Enterprise and Tourism Minister Fergus Ewing announced that all ten applicants to the fund have been offered grants to support the staging of clan events across the country. In October last year the £200,000 fund was put in place to provide support for activities promoting clan tourism outside of Edinburgh and Galsgow over the next three years. Such events are a major attraction to the hundreds of thousands from across the globe who visit Scotland to explore their ancestry.

The 2014 recipients are:

• Clan Munro Association – 10th International Clan Munro Gathering.
  Foulis Castle, Evanton. Awarded £5000.
• Clan Lachlan Gathering & Strathlachlan Community Festival.
  Castle Lachlan, Strathlachlan. Awarded £5000.
• MacDougall of Dunollie Preservation Trust – Clan MacDougall International Gathering 2014.
  Dunollie House plus various local locations. Oban, Argyll. Awarded £5000.
• Clan MacThomas Society – 2014 Diamond Jubilee Gathering.
  Perth and Kinross, Pitlochry/Glenshee/Kirkmichael. Awarded £1070.
• Clan Gregor Society – International Clan Gregor Gathering 2014.
  Based at Stirling University then at Dalmally, Argyllshire. Awarded £1750.
• Clan MacLaren – Clan MacLaren at the Lochearnhead Highland Games and Gathering.
  Balquhidder and Strathyre. Awarded £1000.
• Clan Hay Society – Tartan Ties 2014.
  Stirling and Aberdeen. Awarded £2500.
• Clan Lamont Society – Clan Lamont Family Fun Day.
  Toward Castle, Dunoon. Awarded £3000.
• Clan Moffat UK – Clan Moffat International Gathering.
  Moffat. Awarded £1000.
• Clan Donnachaidh – Society Gathering.
  Killiecrankie Hall, Pitlochry, and Clan Centre at Bruar. Awarded £1000.

Mr Ewing said he was delighted to announce the initial allocation of funding, saying clan events generate income and provide a colourful spectacle in communities where they take place. He said: “This is the year that Scotland gives a warm welcome to visitors from around the world as we showcase the history and traditions of Scottish Clans during our second year of Homecoming.”

“Not only will the Scottish Clan Event Fund help support activities during this year’s celebrations, but will also provide a legacy by supporting Clan events through to our planned Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology in 2017.”

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Inveraray Castle – Downton Abbey

Inveraray Castle – Downton Abbey

Featured in the nail-biting finale to the third season of Downton Abbey, the stunning Inveraray Castle in Argyll has also been home to Clan Campbell since the 17th Century. In the episode the Grantham family and staff travel north to the home of their cousins, the Marquess and Marchioness of Flintshire in their mythical Scottish home, ‘Duneagle Castle’. The Inveraray Estate boasts 16 acres of highland charm including formal gardens and woodland walks that attract thousands of visitors each year. The castle has also seen its fair share of Downton-inspired storylines over the years – it was inhabited by the eccentric 10th Duke of Argyll in the 1920s, and was home to the rather promiscuous Margaret Campbell during the 1960s.

Castle Stalker – Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Highlander: Endgame

Castle Stalker - Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Highlander: Endgame

This wee gem of a castle located in Argyll is most well-known from the final scene of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Castle Stalker is known in the film as “The Castle of Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh”, where John Cleese taunts Arthur from its battlements before launching an attack. It also appeared briefly in the film Highlander: Endgame. Castle Stalker was built as a small fort by Clan MacDougall around 1320, with it’s present form dating from around 1440. Stalker is said to have been lost by the MacDougalls to Clan Campbell in a drunken bet in 1620, with the castle changing hands between the two clans until 1820 when Clan Campbell abandoned the castle for good when it lost its roof. You can view the Python scene in all its glory by clicking here.

Glenfinnan Viaduct – Harry Potter Series

Glenfinnan Viaduct – Harry Potter Series

Perhaps one of the most magical landscapes featured in the Harry Potter series, the Glenfinnan Railway Viaduct is passed over by Harry and his pals en route to Hogwarts at the beginning of each school year/film. The 21-arch single track viaduct was one of the largest concrete engineering feats undertaken when construction began in 1897. Today the route acts as a part of the West Highland tourist trail, with the steam engine operating along the line called ‘The Jacobite’. The engine had a starring role in the Harry Potter films, playing the role of the Hogwart’s Express, which you can view here.

Rosslyn Chapel – The Da Vinci Code

Rosslyn Chapel - The Da Vinci Code

Rosslyn Chapel was founded as a Catholic church by William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness of the Sinclair Family in the mid-15th Century. According to some accounts, the descendents of Jesus Christ and members of the Knights Templar existed within the Sinclair family. Dan Brown used this theory in his 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code, with the chapel being used as a location in the film version which was released three years later. Despite being dismissed by historians and the Catholic Church, the novel has sold over 80 million copies worldwide.

City of Edinburgh – The Illusionist

City of Edinburgh - The Illusionist

This hand-drawn animated French film is perhaps one of the most beautiful filmic depictions of Edinburgh, and one of the reasons I fell head over heels for this magnificent city. The film brings to life locations such as Arthur’s Seat, Princes Street, Jenners Department Store, The Cameo Theatre, Waverley Station and the glorious cobbled streets, presenting them as they were in the late 1950s. Jonathan Meville of The Scotsman wrote: “Edinburgh’s skyline has never looked so good, and if the city didn’t exist it would be hard to believe somewhere so beautiful was real: if locals aren’t inspired to take a walk up North Bridge or down Victoria Street after this, they never will be. You can view a clip featuring Edinburgh as depicted in the film here.

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European cave spiders, also known as Meta menardi, need very dark places to live, usually being found in caves and tunnels away from the light, but a colony have made a home for themselves in an 8ft opening within the 15th century castle’s walls.  The conservation work on the former Clan MacDougall stronghold will take a number of years to complete.  The ruins have suffered badly over the years from both the weather and the ivy that covers a large part of the exterior, but there is a strong desire to leave the spiders in peace.
Mike Robertson, secretary of the MacDougall of Dunollie Preservation Trust which is overlooking the restoration, said, “We are talking about work that could take six or seven years and the spiders will have to be specially protected.
“Basically it’s the darkness that they need, we can’t put bright work lights there. They will have to be kept in the dark, but it’s for the experts to decide how best to protect them.”
European cave spiders are one the UK’s largest spider species, reaching several centimetres in size, but they are completely harmless to humans.

The current ruins of Dunollie Castle, which sits looking over Oban Bay, was built in the 1400s. However, it’s believed that the third chief of the MacDougall clan, Ewan MacDougall, built a castle on the same site sometime in the 1200s, and there was even a known fortification there well before the unification of Scotland.
The MacDougalls lost Dunollie a couple of times over the centuries; forfeiting the land after siding with their allies the Comyns against Robert the Bruce, and again in 1644 when the castle was captured by the Marquis of Argyll, though it was returned in 1661. Dunollie Castle was finally abandoned by the clan in 1746 and they built Dunollie House not far from the castle ruins.

Dunollie Castle

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Robert the Bruce

One famous battle immediately springs to mind when you think about Robert the Bruce; The Battle of Bannockburn. A great victory for the Scots led by Bruce over the English foe. But before this Bruce’s path had been a hard one and he suffered many humiliations on the route to victory.

It all started with a bitter rivalry. While Edward I of England strutted around north of the border, demanding that nobles swear allegiance to him two men came before him who hated each other far more than Edward. Robert the Bruce and John Comyn, The ‘Red Comyn’.

Comyn and Bruce were supposed to be working together as guardians of Scotland under the watchful eye of Edward but this was an impossible situation and it came to a head in 1306 when Bruce stabbed Comyn to death at the altar of Greyfriars church in Dumfries. This event and Bruce’s subsequent crowning at Scone palace was a signal of intent to Edward, ‘come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough’!

Edward responded with fury, he authorised the raising of the ‘Dragon Banner’ a sign that no quarter would be given to Bruce or his followers. Back in Scotland Bruce was still trying to convince his fellow Scots that he was the man for the job. Many still supported Comyn and he would have a hard time uniting Scotland. With Edward’s knights marching north this was not a good time for the newly crowned king.

By the summer of 1306 Edwards army had made camp in Perthshire and had linked up with Comyn’s supporters north of the border, it was a formidable force and not one to be taken on lightly. Nevertheless Bruce set off to engage them and suffered a great defeat at the Battle of Methven. The English army was led by Aymer de Valence, Comyn’s brother-in-law. According to accounts of the battle Bruce arrived at the appointed place but then retired with his army to camp for the night. Under the feudal rules of engagement Valence would not attack however under cover of darkness he did just that and routed Bruce and his forces.

This was a sign for Bruce that his enemies were not intending to ‘play fair’ remembering the campaign of his predecessor Wallace he resorted to more guerilla tactics.

As we already know Bruce had made a few enemies when he stabbed Comyn. By far the biggest of these north of the Border were the MacDougalls a powerful clan who held the lands around Argyll. This clan was descended from Somerled a great Hebridean king and it’s testament to their power that they had inflicted heavy defeats on both the MacDonald and Campbell clans. They had been great Scottish patriots, unfortunately for Bruce though Comyn was related to the MacDougalls and so they had come out in support of Balliol and the English. With Bruce and his surviving army fleeing westward they ran out of the frying pan and smack into the fire where a large force of MacDougalls were sharpening their swords in anticipation.

When Bruce reached Strathfillan, just to the south of Tyndrum around a thousand MacDougalls were there to meet him, led by the son of Alexander the chief John of Lorne (also known as ‘John the Lame). Bruce was trapped! With Valence pursuing him and the MacDougalls blocking his path he was forced to fight. Bruce and his men were not prepared for battle and the result was a foregone conclusion. What few horses Bruce still had were cut down by the MacDougall axemen and many of his most valued allies such as Sir James Douglas and Gilbert Hey were wounded during the engagement. This rather fanciful poem gives account of the battle:

They thereupon withdrew. In this
There was no mark of cowardice.
They kept together; and the king
Was ever busy rescuing
The rearmost of his company.
With skill and valour there wrought he,
And safely all his men withdrew.
He daunted those that would pursue
So none durst leave their cloe array,
For he was never far away.

The fighting was desperate for Bruce, at one point cut off from his allies he was fighting alone against a small lochan. A MacDougall man attempted to pull Bruce from his horse by grabbing his cloak. Bruce killed him but lost his cloak in so doing. The dead MacDougall was found later still grasping the cloak with Bruce’s brooch still attached. This brooch is still in the possession of the clan to his day.

Bruce and a handful of men escaped with their lives. His army was now non-existent and he fled to the caves and into the history books!

He hadn’t finished with the MacDougalls though and in 1308 at the Pass of Brander Bruce took bloody revenge against the MacDougalls. Once again with the Black Douglas by his side he completely destroyed the MacDougall’s and finally put an end to Scottish resistance to his claim to the throne.

The Lochan of the Lost Sword

The place where Bruce’s darkest moment had come was named ‘Dail Righ’ or ‘The Kings Field’. Bruce had escaped by a hairs breadth (of maybe a brooch pin’s width). As Bruce had escaped he and many of his men threw any unwieldy heavy arms they had into a small lochan. Local legend has it that the king’s sword still lies beneath the surface. Whether its guarded by a ‘lady of the lake’ would be mere speculation.

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Madam Arabella Kincaid

Chief of Clan Kincaid, Madam Arabella Kincaid says: ‘When I became chief it was almost like being a mother for the first time. I get letters all the time, mainly from the US, and we’ve had an active clan association for more than 50 years.’

Flora Fraser, Lady Saltoun Chief of Clan Fraser is not only a female Clan Chief but is currently the only female holder of a lordship who also holds a seat in the House of Lords as an elected hereditary peer. Now that’s impressive.

To celebrate this and upcoming Mother’s Day I have started to put together a list:

1. Clan Elliot : Madam Margaret Elliot of Redheugh
2. Clan Fraser: Rt Hon. The Lady Saltoun
3. Clan Grierson: Sarah Grierson of Lag
4. Clan Hunter: Madam Pauline Hunter of Hunterson
5. Clan Kincaid: Madam Arabella Kincaid of Kincaid
6. Clan MacDougall: Morag MacDougall of MacDougall
7. Clan MacKay: The Hon. Elizabeth Fairbairn
8. Clan MacKinnon: Madam Ann MacKinnon of MacKinnon
9. Clan Mar: Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar
10. Clan Moffat: Madam Jean Moffat of that ilk

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Somerled

A leading DNA expert has shown that the celtic hero Somerled who was credited with driving the Vikings out of western Scotland was himself descended from a Norseman

It had always been believed that Somerled was descended from an ancient royal line going back to when the Scots were living in Ireland.

A few years ago Bryan Sykes, an Oxford University professor of human genetics set up a company called Oxford Ancestors to research people’s DNA past, it was Professor Sykes who discovered that Somerled’s Y-chromosome – which is inherited through the male line – is of Norse origin.

Professor Sykes studied three Scottish clans and came to the conclusion that some 500,000 people alive today are descended from Somerled.

The MacDonald, MacDougall and MacAlister clans all claim descent from Somerled and Prof Sykes found that between 25 and 45 per cent of them shared the same Y-chromosome, of a kind normally found in Norway but rare in Scotland and Ireland.

By analysing the rate of mutation in DNA samples from clan members, Prof Sykes was able to show that the Y-chromosome came from a common ancestor who lived roughly 1,000 years ago.

He then tested five chiefs from the clans and discovered they all shared the same chromosome, which convinced him that the common ancestor must be Somerled, Lord of the Isles, in keeping with clan histories.

However, the analysis threw into doubt Somerled’s own origins. Prof Sykes told The Scotsman: “In the traditional genealogy, Somerled is a great Celtic hero who drives the Norse from Scotland, but his Y- chromosome is definitely Norse. The genealogies trace him back to a long line of Irish kings. But that’s not what the Y-chromosome says.

“He is certainly of Norse Viking paternal origin.”

It is open to question whether Somerled, who made driving the Vikings from western Scotland his “cause célèbre”, would have known the truth.

But Prof Sykes said: “I think it is something you would want to keep quiet.”

The fact that clan chiefs still share the same basic Y-chromosome after some 87 generations shows that high-status women in the MacDonald, MacDougall and MacAllister clans were extremely faithful.

However, the large number of people alive today with the same Y-chromosome means the men in the family did not share this virtue to the same extent.

Maggie Macdonald, archivist of the Museum of the Isles on Skye, said Somerled was traditionally viewed as a Celtic hero.

But she added: “Maybe at that time it was more important who it was said you were descended from than who you were actually descended from.

“People may well have known his great-great-grandfather was a Viking.

“But it could have been that his great-great-grandmother had relations with someone who wasn’t her husband – it could be Somerled wouldn’t have known and thought he was this great Celtic hero.”

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Somerled is the first known historic figure of the medeival Hebrides. He was celebrated as a purely Celtic hero, but like all good heroes, his story is a gloss of myth and legend.

His name in Norse means summer hunter – but his father had a Gaelic name – Gillebride.

Tradition accounts of Sommerled’s genealogy take him back to the Irish king, Conn of 100 battles.

This was typical of the middle ages when who your ancestors were was as important as who you were. What is probable is that he was of the kindred of the Ui Maic Uias of Oriel. On his mother’s side he may have been Norse. He was a fusion of the Gaelic and Norse worlds.

For all that he is such a major figure in Hebridean history, we know relatively little about him. We know that he fought the Norse in two battles in 1156 and 1158 and drove them from Argyll and then from the islands. We know that he married the daughter of Olaf, the King of Man. We also know that he died in 1164 at Renfrew. Even his death is shrouded in mystery. Some say that he died in battle, others that he died treacherously by the assassin’s hand.

His legacy was two fold – the kingdom he established and the dynasty he founded. His kingdom held a unique position between the overlordship of the King of Scots and the King of Norway. Poised between the two, it grew into one of the greatest examples of medieval Celtic culture – the Lordship of the Isles.

His dynasty came to befocused in the descendants of his grandson Donald, who gave his name to Clan Donald. They ruled the Lordship for three and a half centuries.

Somerled left three sons – Dugall, Ranald and Angus. His kingdom was divided between them. On the death of Angus, his lands of Bute and Arran were taken over by Ranald, who already held Kintyre and Islay. Gradually through marriage, take over, and judicious politics, it was Clan Donald, the descendants of Donald son of Ranald, who became overlords of Somerled’s kingdom.

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