If your surname is MacDonald then you belong to the Clan Donald. There are several branches of the clan with origins all around the Highlands of Scotland: including Islay, Glen Garry near Fort William, Lochaber, Glen Coe in the north of Argyll, and Ardnamurchan on the west coast. The branches of Clan Donald were determined by the different lands granted to the descendants of Donald of Islay. Their main stronghold was Loch Finlaggan on Islay where they held their court.
The Clan Donald is the largest of the Highland Clans and is often described as the most powerful. The Clan Donald was descended from Donald, grandson of the heroic Somerled, Lord of the Isles (d. 1164). Donald’s grandson, Angus Og (d. 1330), was granted vast lands in the Highlands and Western Isles by Robert the Bruce, whom he had supported in the fight for Scottish independence.
Angus had two sons, one of whom, John, became Lord of the Isles (d. 1386), while the other, Iain (d. 1368), was the progenitor of the MacDonalds of Glencoe.
The name MacDonald is, of course, at the centre of one of the most famous stories in Scottish history, the Massacre of Glencoe of 1692, in which 38 clan members were slaughtered by a Highland regiment under the command of Robert Campbell of Glenlyon (1630 - 96), on the orders of John Dalrymple, Secretary of State for Scotland (1648 - 1707).
There are at least 27 different tartan setts associated with the Clan Donald. Their motto is Per mare per terras, “by sea and by land”.
The Clan Donald is the largest of the Highland Clans and is often described as the most powerful. The Clan Donald was descended from Donald, grandson of the heroic Somerled, Lord of the Isles (d. 1164). Donald’s grandson, Angus Og (d. 1330), was granted vast lands in the Highlands and Western Isles by Robert the Bruce, whom he had supported in the fight for Scottish independence.
Angus had two sons, one of whom, John, became Lord of the Isles (d. 1386), while the other, Iain (d. 1368), was the progenitor of the MacDonalds of Glencoe.
The name MacDonald is, of course, at the centre of one of the most famous stories in Scottish history, the Massacre of Glencoe of 1692, in which 38 clan members were slaughtered by a Highland regiment under the command of Robert Campbell of Glenlyon (1630 - 96), on the orders of John Dalrymple, Secretary of State for Scotland (1648 - 1707).
There are at least 27 different tartan setts associated with the Clan Donald. Their motto is Per mare per terras, “by sea and by land”.