| Skipness Castle | |
|---|---|
| Kintyre peninsula, Scotland; near the village of Skipness | |
 Skipness Castle, seen from the northwest | |
  Skipness Castle | |
| Coordinates | 55°46′05″N5°20′11″W / 55.7680°N 5.3364°W |
| Type | Castle |
| Site history | |
| In use | 13th – 17th century |
Skipness Castle stands on the east side of the Kintyre peninsula in Scotland, near the village of Skipness. Together with the nearby Kilbrannan Chapel it is a scheduled ancient monument. [1]
The main structure of the castle was built in the early 13th century by the Clan MacSween, with later fortifications and other additions made to the castle through the 13th, 14th and 16th centuries.
The castle was garrisoned with royal troops in 1494, during King James IV of Scotland's suppression of the Isles. James IV appointed Duncan Forestar as keeper of the castle. [2] Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll, granted Skipness to his younger son, Archibald Campbell, in 1511. [3]
During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in 1646, the castle was besieged by forces under the command of Alasdair Mac Colla. During the siege, Alasdair's brother, Gilleasbuig Mac Colla, was killed in August 1646. [4] The castle was abandoned in the 17th century.
The Green Lady of Skipness Castle is said to haunt the location. [5]
Kintyre is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about 30 miles, from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East and West Loch Tarbert in the north. The region immediately north of Kintyre is known as Knapdale.
Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald, is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grants of coats of arms, and serving as the judge of the Court of the Lord Lyon, recognises under Scottish law the High Chief of Clan Donald. Historically the chiefs of the Clan Donald held the title of Lord of the Isles until 1493 and two of those chiefs also held the title of Earl of Ross until 1476.
Alasdair Mac Colla Chiotaich MacDhòmhnaill, also known by the English variant of his name Sir Alexander MacDonald, was a military officer best known for his participation in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, notably the Irish Confederate Wars and Montrose's Royalist campaign in Scotland during 1644–5. A member of the Gaelic gentry of the Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg, a branch of the Clan Donald active in the Hebrides and Ireland, Mac Colla is particularly notable for the very large number of oral traditions and legends which his life inspired in the Highlands.
Mingary Castle, also known as Mingarry Castle, is a castle situated one mile southeast of the small village of Kilchoan in Lochaber, Scotland. Nestled on ridge of rock overlooking the sea, it was considered a strategically important site in terms of communication with overseas areas and as an entranceway to the Sound of Mull. Mingary is roughly hexagonal in shape with nine-foot-thick walls, thicker on the seaward side. The remains of the castle are protected as a category A listed building.
Kinlochaline Castle is a 15th-century Scottish tower house on the Ardtornish estate in Morvern in the Highland council area. It is also known as Caisteal an Ime because a Lady of Clan MacInnes, Dubh Chal, is said to have paid the builder with butter equal to the volume of the castle.
Dunstaffnage Castle is a partially ruined castle in Argyll and Bute, western Scotland. It lies 3 miles (5 km) NNE of Oban, situated on a platform of conglomerate rock on a promontory at the south-west of the entrance to Loch Etive, and is surrounded on three sides by the sea. The castle and the nearby chapel ruin have been a Historic Scotland property since 1958. Both are Scheduled Ancient Monuments.
Duntrune Castle is located on the north side of Loch Crinan and across from the village of Crinan in Argyll, Scotland. It is thought to be the oldest continuously occupied castle on mainland Scotland. The castle is a category B listed building.
Clan Lamont is a Highland Scottish clan. The clan is said to descend from Ánrothán Ua Néill, an Irish prince of the O'Neill dynasty, and through him Niall Noigíallach, High King of Ireland. Clan Ewen of Otter, Clan MacNeil of Barra, Clan Lachlan, and Clan Sweeney are also descendants of Ánrothán. Traditional genealogy would therefore include Clan Lamont among the descendants of Conn Cétchathach.
Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg, also known as Clan Donald South, Clan Iain Mor, Clan MacDonald of Islay and Kintyre, MacDonalds of the Glens (Antrim) and sometimes referred to as MacDonnells, is a Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald. The founder of the MacDonalds of Dunnyveg is Eòin Mòr Tànaiste Mac Dhòmhnaill, a son of Iain Mic Dhòmhnaill and Margaret Stewart of Scotland, daughter of King Robert II. Members of the clan actually pronounced and spelled their name M'Connall due to the Gaelic pronunciation of the name Mac Domhnuill thus giving rise to the surname McConnell and its variants. While historically recognised as a clan by the Court of the Lord Lyon, it is now an armigerous clan as it no longer has a chief. The last chief was Sir James MacDonald, 9th of the Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg or Clan Donald South, who died in London in 1626.
Castle Sween, also known as Caisteal Suibhne, and Caistéal Suibhne, is located on the eastern shore of Loch Sween, in Knapdale, south of the forestry village of Achnamara on the west coast of Argyll, Scotland. Castle Sween is thought to be one of the earliest stone castles built in Scotland, having been built in the late 11th century. The castle's towers were later additions to wooden structures which have since vanished.
The MacDonnells of Antrim, also known as the MacDonnells of the Glens, are a branch in Ireland of the Scottish-based Clan Donald. Initially part of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg, the MacDonnells of Antrim became their own branch in 1558 when Somhairle Buidhe MacDonnell obtained the lordship of the territory in Ireland from James MacDonald, 6th chief of the Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg. The MacDonnells of Antrim were a sept of the Clan Donald of the royal Clann Somhairle, that the English crown had attempted to cultivate since the early 14th century in its efforts to influence the course of politics in Scotland. The MacDonnells established a growing presence in Ireland throughout the 15th and 16th centuries,and played a crucial role in the politics of 17th century Ireland. The MacDonnell's achieved much success in Ireland largely to cultural and familial connections to the Gaelic nobility of Ireland. Today the surname is predominantly spelled McDonnell in Ireland and abroad, although many McConnell's are also of the same family, as that is the Gaelic pronunciation of the Mac Domhnaill. Most of the leadership of the Clan wrote their name as a variant of McConnell up until the 17th Century, including Sorley Boy MacDonnell himself. Many of the present-day McDonnell's have a common descent from Sorley Boy MacDonnell.
Rowallan Castle is an ancient castle located in Scotland. The castle stands on the banks of the Carmel Water, which may at one time have run much closer to the low eminence upon which the original castle stood, justifying the old name Craig of Rowallan. Elizabeth Mure was mistress and then wife of Robert, High Steward of Scotland, and Guardian of Scotland, who later became King Robert II of Scotland. She may have been born at Rowallan.
Coll Ciotach Mac Domhnaill (1570–1647) was a Scottish adventurer and mercenary of the Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg branch of Clan Donald, who became Laird of Colonsay in 1623, by treachery. His name, which means "Coll the left-handed" or "the crafty", was anglicised as Colkitto. However he only used the nickname Ciotach late in his life in 1629 when it appeared in a Latin translation of a Gaelic letter where Coll refers to himself as "Ego Collatius Kiotach Macdonnell".
Carrick Castle is a 14th-century tower house on the west shore of Loch Goil on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located between Cuilmuich and Carrick, 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Lochgoilhead.
Airds Castle is a ruined medieval castle near Carradale, Kintyre, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The castle held a position on the summit of a rocky headland between Carradale harbour and the bay of Port Righ, looking across Kilbrannan Sound to the Isle of Arran.
Sir Duncan Campbell (1597–1645), 2nd Baronet and 6th Lord of Auchinbreck, was commander of the Marquess of Argyll, Archibald Campbell's troops, (Covenanters) in Ireland.
Saddell Castle is a historic 16th-century castle on the shore of the Kilbrannan Sound near Saddell, Kintyre, Argyll and Bute, Scotland of significant importance. The original castle existed in Somerled's time in the 12th century. The castle served as a bastion of the MacDonald family for several centuries and continues to be visited by MacDonald diaspora from around the world who return to Western Scotland and the Isles. Several MacDonald Lords have resided at Saddell over the centuries, including Alasdair Mor MacDonald, younger brother of Angus Mor MacDonald, Lord of the Isles in the 13th century. Angus Og MacDonald once provided refuge to Robert the Bruce during the First War of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century before taking him on to Dunaverty Castle on the Mull of Kintyre.
Eachann Mac Goraidh MacAlasdair, was the 6th of Loup, Chief of Clan MacAlister. He succeeded to the title in 1636. He was hanged for treason at Whinny Hill, Kinlochkerran, Scotland in 1647.
St Brendan's Chapel, also known as Kilbrannan Chapel, and Skipness Chapel, is a medieval chapel near Skipness, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The chapel appears to have been built in the late 13th or early 14th century and was dedicated to St. Brendan. The chapel replaced an earlier chapel dedicated to St. Columba at nearby Skipness Castle. There is reason to suspect that the introduction of St Brendan's cult at Skipness was carried out by the Stewarts, after their acquisition of the Clann Suibhne lordship in the mid thirteenth century. By the fourteenth century, St Brendan was closely associated with the Stewarts and their island of Bute.
The Battle of Lagganmore took place in 1646 at Lagganmore in Glen Euchar, west of Loch Scammadale. It was part of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, though in this case the battle, which was fought largely between Highland clansmen, incorporated a long running feud between Clan MacDonald and Clan Campbell.
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