Garmoran

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Garmoran is an area of western Scotland. It lies at the south-western edge of the present Highland Region. It includes Knoydart, Morar, Moidart, Ardnamurchan, and the Small Isles.

Contents

History

The medieval lordship of Garmoran was ruled by the MacRuaris, descendants of Somerled, and later formed part of the Lordship of the Isles. Castle Tioram, at the entrance to Loch Moidart, was one of the residences of the lords of Garmoran.

In 1284 when his son the prince died, Alexander III called Ailin mac Ruaidhri, the ruler of Garmoran, (along with all the Earls and Barons of Scotland) to make them accept Margaret, Maid of Norway as the heir. [1] Ailin had died by 1296, by which time he had fathered two illegitimate sons, Ruaidhri and Lachlan, and Christina, his sole legitimate heir. However, when Christina succeeded to the extensive estates of her father she resigned a large proportion of them to Ruaidhri. [2] [3]

In 1343, King David II issued a charter to Raghnall Mac Ruaidhrí, granting him the islands of Uist, Barra, Eigg and Rhum (Ywest ... Barra ... Egghe ... Romme) and eight pennylands of Garmoran (Garw Morwarne), which were defined as 'Moidart (Mudeworth), Morar (Mordhowor), Arisaig (Aresaig) and Knoydart (Cundeworth) with their pertinents'. [4]

In October 1346, Raghnall Mac Ruaidhrí was assassinated at Elcho Nunnery near Perth as the result of a quarrel with Uilleam III, Earl of Ross. Raghnall was the "last chieftain of the MacRuaris" [5] and Amie mac Ruari, who married John of Islay, Lord of the Isles, was his sole heir. [6] John of Islay later divorced her although the "unvarying tradition" of the Gàidhealtachd recorded in the late 19th century was that Amie had given her husband no grounds for doing so and lived on her own on her estates until her death. [7] The divorce annulled John of Islay's rights to her lands, although he managed to procure a royal charter to them in which her name is not even mentioned. [8] [9] Their son Ranald successfully petitioned for the return of much of the Macruairi lands including Garmoran. He became the progenitor of Clan Macdonald of Clanranald and Clan MacDonell of Glengarry. [7] [10]

Notes

  1. ↑ Gregory (1881) p. 24
  2. ↑ Barrow (2003) p. 347
  3. ↑ Gregory (1881) pp. 24, 27
  4. ↑ Regesta Regum Scottorum VI ed. Bruce Webster (Edinburgh 1982) no. 73.
  5. ↑ Hunter (2000) p. 127
  6. ↑ Gregory (1881) pp. 26-27
  7. 1 2 Gregory (1881) pp. 29-30
  8. ↑ Gregory (1881) pp. 30-31
  9. ↑ Oram (2005) p. 128
  10. ↑ Lee (1920) p. 61

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Lachlann Mac Ruaidhrí was a Scottish magnate and chief of Clann Ruaidhrí. He was a free-booting participant in the First War of Scottish Independence, who remarkably took up arms against figures such as John, King of Scotland; Edward I, King of England; the Guardians of Scotland; and his near-rival William II, Earl of Ross. Lachlann disappears from record in 1307/1308, and appears to have been succeeded by his brother, Ruaidhrí, as chief of Clann Ruaidhrí.

Ruaidhrí Mac Ruaidhrí was a fourteenth-century Scottish magnate and chief of Clann Ruaidhrí. He was an illegitimate son of Ailéan mac Ruaidhrí, and is recorded to have participated in the kindred's military actions against supporters of both the English Crown and Scottish Crown. Following the apparent death of his brother, Lachlann, Ruaidhrí appears to have taken control of the kindred, and firmly aligned the family with Robert I, King of Scotland. Ruaidhrí may well be the member of Clann Ruaidhrí who is recorded slain at the Battle of Faughart in support of the Bruce cause in Ireland. After his death, Ruaidhrí's half-sister, Cairistíona, attempted to transfer the Clann Ruaidhrí territories outwith the family. Ruaidhrí was survived by a daughter, Áine, and an illegitimate son, Raghnall. The latter fended off Cairistíona's actions and succeeded to the chiefship of Clann Ruaidhrí.

References

Coordinates: 56°45′N5°47′W / 56.750°N 5.783°W / 56.750; -5.783

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