Clan MacTavish

Clan MacTavish (Scottish Gaelic: Na MacTàmhais), is an Ancient Highland Scottish clan with Irish origins. The MacTavish lands were in Argyll in the Western Highlands. Their current Chief is Steven Edward Dugald MacTavish of Dunardry, the 27th Hereditary Chief from an unbroken line, who is a member of the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs.

Notwithstanding several and varied origin traditions, the MacTavishes may have come from Ireland to Scotland during the years of the Scoto-Irish settlement era. Very old Irish forms (O.F. Gaeilge) of MacTavish are given by Father Patrick Woulfe in his widely accepted work on Irish Surnames. Wolfe gives several old forms (O.F.) of the name, showing nominative, genitive, and accusative forms, eight in all, along with their modified and modern equivalents.

Substantiating this is the 15th or 16th-century document writ known as the Cert Ui Neill (Irish), taken from much older Irish documents, and refers to past times rather than the contemporary. There is a reference to the MacTavish (O.F.) holding lands in Ros Buill (the old kingdom of Ross Guill) now encompassing part of County Donegal. The translation of the Ceart is found in Studia Celtica. John O'Hart also gives two forms of the modern MacTavish, as well as an old form in Irish Pedigrees, The Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation

Another source for an Irish MacTavish origin is the Topographical Poems of O’Dubhagain, c. 1372, which illustrates what the origin of the MacTavishes appears to be. Under the subheading of "The Part of the Tir Chonaill", that is Conal Gulban's Land (often cited as what is now County Donegal, Ireland) is this entry on page 43, "To MacGillatsamhais the stout Belong Ros-Guill and Ros-Iroguil". Ros-Guill and Ros-Irguill, agreeing with the "Ceart", were once ruled by what can be termed the Boar Kings, who are denoted in the Irish Annuls; with Nuada Uirc (Old Irish: Orc or Boar) being noted as one of the lines of kings of Guill and Irgull. Given in the Fragmentary Annuls of Ireland 178 is "Nuada Uirc, ri Guill & Irguill". Uirc or Orc, the kings of Ross Guill and Irgull are held synonymous with a boar, and the Crest Badge of the MacTavishes is a boar's head. The location noted for both the Boar Kings and the ancient Irish race of MacTavish being the same.

It is commonly held by the Campbells that Clan MacTavish descends from Tàmhas (Taus/Tavis Coir), son of Colin Mael Maith and a daughter of Suibhne Ruadh (Sween the Red of Castle Sween). Nothing certain is known of Taus Coir other than that he is listed in several traditional genealogies. The 17th century genealogy Ane Accompt of the Genealogie of the Campbells traces Colin Mael Maith back to the mythological King Arthur. Furthermore, this record references Colin Mael Maith as having one legitimate son and two illegitimate sons. The Accompt gives the legitimate son as "Gillespic" (Gilleasbaig) or "Archibald", ancestor of Clan Campbell; and the two illegitimate sons as Tàmhas Ceàrr ("Taius Coir") and Iomhar ("Iver"), ancestors of the MacTavishes and Clan MacIver.

According to Alastair Campbell of Airds, a more probable candidate for the ancestor of the clan, rather than the possibly mythological Tàmhas Ceàrr, is the historical Sir Thomas Cambel. Earlier in the 1970s, W. D. H. Sellar was also of the same opinion about Thomas. In 1292 Thomas' name is recorded on a list of landowners in the sheriffdom of Kintyre. In 1296 he signed the Ragman Roll as "Thomas Cambel among king's tenants in Perthshire". The next year he was released from imprisonment in the Tower of London. In 1308 he signed his name on a letter to the King of France. He was possibly dead by 1324, when his probable son, Duncan, was granted lands in Argyll for services rendered. In 1355, Duncan is listed under the name "Duncanus MacThamais", among "the Barons of Argyll", at an inquest in Inverleckan (a settlement in Mid-Argyll).

As mentioned in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, The Craignish Manuscript was drawn up by Alexander Campbell, in the employ of the Duke of Argyll, about 1706, and resulted from an examination of archives and charters, and the original genealogies drawn up by the MacEwens, heritable Seanchaís [Gaelic: seanachaidh] of the Campbell chiefs of Argyll about 1650–1660, and gives Tavish Corr's parentage as different from Thomas Cambell, cited by Campbell of Airds, preceding. The Manuscript History cites Cailien Maol Maith as the father of Tavis, about 1100. The Manuscript History's content, considering the examination of multiple sources used to produce it, is closer in historical time frame than any other descriptive work, and therefore might be more accurate. Tweed mentions that Tavis' father, Cailien (Colin) Maol Maith, died at the siege of Dunstaffnage in 1110. A possible time frame for the birth of Tavis would then be somewhere around 1100–1111, based in part upon the texts of the old MacEwen shanachie.

Alastair Campbell of Airds says, "It seems probable that later compilers of the official genealogy, Ane Accompt (of the Genealogy of the Campbells), did not know of Sir Thomas "Cambel" and were anxious to insert the MacTavishes into the account somehow." This would appear as a very odd explanation since the MacEwens recorded the Campbell genealogies over many years. Seannachies would not have omitted someone as important as Thomas Cambel, who swore fealty to Edward I, King of England in the 1296 Ragman Roll. Alastair Campbell of Airds also says, "I doubt if it can be shown that the eponym of any Highland family is a fictitious character.", but Alastair Campbell of Airds places Tavis Corr in this predicament, and has referred to the clan as Tavish Campbells, insinuating the MacTavishes are Campbell descendants.