Clan MacQuarrie:  A History, by R. W. Munro and Alan Macquarrie

---

2

THE EARLY CLAN

Clanna garga gusmora gniochtmhora Guaire (The fierce, fearless, great-feated MacQuarries) - Array of John, Lord of the Isles¹

 

While a fire still burns on any hearth on Ulva, or people of Ulva descent meet to talk of old times, the origin and deeds of the Clan MacQuarrie will be discussed.² The story of the highland clans of Scotland is a constant subject for the ceilidh tales, and for all the centuries of argument the debate shows no sign of lessening. Modern research, however, is pointing towards some probable conclusions.

The MacQuarries themselves have always been content to place a royal name at the head of their family tree. A genealogy said to have been authenticated by one of their chiefs (Alan, of whom later) claims them as a branch of the house of Alpin, descended from Godbredus, second son of prince Gregory, son of Alpin Ruadh (or red-haired), a king of Scotland in the eighth or ninth century of our era. This view was accepted by Sir Robert Douglas in his Baronage of Scotland,³ where he quoted from a lost Latin history of the Alpinian family. This history (if it ever existed) has been described in recent times as 'a work of fiction beside which Boece and Buchanan seem positively veracious',⁴ and indeed it is unlikely to have more than the slightest vestige of truth.

Dr. William Forbes Skene, a historian who made the old Highland families his special study, looked for documentary evidence for such claims. In the course of research among manuscripts in the collection of the Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh (now the National Library of Scotland), Skene found an ancient parchment, stained and faded, on which were written Gaelic genealogies of many of the Highland clans.⁵ Believing it to date from the year 1467, he assigned to it the designation 'MS 1467' by which it is now usually known; he also edited it twice, first in his Collectanea de Rebus Albanicis, and later (and more successfully) as an appendix to his three volume work Celtic Scotland.⁶

The MacQuarrie genealogy in MS 1467 cannot be claimed to show that the clan descended from King Alpin, but it is of great interest nonetheless. It is one of a group of pedigrees which claim descent from one Cormac son of Airbertach, a personage who nowhere appears in contemporary record. Many of these pedigrees can be shown to be inconsistent and probably fabricated, but four of them, those of the MacQuarries, MacKinnons, MacMillans, and Clan Gill-Adomnain (possibly ancestral to some MacLennans, but there is some doubt about this), can be shown to be internally consistent and quite possibly authentic.⁷

The authenticity of the MacKinnon pedigree was in effect proven a few years ago with the discovery of an inscription on a tombstone on Iona which recorded the burial of a number of MacKinnon chiefs and showed an exact correspondence with the chiefs named in Skene's ancient manuscript.⁸ If the MacKinnon pedigree was now confirmed, it became very likely that the closely related MacQuarrie genealogy was also authentic. The MacKinnon tombstone on Iona used to be pointed out as the 'tombstone of Clan MacQuarrie', and although this tradition is now sadly disproved, the stone has nonetheless done a great service to the Clan in enlightening their early history.

It should, however, be pointed out that the early sources are all in agreement that MacQuarrie of Ulva was one of the chiefs who had the right to be buried in the Reilig Odhrain on Iona. Martin Martin, who visited Iona in the 1690s, and who was able to read some inscriptions which are no longer legible, identified the tombstone of 'Mack-Ouery of Ulvay' as one of those which 'lie... all in armour, as big as the life'.⁹

The genealogies in MS 1467 appear to have been compiled round about 1400 or slightly earlier, and later copied into the manuscript as we have it today. The chiefs whose names appear at the head of each pedigree seem to have been alive towards the end of the 14th century.¹⁰ It is possible to count back from them by generation (reckoning very roughly three generations to a century) to arrive at the time of origin of the clan. The MacQuarrie genealogy in MS 1467 reads as follows, in English translation:

 

Cellach, son of

Pol, son of

Cellach the liberal, son of

Turcall, son of Cellach, son

of Guaire, son of Cormac,

son of Airbertach, son of

Muirechad, son of Ferchar

Og, son of Macbeth, son of

Findlay, ... (five generations)

Ainfcellach, son of

Ferchar Fota.

 

Only a few of these people can be identified. Guaire is the family eponym, or name father, whose descendants were called mac Guaire, 'son of Guaire', or MacQuarrie. The personal name Guaire is not uncommon in Old Irish; it is believed to be related to Latin gaudium, 'joy', and Greek gauros, 'exulting', 'proud'.¹¹ The most famous holder of the name was Guaire 'the liberal', king of Connacht in the seventh century.¹² Our Guaire had three brothers: Finguine or Finnon, ancestor of Clann mhic Fhinguine, Clan MacKinnon, an important kindred in Mull; Gille Crist, also called an Gille-Maol, ancestor of the MacMillans of Knapdale in Argyll; and Gill-Adomnain, whose name may be remembered in at least some families of MacLennans. Their father, Cormac son of Airbertach, must have lived in the late 12th or early 13th century; his father Airbertach was probably a contemporary, and perhaps a companion in arms, of the great Gaelic chief Somerled (d. 1164), who won back island territory from the Norse in the mid-12th century. A note in one of the pedigrees states that Airbertach won swordlands in the lands of the Norsemen, including Mull, Tiree and Craobhinis (probably meaning Iona).¹³

The person named as his great-grandfather, Macbeth son of Findlay, is undoubtedly meant to be the famous king of Scots of that name (d. 1057). There may be little more truth, however, in the genealogies which connect him with the MacKinnons and MacQuarries than in the extraordinary historical fictions which have found their way into Shakespeare's play. Certainly his place in the pedigrees is chronologically possible, but there are good reasons for believing that he had in fact no sons, for he was succeeded by his stepson Lulach (d. 1058), and his claim subsequently passed to Lulach's descendants. So it is possible that Macbeth has been introduced into the pedigree as a link

with the more remote past.¹⁴

That past is represented by the earliest persons named in the list, Ainfcellach and his father Ferchar Fota. They are known to history as kings of the early Scots of Argyll (the Dal Riata) of the house of Lorne; the Irish annals place the death of Ainfcellach in 719 and of his father Ferchar Fota in 697.¹⁵ Their family, the Cenel Loairn or House of Lorne, occupied the lands of Lome and the adjacent islands, and the lands at the southern end of the Great Glen.¹⁶ One branch of the family moved north through the great Glen into Moray, probably in the ninth century, establishing themselves as mormaer (a Gaelic title for a great nobleman, often translated as 'earl') or kings of Moray, in lands which had belonged to the Picts; it is to this branch that Macbeth belonged. Other branches of the family appear to have remained at, or returned to, the southern end of the Great Glen at the time of Somerled's conquests in the mid-12th century.

It is to this branch that Cormac son of Airbertach belonged. His descendants, including the Clan MacQuarrie, claimed descent from the ancient kings of the house of Lorne, and perhaps grafted Macbeth onto their pedigree because he was the most famous representative of their house, rather than because of a real biological relationship.¹⁷

So, with certain cautions, we may accept the pedigree of the MacQuarries in MS 1467 as a trustworthy record of their chiefs from the mid-12th century until the late 14th. Their genealogy then looks like what follows, rather than the conventional (and probably fanciful) pedigree to which Douglas gave currency in his Baronage.

AIRBERTACH. A contemporary, and possibly a comrade in arms, of Somerled, lord of Argyll (d. 1164). At the time of Somerled's recovery of territory from the Norse in the mid-12th century, he became ruler by conquest of part of Mull, Iona, Coll and Tiree and presumably Ulva. He was succeeded in this lordship by his son

CORMAC. He was a contemporary of the sons of Somerled, Dougall and Ranald (d 1207). For what it is worth, the garbled pedigree in Douglas's Baronage mentions at this point a Cormac Mor, 'a man of very brave and warlike disposition', who was chief of the MacQuarries in the early 13th century; this may reflect a memory of the historical Cormac, whose historical reality is proved by the MacKinnon tombstone mentioned above. He had four sons, Guaire, Finguine, Gille-Crist or Gille-Maol and Gill-Adomnain; his lordship was divided among them. Our concern is with the first of these:

GUAIRE. Eponym or name-father of Clan MacQuarrie. Probably Ulva and the adjacent parts of Mull were his share of his father's inheritance. He was contemporary with the sons of Ranald son of Somerled, Donald (founder of the MacDonalds) and Ruaraidh (founder of the MacRorys). Guaire's brothers also founded clans, the Mac­Kinnons, MacMillans, and possibly some of the MacLennans. All lived in the first half of the 13th century, and all had clans named after them. It has been pointed out that very many of the Gaelic surnames in Scotland came into being during the period 1150-1250.¹⁸  The reason for this is not clear, but the MacQuarries fit well into the pattern. Guaire was succeeded by his son

CELLACH. The first of three MacQuarrie chiefs to bear this name, he is otherwise unknown. He had a son

TORQUIL. This name, in Gaelic Turcall, anglicized as Torquil, is common among some Gaelic families (e.g. the MacNeills of Gigha), and is once elsewhere recorded among the MacQuarries. It derives ultimately from Norse Thorketl. Torquil MacQuarrie must have been alive in the middle of the 13th century, but he is not mentioned elsewhere. If, as Clan tradition asserts, a MacQuarrie chief led his men in support of King Alexander M's forces at the Battle of Largs (1263), it may have been this Torquil. He had a son

CELLACH, called an oineach, the 'liberal'. His liberality was presumably proverb­ial among the bards who travelled around the courts of noblemen seeking rewards for their craft, but he is not otherwise known. He was probably alive in the later 13th century, and had a son

PAUL (POL). This is a relatively unusual forename among the Gael,¹⁹ and its presence in this pedigree is perhaps suggestive of its authenticity. He was probably alive in the early 14th century, at the time of the Wars of Independence. The position of the MacQuarries in these wars is not certainly known. Many island chiefs followed the MacDougalls, the senior descendants of Somerled, in supporting King John Balliol against the ultimately triumphant Robert Bruce. If the MacQuarries were among them, they may have been on the losing side in the Battle of the Pass of Brander (1309), at the north end of Loch Awe.

There is an allusion in the famous Gaelic poem, Dal Chabhlaigh ar Chaisteal Suibhne, 'Tryst of a fleet against Castle Sween', to a family called the Ui Guaire.²⁰ The poem describes an attempt by the defeated Balliol ally John MacSween of Knapdale to recover his family inheritance, primarily the great fort of Castle Sween, whose walls still stand on the shore of Loch Sween in Knapdale. It appears that John MacSween's expedition came from Ireland, perhaps c. 1310, and upon its failure his descendants later settled there as Mac Suibhne na dTuath, MacSweeney of Castle Doe, in County Donegal.²¹ The allusion to the Ui Guaire may not necessarily refer to the MacQuarries, but possibly to MacSween's supposed descent from the seventh century Connacht king Guaire Aidne, mentioned above. If, however, it indicates how the MacQuarries were allied in the Wars of Independence, it may seem to show that they ended up on the losing side.

Paul had four sons, Cellach, Torcull, Guaire and Cormac. Of these the manuscript names as his successor

CELLACH. His is the last name in the MacQuarrie pedigree in MS 1467. He should, then, have been alive towards the end of the 14th century; but this pedigree seems to be one generation shorter that the closely related MacKinnon and MacMillan pedigrees, so it is uncertain where we should place him. MS 1467 mentions his three brothers, Torcull, Guaire and Cormac (all names which had previously occurred among their ancestors), so they may have been people of some consequence. If Cellach died without issue or without an adult male heir at the time when the MS 1467 genealogies were drawn up (shortly before 1400), that might explain why his brothers are mentioned in the manuscript. Whatever the reason, there is uncertainty about how Cellach and the other persons named in the manuscript were related to the next chief on record.

Throughout this period there can be little doubt that the MacQuarries were followers of the MacDonalds, Lords of the Isles, in peace and war. The 17th century History of the MacDonalds attributed to the Sleat family seanchaidh Hugh MacDonald states that the son of MacQuarrie of Ulva fought in the army of the Lord of the Isles at the Battle of Harlaw in Aberdeenshire in 1411.²² Unfortunately, it does not name either father or son. The same source states that MacQuarrie of Ulva was one of the commanders in Donald Balloch's army at Inverlochy in 1431, when the highlanders again had the better of the encounter against a lowland force.²³

The same author tells a curious story which well illustrates the concern for rank and lineage shared by all the highland chiefs in the Middle Ages. The Lord of the Isles had a longstanding quarrel with King James II, with whom he became reconciled in the late 1450s, and he sent a contingent to the king's army which besieged Roxburgh Castle in 1460. The siege was successfully prosecuted despite the king's death during its course, and MacDonald returned home in triumph to celebrate his victory at a great feast at Aros Castle, near Salen on Mull. At this feast John MacDonald, uncle and guardian of the laird of Moidart, volunteered 'to set the MacDonalds in order at dinner, and ... see all the principal men there placed according to their rank and station'. First of all after the Lord himself he placed Maclain of Ardnamurchan, whose lordship was established in David II's time (i.e. 1329 - 1371). 'Then he desired MacFinnon and MacQuire (= MacKinnon and MacQuarrie) to sit, for MacQuire was an ancient thane'. After that he placed Beaton, the lord's principal physician, and MacVurich, the chief bard; then he sat down himself, as 'the oldest and best of your surnames here present'. 'As for these fellows who have raised up their heads of late, and are upstarts, whose pedigree we know not, nor even they themselves, let them sit as they please'. This was taken as a serious insult by such proud chiefs as MacLean of Duart, MacLeod of Harris and MacNeill of Barra, who stormed out of the feast, vowing to be revenged.²⁴ Probably by this time their de facto power was greater than that of the MacKinnons and MacQuarries, but the latter were still respected for the antiquity and nobility of their origins. Probably the MacQuarrie chief who is mentioned in this anecdote is also the first to be named in surviving contemporary records, which makes firmer dating possible:

JOHN. Two charters of John de Yle, earl of Ross and Lord of the Isles, one at Tain and the other at Dingwall, were witnessed by John McGeir or McGoyre of Ulva on 12 April 1463.²⁵ This was probably the same John Makquhory of Wlvay who is known from later records to have died about 1473 in heritable possession of the lands of Wlvay and the five-marklands of Mull called Laganwalsagaray (=Lagganulva).²⁶

The occasion of his witnessing these charters was probably a meeting of the Council of the Isles. At the height of their power in the 15th century, the Lords of the Isles were attended by a council of island chiefs, who met to discuss policy and dispense justice, and for the inauguration of a new lord. One recognized meeting place for the Council of the Isles was Eilean na Comhairle or 'Council Isle' in Loch Finlaggan in Islay. A number of descriptions of this council survive, and the earliest and most detailed of these describes it as being composed of several groups or ranks of chiefs, with four members in each.²⁷ First, there were four chiefs of the blood-royal of Clan Donald, namely MacDonald of Dunivaig, Maclain of Ardnamurchan, MacDonald of Keppoch and MacDonald of Clanranald. Second came four of the most powerful island chiefs not of the blood of Clan Donald, namely MacLean of Duart, MacLaine of Lochbuie, MacLeod of Dunvegan and Harris, and MacLeod of Lewis. Third came four "thanes of less living and estate", namely MacNeill of Gigha, MacNeill of Barra, MacKinnon and 'Macnaie'; this last name for long presented a puzzle to scholars, until some years ago the problem was solved by an eminent Gaelic scholar who pointed out that this is probably a misreading for Macuare or Macuaire, and that the name in question is almost certainly MacQuarrie.²⁸ It seems then, that MacQuarrie of Ulva occupied a position of honour among the councillors of the third rank in the Council of the Isles. The fourth group was chosen from among the larger body of 'freeholders or men who have their lands in factory' in Argyll and the Isles. The church was represented by the bishop of the Isles and the abbot of Iona, who were both ex officio councillors.

DONNSLEIBHE. John's eldest surviving son and successor, Donnsleibhe was chief in the closing years of the Lordship of the Isles. It is not known what if any part he took in the dispute between John the last lord and his son Angus, which led about 1480 to a great sea-fight at the Bloody Bay on the NE coast of Mull. He seems to have been in Islay with Maclean of Duart in 1486, when 'Makvirre' was among the witnesses to a charter by John Lord of the Isles on 10 July.²⁹ John was finally forfeited by Parliament in 1493, leaving the MacQuarries and other subordinate clans in some measure independent. Among the leading men who emerged from the ensuing chaos was Lachlan MacLean of Duart, who became involved in the insurrection which broke out under the last lord's son Donald Dubh MacDonald in 1503. Parliament directed that letters should be sent to the leading men of the Isles, including 'McCoree', to help the royal forces.³⁰ In 1504 and 1505 'Dunslaf MakCorry of Ullowa' and others were frequently summoned before parliament to answer for treasonable acts, and after several refusals to appear at last submitted, after the island castle of Cairn na Burgh More was taken and MacLean of Duart and MacLaine of Lochbuie had submitted.³¹ Donald Dubh was committed to the castle of Edinburgh, and remained in prison for nearly 40 years, 'until his hair got grey'.

Some of the islanders became reconciled to James IV in his latter years, and even joined him in the campaign which ended in disaster at Flodden (9 September 1513). During the minority which followed, disorder became more acute in the Isles. After being summoned and failing to appear, 'Dunslavy MacWorich of Ulvay' was ordered in 1509, along with others, to pay Duncan Stewart of Appin and his tenants in Appin and Duror for cattle and goods which they had taken.³² When in 1517 the islanders rose again under Sir Donald 'Galda' of Lochalsh, 'Dulleis Makvidy of Ulva' (= Dulleif Makwiry, i.e. Donnsleibhe MacQuarrie) was among those who, with their kinsmen and friends, subsequently had a remission from the regent Albany for their part in the treasonable acts then committed.³³ During the early decades of the 16th century the Campbell Earls of Argyll were strengthening their position in the Southern Hebrides, attempting to fill the vacuum created by the destruction of the ancient MacDonald power, sometimes (but not always) in competition with the MacLeans of Duart. In 1519 Colin Campbell Earl of Argyll entered into a bond of alliance with a group of island chiefs who had previously been associated with the Lordship: MacLean of Duart, MacLeod of Dunvegan and Harris, MacLean of Coll, MacNeill of Barra, MacKinnon of Mishnish and MacQuarrie of Ulva (Donnsleibhe).³⁴ As evidence that the Isles remained in a disturbed state, in 1531 'Makcory Lord of Ulvay' and others were frequently summoned before parliament, but

failed to appear.³⁵

In 1536 Vlway was enumerated among the crown lands in the Lordship of the Isles.³⁶ The date of Donnsleibhe's death is not recorded, but it was apparently before 1539. His name, literally meaning 'brown hill', was common in Ireland and Scotland and was recorded on Ulva as late as 1693.³⁷ He was not survived by any legitimate heir, but left a natural son,

JOHN. On 8 January 1539 (or possibly 1533 - the year is uncertain) King James V granted a precept of legitimation to 'John McCoirry, natural son of Dunslaii (read Dunslau, for Donnsleibhe) McCoirry of Ulvay and Laganvalsagaray', which allowed him to inherit these lands which had been his father's.³⁸ After the king's death (1542), however, Donald escaped from his long imprisonment, and was received in the Isles with enthusiasm by the highland and island chiefs. In July 1545 'Jhone Macquore of Ulvay' was one of the council of the self-styled 'Donald Lord of the Isles', at the time plotting rebellion with Henry VIII of England.³⁹ Donald Dubh's attempt to revive his ancestral lordship had some initial success with English help, but came to an abrupt end with his death in Ireland at the end of 1545. In February 1546 'Mcrore (for Mcuore, MacQuarrie) of Ulvay' was among the chiefs who submitted to the Scottish crown and had a 'respitt' for having assisted the English in burning the islands of Bute and Arran.⁴⁰

In the 1550s Hector MacLean of Duart seems to have sought legal status from the crown for certain personal and territorial relationships he was developing in the Isles. On 23 June 1553 he secured a grant in favour of his nephew Hector, natural son of his brother Alan MacLean, of lands in Gigha, Kintyre and Islay, then held by the crown because of the nonentry of the heirs of MacNeill of Gigha for 60 years, with the right of regress or repossession when they paid their rent.⁴¹ On the same day and in very similar terms the same Hector of Duart was granted the lands of Wlway and Laganwalsagaray because of 80 years nonentry of heirs since the death of John Makquhory of Wlway c. 1473. The "pretended possessor" of the lands, John McQuhory, was to have 'regress' or repossession, upon payment of the rent to MacLean of Duart within seven years.⁴² The significance of this is not easy to determine, but it may be that from this time MacQuarrie of Ulva was in effect a vassal or tenant of MacLean of Duart.⁴³

How precarious was the life of an island chief is well illustrated by a traditional story of how MacQuarrie saved his life and possessions by his presence of mind and timely hospitality. Among the roving pirates who covered the seas in these times none was more feared and famous than Ailean nan Sop, 'Alan of the Straws'. One version of the story goes that Alan was a natural son of MacLean of Duart, and his mother had married a near neighbour of MacQuarrie's, the laird of Torloisk. Alan had in his early days been shown kindness by the chief of Ulva, but falling foul of his stepfather had taken to a roving life.

In the course of time, Alan became the commander of a small flotilla, with which he sailed round the Isles and collected considerable plunder. But the thought of his mother brought him back to the Isle of Mull, and one morning he anchored his galley in front of Torloisk and in full view of Ulva. His mother had been long dead, but his stepfather hastened to the shore and welcomed him with apparent kindness. The crafty laird had a feud with MacQuarrie of Ulva, and saw a chance of revenging himself on his old enemy and at the same time directing his stepson's energies into other channels.

With this object, Torloisk suggested to Alan that it was time he should settle down on land. He could easily get possession of the Isle of Ulva, which he would find a convenient home while his galleys rode at anchor in Loch Tuath. All that was required was the removal of the laird, 'a useless old carle, who had cumbered the earth long enough'.

Alan agreed to the proposal, and just before noon the next day MacQuarrie saw the dreaded pirate's galleys appear off Ulva. Since he could not resist them, he resolved to receive their commander hospitably, in the hope that good treatment would induce him to go away without plundering his house or doing him any injury.

MacQuarrie caused a splendid feast to be prepared, and welcomed Alan to Ulva with every appearance of sincerity. After feasting together the whole day, in the evening the pirate chief, when about to retire to his galley for the night, thanked the chief for his entertainment, at the same time remarking that it had cost him dear.

'How so,' asked MacQuarrie, 'when I bestowed this entertainment on you in free goodwill?'

'That is true,' said Alan, 'but your friendly reception has deranged all my plans. I came here to put you to death and to seize your house and lands, which would just suit me, and to settle here in your stead. But now I must be a wanderer on the seas for some time longer.'

MacQuarrie replied that he was sure such an idea had not originated with Alan, but must have come from old Torloisk. He reminded Alan that his enemy had made an indifferent husband to his mother and a cruel stepfather to himself, adding: 'Consider the matter again, Alan, and you will see that the estate and harbour of Torloisk lie as conveniently for you as those of Ulva; and if you must make a settlement by force, it is better to do so at the expense of a man who never showed you any kindness, rather than at that of a friend like me, who always loved and honoured you.'

Alan took this excellent advice, the story concludes; and so MacQuarrie won himself a grateful neighbour in place of an enemy at Torloisk.⁴⁴

HECTOR. The rule of the next chief on record coincided with King James VI's early efforts to extend crown authority throughout his realm, and to bring peace and 'civilitie' to the Highlands and Islands. A new 'general band' was introduced by the Privy Council whereby all chiefs and landowners were to pledge themselves for the good behaviour of their tenants and adherents. In Argyll the 'landit men' included the MacLean lairds of Duart, Lochbuie and Coll; the Ulva chief, although not separately named in the act of Parliament or Privy Council record,⁴⁵ was notable as a follower of Sir Lachlan Mor MacLean of Duart in his career of violence and rapine. In July 1574, Colin earl of Argyll travelled round his vast dominions pacifying feuds. He visited the countries and lordships of Lorne, Argyll and Cowell, holding justice courts and settling controversies, including that between Angus MacDonald of Kintyre and the kin and friends of Maclean.⁴⁶ In March 1589 'Hector Makquyre of Ulvay' and others received a remission from the crown for devastations committed in the islands of Rhum, Eigg and Canna in the course of MacLean operations against the MacDonalds and Madams of Ardnamurchan.⁴⁷ Later he assisted Lachlan MacLean in his sanguinary war against Angus MacDonald of Dunivaig in Islay. Mull was one of the islands devastated in this feud, into which almost all the island chiefs were drawn. Even the government found it imperative to intervene, and various measures were taken to establish peace in the Isles. In 1591 'Hector McQuhyrrie of Ulluvay' had a remission for slaughters, etc., committed against the MacDonalds of Kintyre and Islay.⁴⁸ He may have been involved in further engagements, however, for it was not until March 1593 that it is recorded that 'Hector McQueine (McQueire) or McCorrey of Ullovey' and others were released from the horn.

At that time there were reckoned to be some 900 men of military age in Mull, of which Duart could raise 600, Lochbuie 200, Mackinnon and Maclean of Coll 100 between them, and Ulva could bring 50 or 60 fighting men into the field.⁴⁹

The family archives are cited by Douglas for saying that Hector married a daughter of MacNeill of Taynish, and with her got as tocher two men, two women, and a pyet­coloured horse - descendants of these people being tenants in MacQuarries' lands in the mid-18^th century. ⁵⁰

GILLESPIE (GILL-EASBUIG). King James VI remained anxious to extend crown authority throughout Scotland after his own accession to the crown of England in 1603, and when the chiefs and gentlemen of the Isles met his commissioner Andrew Knox, bishop of the Isles, on Iona in 1609 they included 'Gillespie McQuirie of Ullova'. These chiefs approved and ratified a code of measures, the Statutes of Iona, for the furtherance of the protestant religion in the Isles, the establishment of law and order, and the curbing of unruliness and violence. MacQuarrie's signature appears with others at the foot of the bond promising obedience to the measures, dated 23 and 24 August 1609.⁵¹ He signed with surname only, and it may be that, as with other chiefs who subscribed, his forename has been wrongly recorded in the list of those attending;⁵² there is no chief of that name in the traditional clan pedigree, and his name is not otherwise recorded. The name Gill-easbuig or Gillespie, meaning 'bishop's servant', is sometimes rather confusingly (and incorrectly) anglicized as Archibald.

DONALD. In 1630 'Donald Makquoyrie of Ulvay' was served heir to his grandfather Hector. In the Retours (or legal returns to the royal chancery) the lands are listed in some detail, and since this is the earliest surviving retour of the MacQuarrie lands, it is worth enumerating them in full, retaining the recorded spellings.⁵³ See Fig. 1.

These lands, which can mostly be identified on the modern map,⁵⁴ together were valued at 23 merks, 1 shilling and 8 pence of old extent (i.e., according to the ancient valuation of the lands, supposedly based on 13th century figures). The 'pennyland' (Gaelic peighinn) was not a measure of extent, but of rent based on productive capacity, and the quantities given in the original retour have been included here for comparison between individual townships or portions of the estate.

The omission of Little Colonsay (between Ulva and Staffa) from the above list may be explained because it was church land, part of the land of the abbey of Iona and bishopric of the Isles, later claimed by the Synod of Argy11.⁵⁵ This Retour shows that MacQuarrie of Ulva then held his lands as part of the barony of Duart, of MacLean for military service, including the provision of an armed galley for MacLean when required; perhaps this was a relic of old galley service due to Lords of the Isles.⁵⁶

By curious chance, many of these places appear in the public records of the time for different reason. Early in 1627 the ship Providence of Dumbarton, owned by a Dumbarton merchant burgess named James Smollett and others, sailed from the Clyde with a load of herring and took on board a cargo of cloth, butter and cheese and other goods from Ireland before sailing for France. She was, however, driven into the Hebrides by 'stress of weather', and from an anchorage in Tiree 'the violence of wind and storm' drove her into Loch Tuath and the rock strewn Sound of Ulva (called in the record 'the

 

Figure 1 Retour of 1630

 

 

 

Kyle of Alloway in Mull') where she was cast ashore. Smollett and his crew managed to reach land in their boat, but while they were trying to secure the cargo they were set upon by more than 60 local people in boats and on horseback, who, they complained, cut down and carried off the mast, rigging and sails of the wreck and removed the cargo, and 'disposed of them as they pleased'.⁵⁷ Many of the named accused came from Kilninian and Torloisk, on the north side of Loch Tuath, so it may be that the wreck was nearer the Mull shore. High on the list came John MacLean, son of Hector son of Ewan, captain of Cairnebarrow (Cairnburgh); others came from places which included Burg, Tostarie, Fanmore, Camas and Oskamull. But about 30 were from Ulva, led by the chief Mcguorie of Carmakilliche (Ardnacallich) and five others from the same township and smaller numbers from the townships of Abose, Culleinische, Balleyartna, KilvcEwin, Craigage, Ormaige, Nwa and (the island of) Collonsa. All were described as 'men, tenants and servants' of MacLean of Duart,⁵⁸ and when they failed to appear and were consequently declared outlaws, he was held responsible for producting them before the Privy Council.

There was no tradition in the Western Isles of wreckers deliberately luring ships aground, such as is told of England and Ireland; later accounts tell rather of the consideration shown to distressed mariners and their property.⁵⁹ What wind and weather brought them, however, might not be unwelcome, and if wrecks were to happen (to adapt an Orkney saying)⁶⁰ they might as well be sent to the poor island of Ulva as anywhere else.

Ulva was not so poor, however, that its chief could not afford to parcel out portions of his little domain to cadet branches, as was done in the larger clans. The marriages of Donald MacQuarrie are of special interest, as they seem to have led to the division of the estate and the founding of cadet branches at Ormaig, Ballighartan and Laggan-Ulva. Tradition has it that the chief s wife agreed to pay off his debts on condition that each of their four sons, and not the eldest only, should receive a share of the estate. It is generally accepted that Donald married a lady of the clan MacLean (the first of five successive MacQuarrie chiefs to do so) - named Christian or Christiana, daughter of Lachlan Og who had Torloisk from his father Lachlan Mor of Duart, the chief who fell fighting the MacDonalds in Islay in 1598.⁶¹ There seems, however, to have been another wife. A MS genealogy of the family identifies her as a sister of Montrose's famous ally and second in command, Alasdair mac Colla Ciotaigh, son of Alexander ('Colkitto') MacDonald of Colonsay; her name is variouly given as Mary and Una.⁶² The four sons were Alan, who succeeded; Hector, to whom his father gave the lands of Ormaig; and Lachlan and John, founders of the Ballighartan and Laggan-Ulva families. Two daughters, Una and Catherine, married into MacLean families on Mull and had issue.

ALAN. He is mentioned in Douglas's Baronage as the author of a manuscript history of the family, written about 1648-9, which was based wherever possible on original documents which were subsequently lost, and 'generally esteemed authentic'.⁶³ Among the documents cited were a MacQuarrie/Macgregor marriage contract, apparently 15th century, several bonds of friendship with the Mackinnons, and papers indicating relationship with the Macguire earls of Inniskillin.⁶⁴ In the foregoing pages, however, as has been said, large parts of Douglas's account (held suspect by modern scholars) have been modified in the light of modern historical research.

Alan MacQuarrie was contemporary with Sir Lachlan Maclean of Duart (created baronet of Nova Scotia by Charles I), who appears in 1637 as holding lands in Ulva and Gometra, as well as Mull.

Alan is also remembered as a soldier. During the Civil War, according to a family history, he joined the MacLeans and their other supporters who fought for the king under Alasdair mac Colla. Alan, as a major, was with Sir Hector MacLean's detachment which joined the royal army at Stirling in 1651; at the Battle of Inverkeithing on 20 July both Sir Hector and Major Alan were killed, with most of their followers, by the English troops of Oliver Cromwell which went on to overrun Scotland. The decline in the fortunes of the Clan MacQuarrie is often reckoned to date from their destruction at Inverkeithing in the service of Charles II and his Covenant-supporting government.⁶⁵

Alan MacQuarrie married a daughter of Alan MacLean, fourth son of Lachlan Mor of Duart and Lady Margaret Cunninghame. They had one son.

            LACHLAN. He was chief while war was being waged on Mull between his allies the MacLeans and the family of Argyll for possession of the MacLean estates (including Ulva and the rest of the MacQuarrie patrimony),⁶⁶ but whether he was personally involved is not known.⁶⁷ The Earl of Argyll claimed the estates on the pretext of debts owing to him, and MacQuarrie's uncles Hector and John were prominent among those who helped MacLean to resist, even to the extent of defending Duart Castle by force.⁶⁸ When a formal surrender of possession was made by the MacLeans in favour of Argyll, 'L. McGuarrie of Ullway' was one of the witnesses to the docquet, dated Inveraray 29 October 1674, to a Rental of lands and estates of Dowart as the same was set and should pay for the Year of God 1674.⁶⁹ In 1675 'Lauchlan McGowrie tacksman of Ulva and Lagan-Ulva' was included along with his uncles in letters of ejectment issued to Argyll,⁷⁰ and Lachlan was held liable for some of the property lifted from lands at the head of Loch Long by a party of MacDonalds and MacLeans who invaded that part of Argyll in May and June 1679.⁷¹ Donald brother of Sir Hugh Campbell of Cawdor reported from Edinburgh on 2 Jan 1679/80 that 'Mcguiry of Ulva and Charles Mcallin and his children are come in to my Lord' Argyll -'most tenants of Mull and Morvern have come in under protection, delivered up their arms and agreed to pay rents, but Brollas is in Kairnbulg with c. 40 men ...'⁷² He was served heir to 'Hector McQuourie of Ulva' (called in this deed his great-great­grandfather) in February 1683,⁷³ and in August gave a bond for good behaviour, under penalty of 500 merks, for which Lachlan MacLean of Torloisk was cautioner (as MacQuarrie was for him on the same day) to commissioners for securing of peace in the Highlands.⁷⁴ As most of the family papers are said to have been burnt in 1688, this chief was probably involved in the troubles of the Revolution, when the Earl of Argyll was engaged on Mull on behalf of William of Orange. 'McQuhair of Ulva' was among chiefs named who had been in arms against the government, or at least accessory to crimes of treason and rebellion, and whose estates were sequestrated by order of the Privy Council in January 1690.⁷⁵ Argyll was commissioned to reduce Mull and other parts to King William's obedience, and as MacQuarrie was not among those still seques-trated in November, he may by then have signed the oath of allegiance.⁷⁶ But peace did not lead to prosperity, for there is evidence of shortage and famine in Mull in 1695.⁷⁷

Lachlan MacQuarrie was twice married. By his first marriage, to Marion MacLean of Ardgour, he had a son John (who succeeded) and a daughter Julian. By his second marriage, to Catherine MacLean, daughter of John garbh MacLean of Coll, he had a son Alan and a daughter Flora. Alan MacQuarrie inherited Culinish, on the north side of Ulva, which had been his mother's marriage portion.⁷⁸ As 'Alan of Culinish' he was cited before the duke of Argyll's admiralty court at Inveraray in 1722 with several clansmen and others for theft of spermaceti from a whale which had come ashore at Kilvickewan on the south side of the island. As tutor or acturnatus to his nephew Lachlan, he compeared at Dumbarton to register a precept of clare constat from the duke of Argyll relating to the young chief's succession in 1739, and it appears from later documents that he was one of those against whom Lachlan later raised an edict of curatory.⁷⁹

JOHN. He was recognised as heir to his great-great-great-grandfather Hector by precept of clare constat from John duke of Argyll and Greenwich, 31 July 1731.⁸⁰ Whether or not he had Jacobite sympathies is unknown, but lack of evidence to the contrary suggests that, since the decline of MacLean and domination of Mull by the duke of Argyll, he continued 'peaceably in his own island, not much concerned with any affairs that occur in any other part of this kingdom'.⁸¹ He married Flora MacLean, daughter of Hector MacLean of Assipol, bailie of the Ross of Mull, who bore him a son Lachlan and a daughter Marian.⁸² He died in 1735, was buried at Inchkenneth,⁸³ and was succeeded by his son Lachlan, the last chief of the Clan.

It is thus possible to trace the ancestry of the Clan MacQuarrie, if not in unbroken father to son descent, then at least with reasonable clarity, from the foundation of the surname in the early 13th century until the time of the last chief, who succeeded in 1735 and had a long and eventful career. From the survival of letters and other comtemporary sources, he is the only chief of the Clan whose story can be told with enough personal detail to bring him to life for posterity. He is the subject of the next chapter.

 

Notes and references - Chapter 2, The Early Clan

 

1. 'Book of Clanranald' in Reliquiae Celticae, ed A.Cameron, J.Macbain & J. Kennedy (1892-4), ii, 260-1.

2. Early parts of this chapter has been fully revised by Alan Macquarrie; some later portions (pp 9ff) are expanded from RWM in The Scottish Genealogist, xv (1968), 25-3 1.

3. Sir Robert Douglas of Glenbervie, The Baronage of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1798), 506-10; The Latin 'History of the Alpinian Family' said to have been 'recovered from the Scots Collage at Paris by David Mallet, Esq.' is cited in the elaborate notice of Macgregor of Magregor (Douglas 493).

4. David Sellar, 'Highland family origins - pedigree making and pedigree faking', in The Middle Ages in the Highlands, ed. L.Maclean (Inverness, 1981), 109.

5. National Library of Scotland (NLS), MS Adv. 72.1.1.

6. W.F.Skene, Collectanea de Rebus Albanicis (Iona club, 1839 & 1847), 357-62; idem., Celtic Scotland: a history of ancient Alban (Edinburgh, 1886-90), iii, Appendix VIII.

7. Sellar, 'Highland family origins', 105-6.

8. K.A.Steer and J.W.M.Bannerman, Late Medieval Monumental Sculpture in the West Higlands (RCAHMS, 1977), 103-5, and Plate 8A.

9. M.Martin, A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland (2nd edn 1716; facimile edn Edinburgh, 1981), 262 and passim.

10. Steer and Bannerman, Sculpture, 205.

11. George Calder, A Gaelic Grammar (Glasgow, 1923 - reprinted 1972), 150.

12. F.J.Byrne, Irish Kings and High-kings (London, 1973), 239-46.

13. Steer and Bannerman, Sculpture, 104-5.

14. Sellar, "Highland family origins", 106-8.

15. Annals of Ulster, ed. S.MacAirt & G.MacNiocaill (Dublin, 1983), sub annis.

16. J.W.M.Bannerman, Studies in the History of Dalriada_ (Edinburgh, 1974), 112ff.

17. Sellar, 'Highland family origins', loc. cit.

18. Pointed out to ADM by Wm. Matheson, senior lecturer in Celtic at Edinburgh Univ.

19. There is, of course, the surname MacPhail; Calder, Gaelic Grammar, 144.

20. W.J.Watson, Scottish Verse from the Book of the Dean of Lismore (Scottish Gaelic Texts Society, 1978), 6-13, at 12-13.

21. Ibid. 257-9; see Notes & Queries of the Soc. of West High. & Is. Hist. Res..

22. 'History of the Macdonalds', in J.R.N.Macphail (ed), Highland Papers (SHS, 1914), i, 6-72 at 30.

23, 24 Ibid., 41, Ibid., 45.

25. Jean Munro & R.W.Munro (ed), Acts of the Lords of the Isles, 1336-1493 (SHS, 1986), 123-6; RMS, ii, no. 801 (p 171); 14 Aug 1464.

26. RMS, iv, no. 801 (p180); 23 Jun 1553.

27. R.W.Munro (ed), Monro's Western Islands of Scotland & Genealogies of the Clans (Edinburgh 1961), 57; 'History of the Macdonalds', 2ff; Martin, A Description, 241.

28. A.Matheson, Review of Munro, Monro's Western Islands, in SHR, xlii (1962), 50 n. 1.

29. Acts of the Lords of the Isles, 192.

30. APS, ii, 248.

31. Ibid., ii, 255-9; 'History of the Macdonalds', 50.

32. Acts of Lords of Council, vol. xx, fo. 237, 21 Jul 1509; D.Gregory, History of the Western Highlands & Isles of Scotland (1836), 103-4.

33. RSS, i, no 2878, 12 Mar 1516/7.

34. Steer and Bannerman, Scuplture, 212 (from Argyll transcripts, 14 Jul 1519).

35. APS, ii, 333-4.

36. RSS, ii, no 2117; OPS, ii, 319.

37. See Alexander Macbain in TGSI, xx, 311; N.D.Campbell (later Duke of Argyll), in Celtic Review, vi, 191-2.

38. RMS iii, no. 1896 (8 Jan 1538/9); RRS, ii, no. 1477 (8 Jan 1532/3). The former is perhaps more likely to be correct.

39. Cal. State Papers (Thorpe), 53.

40. RSS, iii no. 1534, 6 Feb. 1545/6.

41. RMS, iv, no 800; 'Non-entry' was a feudal casualty or sum due to a superior proprietor from the death of a vassal (inferior proprietor) whereby the former was entitled to the rents of a property until the heir had entered or 'retoured' as the legal successor. This enti­tlement could be transferred by the crown to another subject as a gift & source of income.

42. RMS, iv, no 801.

43. In 1615 Hector Maclean of Duart was served heir to his grandfather Hector in the lands of Ulway, Lagan & Walsangary (Retours), and MacQuarrie appears as Maclean's tenant in 1627 (RPC iii 46, see p15, note 55). According to Douglas's account, the MacQuarrie version of how their chief came to hold of a superior is that Hector Mor of Duart, having gone to the Lowlands to get renewal of the charters of his own extensive estate, which he held of the crown, was entrusted to do the same for MacQuarrie, who was very young at the time. In order to save expense he included MacQuarrie's 20 merklands of Ulva, etc., in his own charter, and afterwards conveyed them to his nephew. Douglas's Baronage is the only authority for this statement, but he may be relying on chief Alan MacQuarrie's account, & a charter held by MacQuarrie is cited as evidence. But it must be pointed out that it was not uncommon for a man who held his lands directly of the crown to be persuaded or forced into such a transaction by a powerful neighbour, thus becoming that neighbour's vassal. See note 55 below.

44. Ailean nan Sop was a historical personage and brother of Hector Maclean of Duart, RSS ii, 3098, iii, 2361; TA, vii, 73, 256; D.Gregory in Archaeologica Scotica, iii, 251 note; Steer & Bannerman, Sculpture, 147. Traditional accounts are gathered in A.M.Sinclair Clan Gillean 424-31, & this version is based on Sir Walter Scott, Tales of a Grand father, chap 38 (18931-vol edn 157-8).

45. APS iii 466; RPC iv 787-9.

46. K.Brown, Bloodfeud in Scotland, 17; CSP Scot, v, 34.

47. RSS (unpublished), lix, 87; Gregory, op. cit., 233-40.

48. RSS (unpublished), lxii, 86.

49. Skene Celtic Scotland iii 434-5, 436; RWM 'Roll-Call of the Isles', in SWHIHR, West Highland Notes & Queries, 2nd series, i 8, from CSPScot xi & xii.

50. Douglas, 508. A.M.Sinclair stated (Celtic Mon. xiv 171) that Hector had two sons, Gillespie & Donald, but as Donald is on record as grandson of Hector there must have been an intervening generation.

51. Recorded in the Privy Council Register on 27 Jul 1610; RPC,ix, 30.

52. RPC, x, 27; see Gregory in Collectanea de Rebus Albanicis, 119n, cf. Allan MacInnes in Politics and Culture (1982), 61.

53. Retours (Inquisitionum ad Capellam domini regis retornatarum abbreviatio), Argyll, 29 Jan 1630.

54. Not all places have been identified. For Drissak, cf. Beinn na Drise above Lagganulva, from Gaelic dreas, 'bramble, briar' (dreasach = brambly'); D.M.MacQuarrie, The Place-names of Mull (1982), 7. Pemnysauych looks like Gaelic peighinn samhach, 'peaceful pennyland', but is not identified. The first element in Rovaik is undoubtedly Gaelic rubha, 'headland, promontory'; so this place must have been on the coast. For Glenmakquhoyrie (Gleann mhic Guaire), see MacQuarrie, The Placenames, 20; see below appendix 1.

55. Origines Parochiales Scotiae, ii/1, 301; Boswell's letter of 1771; see chapter 3.

56. Frances Shaw in The North. & West. Is. of Scot. (1880), 31; citing SRO Reg. of Retours, xi, fols. 122-3. Lands in that part of Mull facing Loch Tuath were held by a MacLean in 1488 from Angus son of John, Lord of the Isles, for service of a ship of 22 oars, (Acts of the Lords of the Isles, ed. Munro, pp xl, 193; Exchequer Rolls, xiii, 216).

57. Complaint in RPC, 2nd ser. ii, 340-2; Ibid, iii 45-6.

58. On the significance of this, see above note 41 and p 11.

59. Martin, Western Islands (1934 edn), 356-7, & other sources cited in David Stewart, Sketches of the Highlanders (2nd edn 1822), ii, Appendix F.

60. Robert Sevenson, quoted in his grandson R.L.Stevenson's Records of a family of engineers, chapter ii (Tusitala edn, 1924, p197).

61. Douglas 367,508. Lachlan Mor had married Lady Margaret Cunningham, dau. of Wm. 5th earl of Glencairn, Scots Peerage, iv 243, Douglas says they had 4 sons & 2 dau.

62. Principal source for this marriage & division of lands is 'Ulva MS', genealogy of later chiefs found among papers of Col. Charles Macquarie of Ulva at Ulva House by courtesy of late Mrs. Clark, but not I think among those since deposited in NLS (MS3833). It must have been compiled during lifetime of last chief (d1818) and probably after birth of Lt.Col. Charles's 2nd son (Apr 1816) - see notes by RWM in Scot. Gen. xv 25. 30 note 4. & xxxvi 14 note 2. Ulva MS names 2nd wife Mary or Una McDonald, but Maclean sources which mention the marriage call her Ann or Anne, and name her only as mother of Una. These Maclean sources, all of which relate to her being mother of Donald's daughter Una, who married Allan Maclean of Gruline, descended from a branch of the clan settle at

Kinlochaline in Morvern, are (so far as known to RWM): (printed) Seneachie, Acc. of the Clan Maclean (1838), 345, which also says Anne Macdonald was grand-daughter of the Earl of Antrim; A Brief Genealogical Account of the Fam. of McLean from ... Mull and Parts Adjacent (Edinburgh 1872), 99; Rev.A.Maclean Sinclair, The Clan Gillean (Charlottetown 1899), and 'The Macquarries of Ulva' in The Celtic Monthly xiv (Glasgow 1906), 171; (manuscript) NLS, Adv. MS 28.3.12 fol 17 verso, and MS 2134 fo1539 - these are collections by G.Paton & D.Gregory, see SWHIHR Notes & Queries, x, 3-12. Probably all these Maclean accounts are derived from one source. 63. See above, p 5; Sellar, 'Highland family origins', 109f.

64. For Maclean losses at Inverkeithing & effect on tillage of soil in Tiree & Mull, see Allan M'Innes in Mitchison & Roebuck, Economy & Society (1988); cf 1674 rental of waste townships (p 60), Argyll annexing Mull 1674 (p 63); also Dodston in ibid., 27-37, with ref. to Clan Donald, i, 78, 'The Raven's Ode', p57.

65. Douglas's Baronage is the only source. But apparently Alasdair mac Colla Ciotaigh was Alan's uncle or step-uncle, and there are other traditions which link the MacLeans and their allies with the military operations of this time; Munro, 'MacQuarries of Ulva' in Scot. Gen. xv 27-8, 30, nn. 7-8.

66. For their inclusion among MacLean lands, see p 11 and note 41 above. 67. Highland Papers, i, 242-337.

68. RPC, 3rd ser., iv, 432-5 & v, 59-61; Highland Papers, i, 304, 307-8.

69.SRO, Session Papers, Allan McLean of Drimnin v. John Duke of Argyll, infn for Argyll, 12 Oct 1776, 14-5, & Argyll's proof, 68; rental also in Highland Papers, i 277ff. 70. McLean v. Argyll (as above), Argyll's proof, 152.

71. SRO, Argyll Testaments, Donald Munro of Stuckghoy, 8 Jul 1707; Clan Munro Magazine, viii, 41.

72. Book of the Thanes of Cawdor (Spaulding club, 1859), 339.

73. Retours,