Clan Kennedy
Encyclopedia
- Not to be confused with the Irish Kennedy Clan.
Clan Kennedy is a Scottish clan
Scottish clan
Scottish clans , give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relations throughout the world, with a formal structure of Clan Chiefs recognised by the court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms which acts as an authority concerning matters of heraldry and Coat of Arms...
and an Irish surname.
Origins
The Kennedys had their home territory in Carrick in AyrshireAyrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
, in southwestern Scotland. Originally they were of Pict
PICT
PICT is a graphics file format introduced on the original Apple Macintosh computer as its standard metafile format. It allows the interchange of graphics , and some limited text support, between Mac applications, and was the native graphics format of QuickDraw.The original version, PICT 1, was...
ish/Norse
Norsemen
Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...
stock from the Western Isles. In the fifteenth century, one Ulric Kennedy fled Ayrshire to Lochaber
Lochaber
District of Lochaber 1975 to 1996Highland council area shown as one of the council areas of ScotlandLochaber is one of the 16 ward management areas of the Highland Council of Scotland and one of eight former local government districts of the two-tier Highland region...
in the Highlands for refuge, where he was granted protection under the Chief of Clan Cameron. From this Highland branch, Kennedys settled on the Isle of Skye. A branch also was established in northeast Scotland, at Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
. The clan was one branch of the Celtic Lords of Galloway
Lords of Galloway
The Lords, or Kings of Galloway ruled over Galloway, in south west Scotland, for a large part of the High Middle Ages.Many regions of Scotland, including Galloway and Moray, periodically had kings or subkings, similar to those in Ireland during the Middle Ages. The Scottish monarch was seen as...
.
The Kennedys of nine-county
Counties of Ireland
The counties of Ireland are sub-national divisions used for the purposes of geographic demarcation and local government. Closely related to the county is the County corporate which covered towns or cities which were deemed to be important enough to be independent from their counties. A county...
Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
, in the north of Ireland, are mostly of Scottish origin from the territories of Galloway and Ayr just across the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
20 miles away. Many Scottish Kennedys were planters in Ulster, and many Scots went south to Dublin and mingled with the Irish clan.
.jpg)
Wars of Scottish Independence
The Clan Kennedy supported King Robert I of ScotlandRobert I of Scotland
Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...
before and through the Wars of Scottish Independence
Wars of Scottish Independence
The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the independent Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries....
and were rewarded. Around 1360 John Kennedy became owner of lands at Cassillis and in 1457 his descendant, Gilbert, was created Lord Kennedy. Gilbert's younger brother James was Bishop of St Andrews and founder of Scotland's first university, the University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
.
Anglo Scottish wars
During the Anglo-Scottish WarsAnglo-Scottish Wars
The Anglo-Scottish Wars were a series of wars fought between England and Scotland during the sixteenth century.After the Wars of Scottish Independence, England and Scotland had fought several times during the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In most cases, one country had attempted to...
the Clan Kennedy led by their Chief who was the 1st Earl of Cassillis fought at the Battle of Flodden Field
Battle of Flodden Field
The Battle of Flodden or Flodden Field or occasionally Battle of Branxton was fought in the county of Northumberland in northern England on 9 September 1513, between an invading Scots army under King James IV and an English army commanded by the Earl of Surrey...
in 1513 where the Chief was slain.
17th and 18th centuries
The death warrant of Scotland's first Protestant martyr, Patrick Hamilton, was signed, under pressure, by the 3rd Earl, Gilbert, when twelve years old. He was poisoned at Dieppe and the Earldom went to another Gilbert, celebrated for roasting the Abbot of Crossraguel slowly over a fire to gain his land. The Abbot was saved by the Kennedys of Bargany but not before being horribly crippled.In 1775 the 10th Earl of Cassillis was David, who commissioned Robert Adam
Robert Adam
Robert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...
to build the stunning Culzean Castle
Culzean Castle
Culzean Castle is a castle near Maybole, Carrick, on the Ayrshire coast of Scotland. It is the former home of the Marquess of Ailsa but is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland...
. The half gothic, half classical masterpiece looks across the Firth of Clyde
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...
to the Ailsa Craig and was offered for use as a retreat to U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
in gratitude for his war achievements.
Modern distribution
Kennedy is the 16th most common surname in Ireland with ~20,000 bearers, in the USA it is the 137th most common surname with ~185,000 bearers, in England & Wales it is the 168th most common surname, and in Scotland it is the 58th most common surname.Castles
- Maybole Castle
- Cassillis, near MayboleMayboleMaybole is a burgh of barony and police burgh of South Ayrshire, Scotland. Pop. 4,552. It is situated south of Ayr and southwest of Glasgow by the Glasgow and South Western Railway. ...
- Culzean CastleCulzean CastleCulzean Castle is a castle near Maybole, Carrick, on the Ayrshire coast of Scotland. It is the former home of the Marquess of Ailsa but is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland...
- Greenan CastleGreenan CastleGreenan Castle is a 16th century tower house, possibly on the site of an ancient fort, around 2.5 miles south-west of Ayr in South Ayrshire, Scotland...
in AyrAyrAyr is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. With a population of around 46,000, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire, of which it is the county town, and has held royal burgh status since 1205...
in south-west ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. - Dunure CastleDunure CastleDunure Castle is located on the west coast of Scotland, in South Ayrshire, about 5 miles south of Ayr and close to the village of Dunure. Dunure Castle today stands in ruins on a rocky promontory on the Carrick coast, protecting the small Dunure harbour....
in South AyrshireSouth AyrshireSouth Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway....
, Scotland.
Base of Scottish Family Tree
Here is the base of the family tree:- John Kennedy of Dunure and Cassillis M Heiress of the Carrick Earls
- Sir Gilbert
- James M Princess Mary (2nd daughter of Robert III)
- Gilbert (Became Lord Kennedy in about 1457)
- .x James Kennedy (He served as High Chancellor of Scotland and was Bishop of DunkeldDunkeldDunkeld is a small town in Strathtay, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is about 15 miles north of Perth on the eastern side of the A9 road into the Scottish Highlands and on the opposite side of the Tay from the Victorian village of Birnam. Dunkeld and Birnam share a railway station, on the...
, and later ArchbishopArchbishopAn archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of St AndrewsSt AndrewsSt Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
. At St Andrews he founded St. Salvator's College in 1455 and is considered one of the founders of the University of St Andrews)-
- Hugh Kennedy of Ardstinchar (Part of the Great Army of Scotland during the Hundred Years War and fought at the Battle of BaugeBattle of BaugéThe Battle of Baugé, fought between the English and the Franco-Scots on 21 March 1421 in Baugé, France, east of Angers, was a major defeat for the English in the Hundred Years' War...
, and with Joan of ArcJoan of ArcSaint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
at the Siege of OrleansSiege of OrléansThe Siege of Orléans marked a turning point in the Hundred Years' War between France and England. This was Joan of Arc's first major military victory and the first major French success to follow the crushing defeat at Agincourt in 1415. The outset of this siege marked the pinnacle of English power...
)- Sir David (Third lord of Kennedy, created Earl of Cassilis in 1509)
- Hugh Kennedy of Ardstinchar (Part of the Great Army of Scotland during the Hundred Years War and fought at the Battle of Bauge
-
- James M Princess Mary (2nd daughter of Robert III)
- Sir Gilbert
The tenth Kennedy Earl commissioned Robert Adam to build the Culzean Castle
Culzean Castle
Culzean Castle is a castle near Maybole, Carrick, on the Ayrshire coast of Scotland. It is the former home of the Marquess of Ailsa but is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland...
, which became the seat of the Kennedy Clan.
The twelfth Kennedy Earl was created Marquess of Ailsa
Marquess of Ailsa
Marquess of Ailsa, of the Isle of Ailsa in the County of Ayr, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 10 September 1831 for Archibald Kennedy, 12th Earl of Cassillis. The title Earl of Cassillis had been created in 1509 for the 3rd Lord Kennedy. This title had been...
.
Scottish chief
- The Most Hon. Archibald Angus Charles KennedyArchibald Kennedy, 8th Marquess of AilsaArchibald Angus Charles Kennedy, 8th Marquess of Ailsa , is a Scottish peer, the son of Archibald Kennedy, 7th Marquess of Ailsa.Lord Ailsa married Dawn Leslie Anne Keen in 1979; they have two children:...
, 8th Marquess of AilsaMarquess of AilsaMarquess of Ailsa, of the Isle of Ailsa in the County of Ayr, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 10 September 1831 for Archibald Kennedy, 12th Earl of Cassillis. The title Earl of Cassillis had been created in 1509 for the 3rd Lord Kennedy. This title had been...
, who is also Earl of Cassillis, Lord Kennedy, Baron Ailsa and Chief of the Name and Arms of Kennedy, of Ailsa. - Arms: Scottish: Argent, a chevron Gules between three cross crosslets fichée Sable, all within a double tressure flory counterflory Gules.