Annals of Ulster There are no certain contemporary notices of Domhnall, and Domhnall's existence is not explicitly attested in any reliable contemporary source datable to any particular year. However, in 1212, Domhnall may have been one of the "sons of Raghnall" who suffered some kind of military defeat at the hands of the men of the
Isle of Skye. The
Annals of Ulster, reporting for the year 1209, recorded that: A battle was fought by the sons of Raghnall, son of Somhairle, against the men of Skye, wherein slaughter was inflicted upon them. A similar report from the same source has the "sons of Raghnaill" join in a raid on the Irish city of
Derry led by Tomás Mac Uchtraigh, brother of
Alan, Lord of Galloway. Under the year 1212 it related that: Tomás Mac Uchtraigh, with the sons of Raghnall, son of Somhairle, came to Derry of St.
Colum-Cille with six and seventy ships and the town was greatly destroyed by them and
Inis-Eogain was completely destroyed by them and by the
Cenél Conaill. Two years later, a similar raid by Tomás is mentioned by the same source, though the only "son of Raghnall" reported as present that time was Domhnall's older brother,
Ruaidhrí mac Raghnaill.
Domhnall mac Raghnaill, Rosg Mall A recently rediscovered poem—though from a 17th-century manuscript written by Niall MacMhuirich—was addressed to one
Domhnall mac Raghnaill, Rosg Mall ("Domhnall mac Raghnaill, of the Stately Gaze"). It is possible that this may refer to the same Domhnall mac Raghnaill, a claim made by its recent editor. The poem gives little information. Besides associating him with
Lennox, a quatrain addressed him as:
Gall is a word that originally meant "Foreigner" or "Norseman" (later "Lowlander"), and might be meant to refer to someone from the region of Innse Gall, i.e. from the Hebrides. It is not clear who Gofraidh or Amhlaibh Fionn are, but they may refer to some of the
Norse–Gaelic rulers of Mann and Dublin, possibly
Amhlaibh Conung and
Gofraidh Crobhán.
Miracle from the Manx chronicle The
Chronicle of the Kings of Man related a story that may have involved Domhnall. In 1249, according to the text, following the death of
Haraldr Óláfsson, King of Mann, the new ruler
Haraldr Guðrøðarson persecuted one of the old king's favourite vassals. This persecuted vassal, described as an "aged man", was named as
Dofnaldus, i.e. Domhnall. Domhnall and his young son were subsequently imprisoned. Owing to the intervention of
St Mary, Domhnall and his son managed to escape, and brought their thanks and story to the
Abbey of St Mary of Rushen, the monastic house at which the
Chronicle was kept.
Possible charter There is a
charter allegedly issued by Domhnall to
Paisley Abbey, found in the
cartulary of that abbey. In this charter Domhnall is given no title, instead merely described by his genealogy:
Douenaldus filius Reginaldi filii Sumerledi, "Domhnall, son of Raghnall, son of Somhairle". This charter is thought by some historians to be spurious, mainly because the witness list and wording of the charter are, in the words of
Alex Woolf, "suspiciously similar" to those in a genuine charter of Domhnall's son
Aonghus Mór. Presumably, the explanation is that the monks of Paisley Abbey at some later stage may have thought it in their interest to replicate Aonghus Mór's charter in order to add the authority of the founder of Clan Donald to their land rights. ==Death==