Comments on: The MacLaren’s reminder of the Gaelic roots of Scottish clans

By: Paul. E. Lawson. Jr

Paul. E. Lawson. Jr — Mon, 08 Feb 2016 04:41:04 +0000

My family is from the Apapalation mountains of Virginia. My grandaddy told me our family came from Scotland, and that our name was changed to Lawson to protect members who were indentured and as patriots in the Revolutionary War.

By: Louisa Sutherland Pocock

Louisa Sutherland Pocock — Mon, 05 Oct 2015 22:46:57 +0000

I was very impressed with the speech done by Donald MacLaren & if the advice was followed, it might make a big difference!

By: Marion (Dickson)Laurence

Marion (Dickson)Laurence — Sun, 04 Oct 2015 18:22:21 +0000

I saw clan MacLaren on Tartan footprint.,and thought I would mention what I have done in our little NZ town of Morrinsville,which was named after the Morrin brothers of Lockerbie,Scotland,and many families here bear Scottish names-Camerons,MacDonalds,McLeods,Munros,and so on. We are the centre of a very intensive dairying industry. It was decided to have painted cows permanently around the town,so when I.as an artist, was asked to paint a cow for McLarens Rural Services,what better design could I have but the McLaren tartan! Predominantly green and blue with threads of gold and red I also decorated it with simple Celtic designs. It stands proudly outside their business premises.You can see it by googling ‘Herd Of cows Morrinsville.

By: Susan McIntosh

Susan McIntosh — Sun, 04 Oct 2015 16:45:47 +0000

You are quite welcome Rod. I am very glad you enjoyed the post and even more stoked that you are engaged in the journey you describe! Your points are well taken and the more folks who take such a deep and genuine interest in their ancestral past, the safer our heritage will be for the future. Thanks you for your perspective!

By: Hiton McLaurin

Hiton McLaurin — Sun, 04 Oct 2015 15:18:11 +0000

Donald MacLaren is one of the most active Clan Chiefs and represents by example what a modern Clan Chiefs role is. Unfortunately, modern scholarship has shown that his lineage is a fabrication based on a 19th century error. The 13th century Abbot Labhran the founder of the clan never existed. Much of the clans history published by the Clan MacLaren Society is fiction and a modern creation to transform a small clan in Perthshire with few followers into a large International Clan with Sept names apparently carefully selected out of thin air. An example of this created history is “Creag an Tuirc” the new motto and gathering place of the clan created in the 1950′s. The traditional motto was “Dalriada” referring to the origin of the Clan on the west coast of Scotland in Lorne, which is the actual source of the clans name, not a 13th century Abbot Labhran who never existed.

By: Rod McLaren

Rod McLaren — Sun, 04 Oct 2015 14:33:37 +0000

In a wonderful example of serendipity, I have come across your post at a personal time of contemplation into the meaning of heritage, tradition, chieftaincy and clan. Mine is the fifth generation out of the Highlands and onto North America and virtually nothing of the family heritage was passed on through those generations to mine. It is only in the recent decade and through an apparently unconnected interest that I found myself back at the Creag An Tuirc, unaware until that moment that it was the rallying point for the Clan. That experience reinforces my belief that we all hold in our genetic makeup much more information than we acknowledge. It also has been the incentive to dig deeper into my ancestral background and the roots of the Clan. Thank you for shedding further light on the subject, and for sharing the link to the Chieftain’s address to the Scottish Convention.