Clan Munro

Clan Munro (listen^ⓘ; Scottish Gaelic: Clann an Rothaich [ˈkʰl̪ˠãũn̪ˠ ə ˈrˠɔhɪç]) is a Highland Scottish clan. Historically the clan was based in Easter Ross in the Scottish Highlands. Traditional origins of the clan give its founder as Donald Munro who came from the north of Ireland and settled in Scotland in the eleventh century, though its true founder may have lived much later. It is also a strong tradition that the Munro chiefs supported Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence. The first proven clan chief on record however is Robert de Munro who died in 1369; his father is mentioned but not named in a number of charters. The clan chiefs originally held land principally at Findon on the Black Isle but exchanged it in 1350 for Estirfowlys. Robert's son Hugh who died in 1425 was the first of the family to be styled "of Foulis", despite which clan genealogies describe him as 9th baron.

During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the Munros feuded with their neighbors the Clan Mackenzie, and during the seventeenth century many Munros fought in the Thirty Years' War in support of Protestantism. During the Scottish Civil War of the seventeenth century different members of the clan supported the Royalists and Covenanters at different times. The Munro chiefs supported the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and during the Jacobite risings of the eighteenth century the clan and the chiefs were staunchly anti-Jacobite, supporting the Hanoverian-British Government.

Traditionally the Munros came from Ireland and settled in Scotland in the 11th century under chief Donald Munro, son of Ó Catháin or O'Kain, an Irish chief. Donald Munro was granted lands for services rendered to Malcolm II of Scotland in defeating the Danes (Vikings). From this Donald Munro the clan lands have since been known as Ferindonald, meaning Donald's lands. Ferindonald is a narrow strip of land running for eight miles along the northern shore of the Cromarty Firth from Dingwall to Alness. There were also small pockets of Munros in Sutherland in the far north, and some Munros established themselves south of the Cromarty Firth on the Black Isle.

According to the same traditional sources Donald Munro's grandson, Hugh Munro, was the first Munro to be authentically designated Baron of Foulis; he died in 1126. A reliable scholar, Alexander Nisbet, stated that George Munro, 5th Baron of Foulis received a charter from the Earl of Sutherland during the reign of Alexander II of Scotland, but this charter cannot be traced. However, George Martine of Clermont (1635–1712) reported that the founder was a brother of Áine Ni Catháin, known to have married Aonghus Óg Mac Domhnaill of Islay about 1300, both being children of Cú Maighe na nGall Ó Catháin. Áine is said to have been accompanied, as part of her tocher (dowry), by many men of different surnames. The genealogist and lexicographer David Kelley argues that if a brother of Àine, this places "Donald" in the late 13th century. Kelley also speculates that the "Donald le fiz Kan" granted £10 per annum by the Treasury of Scotland in 1305, is the same man, with a Norman-Scots rendition of Domnall O'Cathain.

DNA studies show that about a fifth of contemporary Munro men tested have a common patrilineal ancestor of Y chromosome Haplogroup I2a-P37.2, but this minority includes documented descendants of two sons of Hugh Munro of Foulis, "9th baron": George Munro 10th baron, and John Munro of Milntown. Hence Hugh, who died in 1425, must also have borne this Y chromosome. While these findings do not exclude a much earlier founder, the degree of subsequent variation in male Munros of this haplogroup suggests a common ancestor in about the 14th century. DNA studies also indicate shared patrilineal ancestry in the first millennium with several families whose documented ancestry is from South West Ireland, most notably the Driscolls of Cork, consistent with the Munro tradition of Irish origins.

By tradition, during the Wars of Scottish Independence, chief Robert Munro, 6th Baron of Foulis led the clan in support of Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Robert Munro survived the battle but his son, George, was killed. George however had already had a son of his own, also called George, who succeeded his grandfather Robert as chief and led the clan at the Battle of Halidon Hill in 1333 where he died.

The clan name Munro, which in Gaelic is Rothach, Roich, or Mac an Rothaich, means Ro - Man or Man from Ro, and supports the traditional origin of the clan in the River Roe area in Ireland. However this tradition only exists in writing from the late 17th century. The first chief of Clan Munro documented by contemporary evidence is Robert de Munro (traditionally the 8th Baron) who died in 1369. He was married to a relative of the Earl of Ross and had many charters confirmed to him under David II of Scotland including one in 1350 for the "Tower of Strathskehech" and "Estirfowlys". The "de" particle was Norman for "of", and thus suggests some Norman influence. The Normans introduced the feudal system to Scotland and the Clan Munro Association states that the Munros made the transition from Celtic chiefs to feudal lords, but it is not clear when this occurred. Robert de Munro was killed in an obscure skirmish fighting in defence of Uilleam III, Earl of Ross in 1369. His son, Hugh Munro, was also granted many charters including one in respect of the "Tower of Strathschech" and "Wesstir Fowlys" by Euphemia I, Countess of Ross in 1394.

It is a common misconception that every person who bears a clan's name is a lineal descendant of the chiefs. Many clansmen although not related to the chief took the chief's surname or a variant of it as their own to show solidarity, for basic protection or for much needed sustenance.