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Clan MacNeil
Clan MacNeil, also known in Scotland as Clan Niall, is a highland Scottish clan. According to their early genealogies and some sources they are descended from Eógan mac Néill and Niall of the Nine Hostages. Despite the long-held belief that the MacNeil (McNeil, McNeill, MacNeill) clan are descended from an Irish king or prince, DNA tests have shown that they are descended from Vikings and have no Irish blood at all. The clan is particularly associated with the Outer Hebridean island of Barra. The early history of Clan MacNeil is obscure. The clan claims to descend from the legendary Irish King Niall of the Nine Hostages, who is counted as its first chief. The clan takes its name from a Niall who lived in the 13th or early 14th century and who belonged to the same dynastic family of Cowal and Knapdale as the ancestors of the Lamonts, MacEwens of Otter, Maclachlans, and the MacSweens. While the clan is centred in Barra in the Outer Hebrides, there are (McNeill/MacNeill)s in Argyll that some historians have speculated may have been a more senior line, or possibly unrelated. According to Scots law, the chief of Clan MacNeil is the chief of all MacNeil(l)s.[1]
Despite the long-held belief that the McNeil (MacNeil, McNeill, MacNeill) clan are descended from an Irish king or prince, DNA tests have shown that they are descended from Vikings and have no Irish blood at all.
The MacNeils of Barra claimed descent from a prince of the Uí Néill dynasty, Ánrothán Ua Néill, son of Áed, son of Flaithbertach Ua Néill, King of Ailech and Cenél nEógain, who died in 1036. Anrothan emigrated to Scotland in the 11th century. Through him the MacNeils of Barra claimed descent from the legendary Niall of the Nine Hostages. Anrothan is claimed as ancestor of several clans in the Argyll vicinity: Clan Lamont, Clan Maclachlan, Clan MacEwen of Otter, and also the Irish Sweeneys (MacSween). If MacNeils are indeed connected to Anrothan, then they appear to have been a junior branch of the family and were certainly overshadowed in the 13th century by the MacSweens, Lamonts and descendants of Gilchrist.
An opposing theory, proposed by Nicholas Maclean Bristol, is that they may descend from Neill Maclean who appears on exchequer rolls at a time when Tarbert Castle was being rebuilt by Robert the Bruce. In 1252 Neil Macneil, fifth of Barra, was described as a prince at a council of the Lord of the Isles. His son was Neil Og Macneil, who is believed to have fought for Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. An alternate hypothesis is a descent from a Bute family in service to the Clan MacRuari and granted Barra by them after the conquest of Bute by Scotland.
The earliest contemporary record of the Macneils of Barra is only in 1427, when Giolla Adhamhnáin Mac Néill (typically anglicised as Gilleonan Macneil) received a charter of Barra and Boisdale, from the Lord of the Isles, following the forfeiture of the previous Lordships of Uist and Garmoran, earlier that year.
Gilleonan's namesake, reckoned the twelfth chief, was one of the island lords who were tricked into meeting James V of Scotland at Portree, where they were promised safe conduct but instead were arrested and imprisoned. The MacNeil chief of Barra was not released until the king's death in 1542, when the Regent Moray wanted to use the island chiefs to counterbalance the growing power of the Clan Campbell. His son was amongst the chiefs who supported the last Lord of the Isles in his alliance with Henry VIII of England in 1545. The treaty they signed with the English as overlords proclaimed the ancient enmity between the chiefs of the isles and the kingdom of Scotland.
In 1579 the Bishop of the Isles made a complaint of molestation against the MacNeil chief of Barra. His son, the next chief, was denounced as a rebel by the Privy Council so many times that he was described as a "hereditary outlaw" and was known as the Turbulent or Ruari the Tatar. He has also been described as the last of the Viking raiders as he often raided from his Kisimul Castle. The king eventually arranged for his loyal vassals to extirpate and root out the chief of Clan MacNeil, whose own nephews captured him and placed him in chains.
During the Scottish Civil War of the 17th century the chief of Clan MacNeil, Neil Og, was appointed as Colonel of the Horse by Charles II of England and fought at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. His grandson was Roderick Dhu the Black who received a Crown charter for all of the lands of Barra to be erected into a free barony. Roderick also led his clan at the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689. He also supported the Jacobite rising of 1715 and as a result his two sons, Roderick and James, went into exile in France. Upon their father's death they returned but for his Jacobite sympathies, Roderick was consigned to a prison ship, the Royal Sovereign. He was then taken to London and not released until July 1747.
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Clan MacNeil
Clan MacNeil, also known in Scotland as Clan Niall, is a highland Scottish clan. According to their early genealogies and some sources they are descended from Eógan mac Néill and Niall of the Nine Hostages. Despite the long-held belief that the MacNeil (McNeil, McNeill, MacNeill) clan are descended from an Irish king or prince, DNA tests have shown that they are descended from Vikings and have no Irish blood at all. The clan is particularly associated with the Outer Hebridean island of Barra. The early history of Clan MacNeil is obscure. The clan claims to descend from the legendary Irish King Niall of the Nine Hostages, who is counted as its first chief. The clan takes its name from a Niall who lived in the 13th or early 14th century and who belonged to the same dynastic family of Cowal and Knapdale as the ancestors of the Lamonts, MacEwens of Otter, Maclachlans, and the MacSweens. While the clan is centred in Barra in the Outer Hebrides, there are (McNeill/MacNeill)s in Argyll that some historians have speculated may have been a more senior line, or possibly unrelated. According to Scots law, the chief of Clan MacNeil is the chief of all MacNeil(l)s.[1]
Despite the long-held belief that the McNeil (MacNeil, McNeill, MacNeill) clan are descended from an Irish king or prince, DNA tests have shown that they are descended from Vikings and have no Irish blood at all.
The MacNeils of Barra claimed descent from a prince of the Uí Néill dynasty, Ánrothán Ua Néill, son of Áed, son of Flaithbertach Ua Néill, King of Ailech and Cenél nEógain, who died in 1036. Anrothan emigrated to Scotland in the 11th century. Through him the MacNeils of Barra claimed descent from the legendary Niall of the Nine Hostages. Anrothan is claimed as ancestor of several clans in the Argyll vicinity: Clan Lamont, Clan Maclachlan, Clan MacEwen of Otter, and also the Irish Sweeneys (MacSween). If MacNeils are indeed connected to Anrothan, then they appear to have been a junior branch of the family and were certainly overshadowed in the 13th century by the MacSweens, Lamonts and descendants of Gilchrist.
An opposing theory, proposed by Nicholas Maclean Bristol, is that they may descend from Neill Maclean who appears on exchequer rolls at a time when Tarbert Castle was being rebuilt by Robert the Bruce. In 1252 Neil Macneil, fifth of Barra, was described as a prince at a council of the Lord of the Isles. His son was Neil Og Macneil, who is believed to have fought for Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. An alternate hypothesis is a descent from a Bute family in service to the Clan MacRuari and granted Barra by them after the conquest of Bute by Scotland.
The earliest contemporary record of the Macneils of Barra is only in 1427, when Giolla Adhamhnáin Mac Néill (typically anglicised as Gilleonan Macneil) received a charter of Barra and Boisdale, from the Lord of the Isles, following the forfeiture of the previous Lordships of Uist and Garmoran, earlier that year.
Gilleonan's namesake, reckoned the twelfth chief, was one of the island lords who were tricked into meeting James V of Scotland at Portree, where they were promised safe conduct but instead were arrested and imprisoned. The MacNeil chief of Barra was not released until the king's death in 1542, when the Regent Moray wanted to use the island chiefs to counterbalance the growing power of the Clan Campbell. His son was amongst the chiefs who supported the last Lord of the Isles in his alliance with Henry VIII of England in 1545. The treaty they signed with the English as overlords proclaimed the ancient enmity between the chiefs of the isles and the kingdom of Scotland.
In 1579 the Bishop of the Isles made a complaint of molestation against the MacNeil chief of Barra. His son, the next chief, was denounced as a rebel by the Privy Council so many times that he was described as a "hereditary outlaw" and was known as the Turbulent or Ruari the Tatar. He has also been described as the last of the Viking raiders as he often raided from his Kisimul Castle. The king eventually arranged for his loyal vassals to extirpate and root out the chief of Clan MacNeil, whose own nephews captured him and placed him in chains.
During the Scottish Civil War of the 17th century the chief of Clan MacNeil, Neil Og, was appointed as Colonel of the Horse by Charles II of England and fought at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. His grandson was Roderick Dhu the Black who received a Crown charter for all of the lands of Barra to be erected into a free barony. Roderick also led his clan at the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689. He also supported the Jacobite rising of 1715 and as a result his two sons, Roderick and James, went into exile in France. Upon their father's death they returned but for his Jacobite sympathies, Roderick was consigned to a prison ship, the Royal Sovereign. He was then taken to London and not released until July 1747.