Blair Collection > Celtic monthly > Volume 2, 1894

THE CELTIC MONTHLY.
the instrument employed, a man of great anilii-
tion, who, as head of the powerful sept styled
Mac Iain, had a strong following. Sir John
Oathanach, with two of his sons, in a perfidious
way, were taken prisoners and executed at
Edinburgh, their bodies being buried within the
Chapel of Saint Anthony. John Mac Iain
received from the King, on 24th November,
150.5, a ratification, for good services, of all
charters formerly made in his favour of what-
soever lands in the islands of Isle and Jura and
the low land (bcissa terra) of Ardnamurchan and
Suynart, with the Castle of Mingary, in Ardna-
murchan, and Donavagan, in Isle, &c. The
King, at Edinburgh, 19th November, lOdfj,
confirmed to John Mac Iain, as heir of his
grandfather, John vie Allister vie Iain, inter
alia, two merks and 6s. 8d. worth of lands in Jura,
viz , a large eighth part of Aridscarnulu, and
eigiith part of Knock-na-seoloman, which held of
the late Donald de Insulis, Lord of Dunyvaig
and Clens, but now in the hands of the Crown
through the forfeiture of the late John de Insulis
of Dunyvaig, Knight, heir of the said Donald
de Insulis, on account of Sir John's treason.
iSir John Cathanach, who married Sheela
Savage, daughter of the then chieftain of that
great family, settled at Portaferry, County
Down, left two surviving sons, Alexander, and
Angus, predecessor of tiie Macdonalds of Sanda.
Sir John was succeeded by
V. — Alexander, who with his brother fled to
Ireland, pursued by the implacable vengeance of
the King, who caused pass an order that Alex-
ander and his descendants be prohibited from
ever setting foot in Scotland, or owning a foot
of Scottish soil, and this decree stood in force
until James IV.'s death at Flodden. Mac Iain
was also sent to Ireland to capture or slay
Alexander, bnt failed, after long search, as he
reported to the King. In reality, Mac Iain
seems to have relented, became reconciled to
Alexander, and gave him his daughter Catherine
in marriage, all unknown to the King. Alex-
ander, after the accession of James V. of Scot-
land, was received by him into favour, and
settled peacefully in Scotland. James V.
entirely altered the course pursued by his injnie-
diate predecessors towards the Highland nnd
Island chiefs, by giving them justice when in
the right.
I have called the Isla family Macdonalds
rather than Macdonells, although the Irish
family of Antrim so called themselves at an
early period. In reality the latter Islas sign
"Konnel" (■' M'Conil ") and "M'Connal/'
This Alexander, the last head of the family,
who could not write, signs thus, "Alexander
Konnel de Dunoweg, with my hand on the pen,"
entered into a bond of gossipry with Sir John
Campbell, first of the house of Calder named
Gimpbell, wlierein he is styled " .Vlex. the Illis,
son of John Cathanach." The bond is dated at
Glennay, in the Taraf, 7th iMay, 1522, and to
endure for five years. Alexander is to serve
Sir John by himself and all the branch of the
Clan Donald that he is descenderl from, and he
is bound not to harm such of the Mac iains as
hold of Sir John. On the other hand. Sir John
gives Alexander -1:5 merks land in Isla, and the
lands of Colonsay, free of mail, as also Jura,
under certain conditions, during the foresaid
space of five yeais. The reference to gossipry
is curious : " Also for the final concord lietwixt
the said Sir John and the said Alexander, either
of other, faithfully promise that what time or
hour God sends them any bairns, that they
shall baptize the bairn and be gossips, and aye
until the said gossipry be completed, the said
Sir John and Alexander shall keep leal, true,
and a full part to other, as if it were completed."
Prior to his settling in Scotland, Alexander
had made a great figure in Ireland, many of the
flowerof the Macdonalds resorting to his standard
after the final forfeiture of John, Earl of Ross
and Lord of the Isles. He thus not only main-
tained himself in his hereditary estate, but
powerfully aided his native Irish allies against
English oppression in Ulster. Alexander had
by his wife six sons — James, Angus, Coll,
Alexander, Donald Gorm, and Sorley — and
three daughters, who all married well. Angus,
Alexander, and Donald Gorm fell in battle
in Ireland. James, the eldest son, succeeded;
Coll, known as " Coll nag-Capul," will be after-
wards referred to ; and Sorley, styled Sorley
Buie, or " Somerled," otherwise "Samuel the
Golden-haired," settled in Ireland, and was the
first of the Great Irish house of the Mac-
donells of Antrim. Upon the death of Alex-
ander, who had succe.ssfully upheld the for-
tunes of the family, he was succeeded by his
elde-st son,
VI. — James Macdonald, who married Lady
Agnes Campbell, daughter of Colin, third Earl
of Argyle, and some say had the honour of
knighthood conferred upon him. The papers in
my po.ssession do not bear out this view. As
regards his interests in Scotland, James Mac-
donald not only maintained, but increased his
influence. In 1545 he received grants of lands
from Queen Mary, which were renewed in 1558.
In the insurrections of the Islanders under
Donald Dubh, James was the only island chief
who opposed. Yet having on Donald's death
been elected Lord of the Isles, James accepted
the position, and addressed a letter, dated Ard-
namurchan, 24th January, 1546, to the Irish
Privy Council, designing himself " James
M'Conaill of Dunnewack and ye Glennis, and
apparent aeyr of ye Illis." It has been well
said by an Irish historian that James "must