Origins of the Clan The founder of the Macdonalds of Ardnamurchan was
Iain Sprangach MacDonald (d.1340), the third son of
Angus Mor MacDonald (d.1292), 4th chief of
Clan Donald. Iain is the
Scottish Gaelic for the Christian name John. The surname MacIain therefore means
son of John. Alexander MacDonald of Lochalsh escaped southwards amongst the Isles until he was caught on the
Isle of Oronsay and put to death by John MacIain of Ardnamurchan. The 8th chief of the MacDonalds or MacIains of Ardnamurchan, Alexander MacIain, led his clan in support of the
Clan Macdonald of Clanranald against the
Clan Fraser of Lovat in the
Battle of the Shirts (Blàr na Léine in Scottish Gaelic) in 1544. It is said that only eight MacDonalds and five Frasers survived. Although the casualty figure is likely exaggerated, it speaks to the fact that it was extremely bloody and certainly had lasting negative effects on both clans. By 1618 the MacDonalds or MacIains of Ardnamurchan had lost their lands through duplicity of the
Clan Campbell. The fortunes of the clan declined and the many tenants and followers were forced to go elsewhere. Many settled in
Moidart under the
Clan Macdonald of Clanranald whilst others migrated east to
Badenoch, and others found new homes in the Scottish Lowlands. Many MacIains settled in Northern Ireland during the Ulster Plantations, with many of these travelling to the Americas. Later in the 1800s, MacIains commonly settled in Australia and New Zealand. Many MacIain derivatives like "McKain" and "McKean", can also be plentifully found all over Scotland in Birth and Marriage records from the 1600s to the present. In recent years, there has been renewed interest in clan MacIain identity, especially in the diaspora residing in the United States. Although scattered, clan MacIain still has many thousands of descendants worldwide. A rather humorous folktale also exists regarding a member of the Clan MacIain in the book "Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland" by John Gregorson Campbell. The story follows, "This man (Mac Iain Ghiarr), whose name is proverbial in the West Highlands for that of a master thief, was one of the Mac lans of Ardnamurchan, a persecuted race. He had a boat for going on his thieving expeditions painted black on one side and white on the other, so that those who saw it passing would not recognize it on its return. Hence the proverb: “One side black and one side grey, Like Mac Ian Year’s boat.” Many tales are told of his skill in thieving, and the accomplishment is said to have been bestowed upon him by a Glaistig. He and his brother Ronald (his own name was Archibald) were out hunting, and having killed a roe, took it to a bothy and prepared it for supper. He threw himself on a bed of heather, and Ronald sat by the fire, roasting pieces of the roe on his dirk. A woman entered the hut, and made an effort now and then to snatch from him some of the roasted flesh. Ronald threatened, unless she kept over her paw (sall) he would cut it off with his knife. She appealed to Archibald, “Ho, Archibald, will you not put a stop to Ronald?” “I will put a stop to him, poor creature,” he said. He told Ronald to allow the poor woman, that they had plenty, and perhaps she was hungry. When leaving, the Glaistig asked him to the door, and it is supposed then bestowed upon him his wonderful gift of theft. He built a large byre when he had not a single ‘hoof’ to put in it, and before long it was amply stocked. He hired the Glaistig to herd for him, and she was to be heard at night on the tops of the cliffs crying “Ho ho, ho ho,” to keep the cattle from wandering too near the verge. Her wages were to be a pair of brogues of untanned leather, and when she got these, like the rest of her kind, she disappeared. She seems, however, only to have returned to her former haunts, which extended all over Ardnamurchan, from the Point to Loch Sunart. When her former master died, she gave a shriek that roused the echoes of Ben Resipol (Réiscapol), The same night she was seen in the Coolin hills in Skye, and after that neither her shadow nor her colour (a du no dath) were anywhere seen. During her period of service with Mac Ian Year, she made her appearance whenever he raised his standard, however far away she might be. Ronald’s dog had a great aversion to her, and chased her whenever she came near. She was then to be heard calling out, “Ho, Archibald, will you not call off the dog?” (Ho, Laspuig, nach caisg thu ’n cù?), — a common phrase in Ardnamurchan and the small isles to this day. It is related of her, that to escape from her attentions, Mac Ian Year and his brother resolved to remove to the
Outer Hebrides. They had barely kindled a fire in their new dwelling, when the Glaistig called down the chimney they had forgot the old harrow, but she had brought it, and that she was only on the top of the Coolin Hills when the first clink (snag) was given to the flint to kindle the fire. There was nothing for it but to return to Ardnamurchan." The folktale lends much evidence to the MacIains reputation as an outlawed clan, likely involved in such activity as cattle raiding and plundering by the 17th century. ==Castles==