Origins
The name is
derived from Niall, a descendant of an Irish prince who married into the royal
house of Dalriada. He was said to be descended from
"Niall of the Nine Hostages" a king of Tara in Ireland who ruled
around 400. They were originally confined to the islands of the Hebrides,
mainly Barra, Gigha and Colonsay and a small enclave in Argyll at
Taynish.
MacNeil of
Barra
The first Niall
came to Barra around 1049 and is considered to be the first chief of the clan.
Neil MacNeil was the fifth chief and was described as a prince at the Council
of the Isles held in 1252. He was still chief after the Battle of Largs in 1263
which ended the domination of the Western Isles by the Vikings from Norway.
Neil's son, Neil Og Macneil, is believed to have fought for Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn in 1314 and was given
land in northern Kintyre.
Gilleonan, the 9th
chief, was was given a charter of Barra and Boisdale in 1427 from the Lord of
the Isles. In the 16th century, the 12th chief (also named Gilleonan) attended
a meeting with King James V at Portree, along with a number of
other island lords. He was promptly imprisoned for many years, despite being
promised a safe conduct by the king. He was not released until 1542 when the
Regent Moray tried to use the chiefs in the isles to inhibit the power of the
Campbells in Argyll.
In the 16th
century, the MacNeils augmented their income with a bit of piracy and were
sometimes referred to as the "last of the Vikings". The 15th chief
was denounced so many times that he was labelled a "hereditary
outlaw". On one occasion the chief was tricked into appearing before King James VI for attacking the English ships of
Queen Elizabeth. When asked why he had done so, he replied that he thought he
was doing the King a favour by annoying the woman who had beheaded the
monarch's mother (Mary Queen of Scots). Eventually, the king issued letters
requiring loyal subjects to "extirpate and root out" both the chief
and members of the clan. In 1610, the chief's nephews attacked the seat of the
clan chief at Kiessimul Castle, captured their uncle and put him in chains. The
chief's son became head of the clan and fought for King Charles II at the Battle of Worcester. The next
chief, Roderick Dhu, was received at court in London and granted a royal
charter for all the lands of Barra. The clan remained loyal to the crown -
including the "Old Pretender" when the Jacobite Uprising of 1715 took
place.
The MacNeil
stronghold on Barra was Kisimul Castle. There may have been a building there as
early as the 11th century but the present structure probably dates from the
13th century but the dates are uncertain. The castle was beseiged several time
in the various clan wars. But when the 21st clan chief became bankrupt in 1848,
it was sold along with Barra to the Gordons of Cluny who later sold it to the
Cathcarts. The line of the hereditary chief passed to a cousin who had
emigrated to North America earlier in the 19th century. In a romantic
turnaround, a later clan chief, Robert Lister MacNeil, came back from America
to Barra in 1937 and purchased the castle and subsequently devoted his life to
restoring it. His son, Ian Roderick MacNeil (the 46th of the Clan MacNeil if
you start with Niall of the Nine Hostages) is a distinguished lawyer and has
continued that task. Recently the National Trust has taken over the restoration
work on a long-term lease (for a Pound a year and a bottle of whisky!)
MacNeill of
Colonsay
The members of the
clan who lived on the island of Colonsay usually spelt the name MacNeill. They
had come to Colonsay from Taynish (on the Argyll mainland) and the island of
Gigha. Torquil MacNeill of Taynish was granted the islands of Gigha and Danna
and on the mainland in 1440 by Alexander, Lord of the Isles. Torquil became
keeper of Sween Castle in 1449 but the castle passed to the MacMillans through
marriage to a female heiress when the male line failed.
Torquil MacNeill
had a large number of children who formed many minor branches, creating a
complicated genealogy (which the MacNeill children were said to be required to
recite backwards every Sunday!). Gigha was sold to the Campbells in 1554 but
was later repurchased by the end of the 16th century.
MacNeills had been
established on Colonsay from early times and in 1700 Donald MacNeil of Crear
acquired the island from the Earl of Argyll, in exchange for his own estates.
But when the kelp industry collapsed in the second half of the 19th century,
the island was sold to pay off debts. The chieftainship passed to a MacNeill in
New Zealand.
MacNeills in
Galloway
A separate family
of MacNeills was founded by a Gilbert MacNeill and was granted lands in the
Rhinns of Galloway by Robert the Bruce. Another Galloway family, the
MacNeillys, are unrelated - their name is derived from "mac an
fhilidh" meaning son of the poet.
The MacNeil clan
motto is "Buaidh no bas" which means "Conquer or die".
