Historical account of the Macdonnells of Antrim

SIR RANDAL MACDONNELL.
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James VI. of Scotland had granted portions of them in 1597. (See p. 188, supra.) In the year
1607, however, after the utter defeat, or rather extermination of the Macdonnells of Cantire, Argyle
secured a grant of the whole peninsula to himself, and was afterwards always regarded by the Antrim
Macdonnells as the usurper of lands that ought to have belonged to them. When these lands of
Cantire, therefore, were known to be in the market, it was only natural that the earl of Antrim
should endeavour by some means to secure them for his family. Cantire lay temptingly convenient
to his own estates along the Antrim shore, and this proximity was of much greater importance in
the seventeenth century than subsequently, as, at that period, the intercourse between the two shores
of the north channel was very regular and very important to both. (82) Lord Antrim on this
occasion sought the advice of his Scottish lawyers, and soon received from them a document, which
still lies in the charter-chest at Glenarm castle, and which, although it could have brought his lord-
ship but little comfort, informed him, nevertheless, that he had a fair case for going to law, and
that provided the king would countenance him in so doing, he might succeed in establishing his
family claim to the lands of Cantire. It is highly probable, however, that Charles I., considering
the then state of Scotland, discouraged the idea of litigation, and recommended lord Antrim to get
into possession of the lands by purchase. At all events, the latter forthwith commissioned his
Scottish agent to attend the sale, and to endeavour to buy for him the property which had belonged,
time immemorial, to his ancestors. Before selling to lord Antrim, however, lord Cantire gave the
stronge castell called Dunalvere (Dunavertie)." Machri-
more, a well known manor-house of the Macdonnells,
stood near the southern extremity of Cantire in the parish
of Kilblane. From 1556, James Macdonnell resided
principally in the beautifully situated and substantial
castle of Saudell, at the head of the picturesque Glen so
called on the eastern coast uf Cantire. In that year, he
had obtained this residence and its adjoining lands from
the earl of Arran in lieu of his giving up his claim to
certain lands in the island of Arran, and on condition
that he would assist the bishop of Argyle, the earl's
brother, in levying his tiends throughout Kintyre."
Orig. Paroch. Scot., vol. ii., p. 24; Hamilton's Calendar
of State Papers, first series, p. 149.
(82) To both. — The people on both coasts continued to
cultivate this intercourse until a comparatively recent
date, which was only to be expected, seeing that they
were of the same race, and were distant only a few hours'
sailing from each other. The channel between Tor-Head
in Antrim and the Mull of Cantire is only about eleven
miles and a half in breadth. In the memory of persons
Still living it was usual for Ulster people to carry linens
across the channel for sale, whilst Scotch pedlars brought
quantities of woollen-stuffs to these shores. The Scotch,
at least until a comparatively late period, greatly preferred
the music of the Irish harp to that of their own bagpipes,
and the old Irish minstrels who could accompany their
poetical recitations with the music of their harps, were
welcomed wherever they went in Scotland, and liberally
rewarded by the best families. This was only to be ex-
pected as one of the natural results of that early and un-
interrupted intercourse which had existed between the two
peoples on the opposite shores for upwards of a thousand
years after the days of the Dalriadic emigrations. They
were identical not only in race, religion, social manners,
and political aims, but even in literary tastes. No appre-
ciable distinction can be traced in their language during
the long period of at least six centuries. And even during
several centuries later, the senachies and bards of the
mother country (Erin) were employed as the principal
instructors of the people throughout the Highlands and
Isles of Scotland. As illustrative of this remarkable fact,
several passages might be quoted from the Annals of the
Four Masters. Thus, at the year 1 185, these annals re-
cord the death of Maclosa O'Daly, the chief poet of Erinn
and Alba. In 1328, occurred the death of O'Carroll,
chief minstrel of Eirinn and Alba. Tiege O'Higgin,
chief preceptor of the poets of Eirinn and Alba, died in
1448; and in 1554 died Tiege O'Coffey, the chief teacher
of poetry in Eirinn and Alba (Ireland and Scotland).
Curious and important evidence as to the complete
identity of language, even so late as the commencement
of the fifteenth century, is found in a charter granted by
Donnell Macdonnell, kingof the Isles, in 1408, and printed
in the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, for the
year 1S52. It has been also printed in vol. ii. of the
Scottish National Manuscripts, recently published under
the superintendence of the lord clerk register of Scotland.
This, the only Gaelic document in the collection, is written
in pure Irish — not even in the Scottish dialect of the Irish,
showing that the language had suffered little, if any, cor-
ruption even at that comparatively recent period. So
lately as the year 1661, a minister of the Scottish
kirk could not be admitted to the parish of Kilarrow
in Isla, "for want of the Yrishe tongue. (See Orig
Paroch. Scot., vol. ii. , p. 261.) And, even until
about the commencement of the last century, the low-
land Scotch always spoke of their countrymen in the
Highlands, and the Isles as the Yrishe, or Yrischemen of
Scotland.