European operations were carried out under the codename 'Pickle'.

Sileas MacDonnell of Keppoch (circa 1660–1729).

Sileas MacDonnell's work includes twenty-three poems, several hymns, and a song, and she commented on politics, religion, and the morals of the populace.

After the 1715 Battle of Sheriffmuir devolved from a potential Jacobite victory into indecision and then defeat, followed by more indecisive strategy in the weeks that followed, MacDonnell expressed her dissatisfaction with the Jacobite leaders responsible.

In addition to her criticisms, MacDonnell wrote heartfelt laments for the deaths of some of those she admired.

MacDonell of Glengarry Tartans

Ancient MacDonnell of Glengarry

Modern MacDonnell of Glengarry

MacDonell of Glengarry Crest & Coats of Arms

Clan MacDonell of Glengarry Crest:

A raven is depicted on the crest. Azure looks great perched on a rock.

Coats of Arms for MacDonell of Glengarry:

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.