MacDonald

Date: 1100s

Ni eibhneas gun clann Dòmhnaill
There is no joy without clan Donald

In the year 2000, it has been estimated that there are some 3 million MacDonalds in the world. The MacDonalds of Skye are descended from Hugh. Like the Macleods, they are still strong here. They are known traditionally as Clann Uisdein (the children of Hugh). Hugh was the first chief of the MacDonalds of Sleat. He died in 1498.

For a three-hundred year period until 1495, the overlordship of Skye lay with the Macdonald Lords of the Isles as Earls of Ross. Angus Òg MacDonald, son of John, Lord of the Isles, described himself as ‘Master of the Isles and Lord of Trotternish’. In 1482, Angus Og invaded Trotternish and seized Duntulm Castle which was at that time the property of the Clan MacLeod. If the clan Macleod were ugly in battle, they got a few runs for their money. The spoils were the rich lands of Trotternish. And after the fall of the Lordship of the Isles in 1493, the clans were all claiming their rights to territory in Trotternish. Macdonald of Sleat won the day and the clan Donald held control of Trotternish by the end of the sixteenth century, but it wasn’t all plain sailing.

In 1528, the MacLeods were expelled from Trotternish by the MacDonalds under the orders of their Fifth Chief, the gloomy Dòmhnall Gruamach. A bloody massacre took place of the MacLeod women and children, and the ensuing fight between the two clans is commemorated in two adjoining placenames near the Snizort river. One is called Achadh na fala (the field of blood) and the other is called Coire nan Ceann (the Cauldron of Heads). Despite such grief being brought to bear upon their people, a number of MacLeods stubbornly made their way back to Trotternish during the course of the next ten years. The situation was not tolerated for long because the new MacDonald chief, Donald Gorm - the Sixth Chief and the son of Dòmhnall Gruamach - was a very ambitious man. He resolved to rid Trotternish of the MacLeods once and for all. His desire was fulfilled when in 1539 the deed was performed by a great force, a number of whom emanated from Siol Torquil (the Seed of Torquil), his wife’s family - the MacLeods of Lewis. Dìg has a story to tell of Dòmhnall Gorm’s presence in the district. Seemingly Dòmhnall Gorm collected his rent at a place in Dig, which came to be called Clach nan Leabhar (the stone of the books) on account of that. Until five years ago or so, the stone was to be seen on the croft of Donald Angus MacDonald of Digg.

It was circa 1539 that the castle of Duntulm replaced Dùn Sgathaich in Ord, Sleat as the principal seat of the MacDonalds. Duntulm remained the seat of the MacDonalds until sometime after the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion. The Macdonalds then moved their principal seat to Monkstadt, and seemingly they took with them much of the stone in the fort at Duntulm, to be built into Monkstadt. It has been suggested that the reason for moving from Duntulm was because of the tragedy of the young baby heir, who fell from his nurse’s arms out of a window at Duntulm onto the rocks below. It has been said that Macdonald of Sleat no longer wished to have his home at Duntulm thereafter. In light of the many dismal days that were spent at Duntulm castle, it is little wonder that the place is reckoned to sing with the sound of a number of ghosts, still trying to settle old and ancient scores.