Clan Macintyre
Encyclopedia
Clan MacIntyre is a Scottish clan
. The name MacIntyre (from Scottish Gaelic Mac an t-Saoir), means "son of the carpenter." Although no documented history of the clan exists, it is most commonly said to descend from Maurice Mac Neil a nephew of Somerled
, the great 12th century leader of the Scottish Gaels
. Through an ingenious strategy, Maurice secured the marriage of Somerled to the daughter of the King of Mann and the Isles, thus greatly increasing Somerled’s territories. At an unknown date the clan journeyed from the Hebrides
to the Scottish mainland where the chiefs established their home at Glen Noe on Loch Etive
.
The earliest recorded clan chiefs
do not emerge until the 17th century. According to tradition, they had held the land at Glen Noe for centuries, although subject to a feudal
tenure converted to money rent in later years. In 1806, however, the chief was forced to relinquish the tenancy of Glen Noe due to inability to meet the payments. He and his family subsequently emigrated to the United States.
MacIntyres participated in military campaigns during the civil war
in Scotland and the Jacobite rising
of 1745–46 but they did not operate as an independent body. Clan members served as hereditary foresters to the Lords of Lorne and as hereditary pipers
to the chiefs of Clan Menzies
and the MacDonalds of Clanranald. Perhaps the clan's most illustrious member, Duncan Ban MacIntyre
is regarded as one of the finest Gaelic poets.
, means "son of the carpenter", or "son of the craftsman". Iain Moncreiffe
notes that some consider the name to be a trade name, equivalent to the names Gow (smith) or MacNair ("son of the heir") and attribute the existence of the surname in various parts of Scotland to the fact that the name signifies descent from various individuals who were wood workers. In 1990, Scotland's heraldic
authority, the Lord Lyon King of Arms
, recognised MacIntyre of Glenoe as Chief of the Name and Arms of the name MacIntyre. Although several works mention a "Black Book of Glen Noe," now lost, said to have contained the history of Clan MacIntyre, no documented record of the clan’s origins has ever been discovered. There are, however, several accounts that purport to identify its founder and explain its name. The most frequently repeated story ties the MacIntyres to Somerled
, who lived in the 12th century and who has been described as “one of the greatest warrior kings born to the Gaels
of Alba
(Scotland
).” An ambitious figure almost from the outset, Somerled sought the hand of Ragnhilda, daughter of King Olav the Red, Norse
King of Man and the Isles. The story of how, after being initially rebuffed by that island magnate, Somerled would ultimately succeed through the stealth of one of his kinsmen, is recorded in the history of MacDonald of Sleat.
According to this account, Somerled agreed to join Olav in an expedition to raid Skye
. The night before sailing, however, a ship wright or carpenter known as Maurice Mac Neil (the second name sometimes given as MacNiall or MacArill), by some accounts Somerled's nephew, secretly bored holes in the hull of Olav’s ship using tallow and butter to temporarily seal them. On entering the open seas the tallow was washed away by the action of the waves and the king’s ship began rapidly taking on water. Olav’s urgent appeal for help was spurned by Somerled, until he consented to the previously sought marriage. Maurice then boarded the King’s ship and filled the holes with wooden plugs he had previously prepared for the purpose. From that time the descendants of Maurice were called “MacIntyres,” “carpenters (or shipwrights) sons”.”,
The sought-after marriage would take place in 1140. One line of Somerled’s MacDonald descendants would become known as Kings and Lords of the Isles
and over several centuries would contend with the Scottish monarchy for control of a large portion of northwestern Scotland.
Another account, involving seafaring, holds that the name arose from the misfortune of a mariner afloat. In this version the clan’s founder, sometimes identified as son of one of the Lords of the Isles, cuts off his thumb in order to plug a leak in his sinking vessel.
The original home of Clan MacIntyre is likewise the subject of conjecture. There is general agreement that the clan arose in the Hebrides
, the islands west of the Scottish mainland. Some accounts, however, identify Skye
as the ancestral home, while another tradition holds Islay
to have been the locale. The story of how the clan made its way to the mainland and settled along the shore of Loch Etive
in the vicinity of Ben Cruachan
is again shrouded in myth and magic. It is said that seeking fresh pastures for their cattle they were initially obstructed by a mountain spirit. After testing their perseverance and courage the spirit instructed them to make their new home where the white cow in their herd should first lie down to rest. This site became known as Glen Noe.
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Many accounts relate that at some point in the 13th century the MacIntyres became foresters to the Lords of Lorne, a hereditary post in which they continued as the territory subsequently passed from the MacDougalls
to the control of the Stewarts and finally to the Campbells.
After settling at Glen Noe, the chiefs are said to have held the land for centuries. While presumably owning the property outright originally, it is generally agreed that at some, uncertain date, they acquired a feudal
obligation to the Campbells of Breadalbane. Initially, this entailed only a symbolic payment. Tradition identifies this as a snowball supplied at midsummer and a white calf surrendered but then killed and shared by landlord and tenant as a token of mutual esteem.
The earliest recorded clan chiefs do not emerge until the 17th century. The earliest chief is Duncan, who married Mary, daughter of Patrick Campbell of Barcaldine. He died in 1695 and is buried at Ardchattan Priory
.
From this era comes a traditional account that the home of the MacIntyre chief was saved by the clan’s ties to the MacDonalds. At the time of the civil war
in Scotland the forces of James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
, had sacked Inveraray
and marched north to the area of Glen Noe. As a tenant of the Campbells, the chief was deemed an opponent of the Royalist
faction, which Montrose served. The chief, expecting no mercy, fled. As part of their campaign, the Royalist troops were under orders to destroy all houses in the neighborhood and began to set fire to the chief's house. The commander of Montrose’s men, Sir Alexander MacDonald,extinguished the blaze before it became widespread and sent word to the chief that his property had been spared in recognition of the services the clan’s founder had performed in contriving the marriage of Somerled, ancestor of the MacDonalds to Ragnhilda half a millennium earlier.,
Many MacIntyres subsequently joined MacDonald's army including the chief's piper. The chief, however, was with Campbell of Argyll
at the battle of Inverlochy
in February 1645 when the Campbells were surprised by Montrose's forces and routed.
It is said that the MacIntyre chief at the time of the Jacobite rising
of 1745, James (born c. 1727), would have joined the clans rallying to Prince Charles Edward Stuart
but was dissuaded from doing so by his wife, who was a Campbell, and his neighbors. His loyalties to the Campbells were further deepened by the fact that his legal studies had been sponsored by the Campbell Earl of Breadalbane
. Nonetheless, many MacIntyres were in the clan regiment of Stewart of Appin
in the campaign of 1745–46, but they did not serve as an independent body.
At some unknown date the symbolic snowball and calf tokens owed to the Campbells were commuted to payment of money rent which increased over the years. In 1806, the chief was forced to relinquish the tenancy of Glen Noe due to inability to meet the payments. The chief and his family emigrated to the United States, where the family continues to reside. Although the identities of the chiefs were always known to interested clan members, the chiefship of the clan was not officially recognized by Scottish authorities until 1991, when the coat of arms of James Wallace MacIntyre of Glenoe was confirmed by the Lord Lyon, King of Arms. The current chief of the clan is Donald Russell MacIntyre of Glenoe. The MacIntyre chiefs hold membership in the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs
.
, were hereditary pipers
to the chiefs of Clan Menzies
and composed some of that clan’s music. They supplied hereditary pipers to the MacDonalds of Clanranald, and a noted pibroch
commemorating the battle of Sheriffmuir
is attributed to one of these MacIntyres.
In the 18th century two members of the clan earned considerable regard for their Gaelic poetry. James, the poet-chief, (1727–1799) is best remembered for a biting satire he composed in Gaelic in response to Samuel Johnson
, the English encyclopedist, who had made derogatory comments about the Scots in his famous trip to the Hebrides.
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The poet-chief would find himself eclipsed by one of his own kinsmen, however. Born on 20 March 1724, in Druimliaghart, Glenorchy
, Argyllshire, Duncan Ban MacIntyre
would become known to his countrymen as “Fair Duncan of the Songs.” One historian has described him as "one of the twin peaks of the century's Gaelic verse" and some have even called him the “Burns
of the Highlands.” His work was described as possessing “an unrivaled originality of conception, with the most mellifluous flow of language.” Yet his biographers agree that he was wholly illiterate.
His most critically acclaimed work is “The Praise of Ben Dorain
,” but he is well-known for his poetic commentaries on contemporary events. In the Jacobite rising
of 1745 which attempted to return the House of Stuart
to the throne of Scotland and England, Duncan fought on the Hanoverian
side and composed a humorous song after losing his borrowed sword at the battle of Falkirk
in January 1746. Following that uprising, however, he composed a best selling poem attacking the portion of the Act of Proscription
outlawing the wearing of highland dress and was briefly imprisoned., When the ban against the wearing of the kilt was repealed, he celebrated with another poem, entitled Orain na Briogas or “Song of the Breeches
.”
He was named bard
to the Highland Society of London and was so esteemed that in his later years schoolchildren were allowed out of class to see him when he traveled to their community. He died on 6 October 1812. In 1859, a monument to the memory of Duncan Ban MacIntyre (described in contemporary press accounts as "in the druid
style of architecture") was erected near Dalmally
at the head of Loch Awe
.
This branch of the family claims descent from Patrick, a son of a chief of Glenoe. The family established themselves on the shores of the Inverness-shire Loch Leven
at Camus-na-h-erie. John Macintyre of Camus-na-h-erie, 10th of his line, fought on the Jacobite side in the 1745 and was wounded at the battle of Falkirk. It is reported that nine members of MacIntyre of Camus-na-h-erie were taken prisoners in the 1745 rising. In the early 19th century, the family was represented by the Rev. John MacIntyre, D.D. of Kilmonivaig.
Badenoch: The MacIntyres of Badenoch
are said to have been descended from a bard taken under the protection of the Clan Mackintosh
chief at the end of the 15th century. The Badenoch MacIntyres were a constituent group of Clan Chattan, an alliance of clans headed by the Mackintosh chief which fought on the Jacobite side in the risings of 1715 and 1745.
Cladich: The little hamlet of Cladich
above Loch Awe near the road to Inveraray was a center of weaving and almost all of the inhabitants were MacIntyres. A specialty of the industry were men's hose and garters, which were prized at that time for wearing with the highland costume.
.
Dr. Edward MacLysaght
, authority on Irish genealogy
, does not include MacIntyre as a separate entry in his two works on Irish families. Rather, he lists MacIntyre, along with Carpenter, Freeman, O’Seery, and Searson in his entry on the name “Macateer.” He likewise specifies that in Ireland MacIntyres are found chiefly in Ulster, and in County Sligo. It would appear, in Dr. MacLysaght's view, that those MacIntyres who are of native Irish ancestry originally were Macateers who changed their names.,
It is believed that some Irish MacIntyres descend from native Irish stock whose ancestors were living in the same areas in which Scottish MacIntyres settled and who assumed the Scottish surname, rather than Macateer, as an anglicization of the Irish name Mac an tSoir.
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...
. The name MacIntyre (from Scottish Gaelic Mac an t-Saoir), means "son of the carpenter." Although no documented history of the clan exists, it is most commonly said to descend from Maurice Mac Neil a nephew of Somerled
Somerled
Somerled was a military and political leader of the Scottish Isles in the 12th century who was known in Gaelic as rí Innse Gall . His father was Gillebride...
, the great 12th century leader of the Scottish Gaels
Gaels
The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....
. Through an ingenious strategy, Maurice secured the marriage of Somerled to the daughter of the King of Mann and the Isles, thus greatly increasing Somerled’s territories. At an unknown date the clan journeyed from the Hebrides
Hebrides
The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive...
to the Scottish mainland where the chiefs established their home at Glen Noe on Loch Etive
Loch Etive
Loch Etive is a 30 km sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It reaches the sea at Connel, 5 km north of Oban. It measures 31.6 km in length and from 1.2 km to in width...
.
The earliest recorded clan chiefs
Scottish clan chief
The Scottish Gaelic word clann means children. In early times, and possibly even today, clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the Scottish clan. From its perceived founder a clan takes its name. The clan chief is the representative of this founder, and...
do not emerge until the 17th century. According to tradition, they had held the land at Glen Noe for centuries, although subject to a feudal
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
tenure converted to money rent in later years. In 1806, however, the chief was forced to relinquish the tenancy of Glen Noe due to inability to meet the payments. He and his family subsequently emigrated to the United States.
MacIntyres participated in military campaigns during the civil war
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
in Scotland and the Jacobite rising
Jacobite rising
The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...
of 1745–46 but they did not operate as an independent body. Clan members served as hereditary foresters to the Lords of Lorne and as hereditary pipers
Great Highland Bagpipe
The Great Highland Bagpipe is a type of bagpipe native to Scotland. It has achieved widespread recognition through its usage in the British military and in pipe bands throughout the world. It is closely related to the Great Irish Warpipes....
to the chiefs of Clan Menzies
Clan Menzies
For Menzies as a personal name, including its pronunciation and a list of famous people of that name, see Menzies.Clan Menzies ; , a member is a Mèinnearach) is a Highland Scottish clan.-Origins of the Clan:...
and the MacDonalds of Clanranald. Perhaps the clan's most illustrious member, Duncan Ban MacIntyre
Duncan Bàn MacIntyre
Donnchadh Bàn Mac an t-Saoir is one of the most renowned of Scottish Gaelic poets and formed an integral part of one of the golden ages of Gaelic poetry in Scotland during the 18th century...
is regarded as one of the finest Gaelic poets.
Origins
The name MacIntyreMacIntyre
MacIntyre or Macintyre is a Scottish surname, of Gaelic origin, relating to Clan MacIntyre. Its meaning is "Son of the Carpenter". The anglicized version of the MacIntyre name is Wright....
, means "son of the carpenter", or "son of the craftsman". Iain Moncreiffe
Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk
Sir Rupert Iain Kay Moncreiffe of that Ilk, 11th Baronet, CVO, QC was a British officer of arms and genealogist. He used various forms of his name: His columns for Books and Bookmen wete signed Iain Moncreiffe; Royal Highness is by Sir Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk, Bt.; Simple Heraldry is by...
notes that some consider the name to be a trade name, equivalent to the names Gow (smith) or MacNair ("son of the heir") and attribute the existence of the surname in various parts of Scotland to the fact that the name signifies descent from various individuals who were wood workers. In 1990, Scotland's heraldic
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
authority, the Lord Lyon King of Arms
Lord Lyon King of Arms
The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grants of arms, and serving as the judge of the Court of the Lord Lyon, the oldest...
, recognised MacIntyre of Glenoe as Chief of the Name and Arms of the name MacIntyre. Although several works mention a "Black Book of Glen Noe," now lost, said to have contained the history of Clan MacIntyre, no documented record of the clan’s origins has ever been discovered. There are, however, several accounts that purport to identify its founder and explain its name. The most frequently repeated story ties the MacIntyres to Somerled
Somerled
Somerled was a military and political leader of the Scottish Isles in the 12th century who was known in Gaelic as rí Innse Gall . His father was Gillebride...
, who lived in the 12th century and who has been described as “one of the greatest warrior kings born to the Gaels
Gaels
The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....
of Alba
Alba
Alba is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is cognate to Alba in Irish and Nalbin in Manx, the two other Goidelic Insular Celtic languages, as well as similar words in the Brythonic Insular Celtic languages of Cornish and Welsh also meaning Scotland.- Etymology :The term first appears in...
(Scotland
Scotland
Scotland 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...
).” An ambitious figure almost from the outset, Somerled sought the hand of Ragnhilda, daughter of King Olav the Red, 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...
King of Man and the Isles. The story of how, after being initially rebuffed by that island magnate, Somerled would ultimately succeed through the stealth of one of his kinsmen, is recorded in the history of MacDonald of Sleat.
According to this account, Somerled agreed to join Olav in an expedition to raid Skye
Skye
Skye or the Isle of Skye is the largest and most northerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate out from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cuillin hills...
. The night before sailing, however, a ship wright or carpenter known as Maurice Mac Neil (the second name sometimes given as MacNiall or MacArill), by some accounts Somerled's nephew, secretly bored holes in the hull of Olav’s ship using tallow and butter to temporarily seal them. On entering the open seas the tallow was washed away by the action of the waves and the king’s ship began rapidly taking on water. Olav’s urgent appeal for help was spurned by Somerled, until he consented to the previously sought marriage. Maurice then boarded the King’s ship and filled the holes with wooden plugs he had previously prepared for the purpose. From that time the descendants of Maurice were called “MacIntyres,” “carpenters (or shipwrights) sons”.”,
The sought-after marriage would take place in 1140. One line of Somerled’s MacDonald descendants would become known as Kings and Lords of the Isles
Lord of the Isles
The designation Lord of the Isles is today a title of Scottish nobility with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It emerged from a series of hybrid Viking/Gaelic rulers of the west coast and islands of Scotland in the Middle Ages, who wielded sea-power with fleets of...
and over several centuries would contend with the Scottish monarchy for control of a large portion of northwestern Scotland.
Another account, involving seafaring, holds that the name arose from the misfortune of a mariner afloat. In this version the clan’s founder, sometimes identified as son of one of the Lords of the Isles, cuts off his thumb in order to plug a leak in his sinking vessel.
The original home of Clan MacIntyre is likewise the subject of conjecture. There is general agreement that the clan arose in the Hebrides
Hebrides
The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive...
, the islands west of the Scottish mainland. Some accounts, however, identify Skye
Skye
Skye or the Isle of Skye is the largest and most northerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate out from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cuillin hills...
as the ancestral home, while another tradition holds Islay
Islay
-Prehistory:The earliest settlers on Islay were nomadic hunter-gatherers who arrived during the Mesolithic period after the retreat of the Pleistocene ice caps. In 1993 a flint arrowhead was found in a field near Bridgend dating from 10,800 BC, the earliest evidence of a human presence found so far...
to have been the locale. The story of how the clan made its way to the mainland and settled along the shore of Loch Etive
Loch Etive
Loch Etive is a 30 km sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It reaches the sea at Connel, 5 km north of Oban. It measures 31.6 km in length and from 1.2 km to in width...
in the vicinity of Ben Cruachan
Ben Cruachan
Ben Cruachan is a 1126 m mountain that is the highest point in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It gives its name to the Cruachan Dam, a pumped-storage hydroelectric power station located in a cavern inside the mountain, as well as providing the slogan for Clan Campbell.It is the high point of a...
is again shrouded in myth and magic. It is said that seeking fresh pastures for their cattle they were initially obstructed by a mountain spirit. After testing their perseverance and courage the spirit instructed them to make their new home where the white cow in their herd should first lie down to rest. This site became known as Glen Noe.
G
History
Clan MacDougall
Clan MacDougall is a Highland Scottish clan consisting of the descendants of Dubgall mac Somairle, son of Somerled, who ruled Lorne and the Isle of Mull in Argyll in the 13th century...
to the control of the Stewarts and finally to the Campbells.
After settling at Glen Noe, the chiefs are said to have held the land for centuries. While presumably owning the property outright originally, it is generally agreed that at some, uncertain date, they acquired a feudal
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
obligation to the Campbells of Breadalbane. Initially, this entailed only a symbolic payment. Tradition identifies this as a snowball supplied at midsummer and a white calf surrendered but then killed and shared by landlord and tenant as a token of mutual esteem.
The earliest recorded clan chiefs do not emerge until the 17th century. The earliest chief is Duncan, who married Mary, daughter of Patrick Campbell of Barcaldine. He died in 1695 and is buried at Ardchattan Priory
Ardchattan Priory
The Ardchattan Priory was a Valliscaulian monastic community in Ardchattan, Argyll, Scotland. It was founded in 1230 by Duncan MacDougal, Lord of Argyll. From the early 14th century, the Prior of Ardchattan held the chantership of Lismore Cathedral. In April 1510 it was incorporated as a cell of...
.
From this era comes a traditional account that the home of the MacIntyre chief was saved by the clan’s ties to the MacDonalds. At the time of the civil war
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
in Scotland the forces of James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose was a Scottish nobleman and soldier, who initially joined the Covenanters in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, but subsequently supported King Charles I as the English Civil War developed...
, had sacked Inveraray
Inveraray
Inveraray is a royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, and on the A83 road. It is the traditional county town of Argyll and ancestral home to the Duke of Argyll.-Coat of arms:...
and marched north to the area of Glen Noe. As a tenant of the Campbells, the chief was deemed an opponent of the Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
faction, which Montrose served. The chief, expecting no mercy, fled. As part of their campaign, the Royalist troops were under orders to destroy all houses in the neighborhood and began to set fire to the chief's house. The commander of Montrose’s men, Sir Alexander MacDonald,extinguished the blaze before it became widespread and sent word to the chief that his property had been spared in recognition of the services the clan’s founder had performed in contriving the marriage of Somerled, ancestor of the MacDonalds to Ragnhilda half a millennium earlier.,
Many MacIntyres subsequently joined MacDonald's army including the chief's piper. The chief, however, was with Campbell of Argyll
Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll
Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll, 8th Earl of Argyll, chief of Clan Campbell, was the de facto head of government in Scotland during most of the conflict known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, also known as the British Civil War...
at the battle of Inverlochy
Battle of Inverlochy (1645)
The Battle of Inverlochy was a battle of the Scottish Civil War in which Montrose routed the pursuing forces of the Marquess of Argyll....
in February 1645 when the Campbells were surprised by Montrose's forces and routed.
It is said that the MacIntyre chief at the time of the Jacobite rising
Jacobite rising
The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...
of 1745, James (born c. 1727), would have joined the clans rallying to Prince Charles Edward Stuart
Charles Edward Stuart
Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...
but was dissuaded from doing so by his wife, who was a Campbell, and his neighbors. His loyalties to the Campbells were further deepened by the fact that his legal studies had been sponsored by the Campbell Earl of Breadalbane
John Campbell, 2nd Earl of Breadalbane and Holland
John Campbell, 2nd Earl of Breadalbane and Holland a Scottish nobleman born in Breadalbane, Scotland to John Campbell, 1st Earl of Breadalbane and Holland and Lady Mary Rich. In 1685 he married Lady Frances Cavendish, daughter of Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Lady Frances...
. Nonetheless, many MacIntyres were in the clan regiment of Stewart of Appin
Clan Stewart of Appin
Clan Stewart of Appin is a west highland branch of the Clan Stewart and have been considered a distinct clan since the 15th century. They are descended from Sir James Stewart of Perston, who was himself the grandson of Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland...
in the campaign of 1745–46, but they did not serve as an independent body.
At some unknown date the symbolic snowball and calf tokens owed to the Campbells were commuted to payment of money rent which increased over the years. In 1806, the chief was forced to relinquish the tenancy of Glen Noe due to inability to meet the payments. The chief and his family emigrated to the United States, where the family continues to reside. Although the identities of the chiefs were always known to interested clan members, the chiefship of the clan was not officially recognized by Scottish authorities until 1991, when the coat of arms of James Wallace MacIntyre of Glenoe was confirmed by the Lord Lyon, King of Arms. The current chief of the clan is Donald Russell MacIntyre of Glenoe. The MacIntyre chiefs hold membership in the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs
Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs
The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs is the organisation of the Chiefs of many prominent Scottish Clans. The SCSC is the definitive and authoritative body for information on the Scottish Clan System.-History:...
.
Pipers, poets and bards
The MacIntyres of RannochRannoch
Rannoch is an area of the Scottish Highlands between the A9 road, to the east, and the A82, to the west. The area is crossed from south to north by the West Highland railway line....
, were hereditary pipers
Great Highland Bagpipe
The Great Highland Bagpipe is a type of bagpipe native to Scotland. It has achieved widespread recognition through its usage in the British military and in pipe bands throughout the world. It is closely related to the Great Irish Warpipes....
to the chiefs of Clan Menzies
Clan Menzies
For Menzies as a personal name, including its pronunciation and a list of famous people of that name, see Menzies.Clan Menzies ; , a member is a Mèinnearach) is a Highland Scottish clan.-Origins of the Clan:...
and composed some of that clan’s music. They supplied hereditary pipers to the MacDonalds of Clanranald, and a noted pibroch
Piobaireachd
Pibroch, Piobaireachd or Ceòl Mór is an art music genre associated primarily with the Scottish Highlands that is characterised by extended compositions with a melodic theme and elaborate formal variations...
commemorating the battle of Sheriffmuir
Battle of Sheriffmuir
The Battle of Sheriffmuir was an engagement in 1715 at the height of the Jacobite rebellion in England and Scotland.-History:John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar, standard-bearer for the Jacobite cause in Scotland, mustered Highland chiefs, and on 6 September declared James Francis Edward Stuart as King...
is attributed to one of these MacIntyres.
In the 18th century two members of the clan earned considerable regard for their Gaelic poetry. James, the poet-chief, (1727–1799) is best remembered for a biting satire he composed in Gaelic in response to Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
, the English encyclopedist, who had made derogatory comments about the Scots in his famous trip to the Hebrides.
Glen Orchy
Glen Orchy is a long glen in Argyll and Bute in Scotland. It runs south-westerly from the Bridge of Orchy to Inverlochy following the River Orchy...
, Argyllshire, Duncan Ban MacIntyre
Duncan Bàn MacIntyre
Donnchadh Bàn Mac an t-Saoir is one of the most renowned of Scottish Gaelic poets and formed an integral part of one of the golden ages of Gaelic poetry in Scotland during the 18th century...
would become known to his countrymen as “Fair Duncan of the Songs.” One historian has described him as "one of the twin peaks of the century's Gaelic verse" and some have even called him the “Burns
Robert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
of the Highlands.” His work was described as possessing “an unrivaled originality of conception, with the most mellifluous flow of language.” Yet his biographers agree that he was wholly illiterate.
His most critically acclaimed work is “The Praise of Ben Dorain
Beinn Dorain
Beinn Dorain , is a mountain located in the Bridge of Orchy hills of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is one of the most recognisable mountains in Scotland, as it curves gracefully up from the West Highland Way...
,” but he is well-known for his poetic commentaries on contemporary events. In the Jacobite rising
Jacobite rising
The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...
of 1745 which attempted to return the House of Stuart
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
to the throne of Scotland and England, Duncan fought on the Hanoverian
House of Hanover
The House of Hanover is a deposed German royal dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the Kingdom of Hanover, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
side and composed a humorous song after losing his borrowed sword at the battle of Falkirk
Battle of Falkirk (1746)
During the Second Jacobite Rising, the Battle of Falkirk Muir was the last noteworthy Jacobite success.-Background:...
in January 1746. Following that uprising, however, he composed a best selling poem attacking the portion of the Act of Proscription
Dress Act 1746
The Dress Act was part of the Act of Proscription which came into force on 1 August 1746 and made wearing "the Highland Dress" including tartan or a kilt illegal in Scotland as well as reiterating the Disarming Act...
outlawing the wearing of highland dress and was briefly imprisoned., When the ban against the wearing of the kilt was repealed, he celebrated with another poem, entitled Orain na Briogas or “Song of the Breeches
Breeches
Breeches are an item of clothing covering the body from the waist down, with separate coverings for each leg, usually stopping just below the knee, though in some cases reaching to the ankles...
.”
He was named bard
Bard
In medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...
to the Highland Society of London and was so esteemed that in his later years schoolchildren were allowed out of class to see him when he traveled to their community. He died on 6 October 1812. In 1859, a monument to the memory of Duncan Ban MacIntyre (described in contemporary press accounts as "in the druid
Druid
A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....
style of architecture") was erected near Dalmally
Dalmally
Dalmally is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located near the A85 road and is served by Dalmally railway station....
at the head of Loch Awe
Loch Awe
Loch Awe is a large body of water in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It has also given its name to a village on its banks, variously known as Loch Awe, or Lochawe. There are islands within the loch such as Innis Chonnell and Inishail.- The loch :It is the third largest freshwater loch in Scotland with...
.
Other MacIntyre families and groups
Camus-na-h-erie: In 1955 Alastair MacIntyre of Camus-na-h-erie recorded arms in the Lyon Court as a cadet of the chiefly house of MacIntyre, although with a shield significantly different from that subsequently granted to the clan chief in 1991.This branch of the family claims descent from Patrick, a son of a chief of Glenoe. The family established themselves on the shores of the Inverness-shire Loch Leven
Loch Leven (Highlands)
Loch Leven 'is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland. It is spelled Loch Lyon in Timothy Pont's map of the areaand is pronounced Li' un. There is a Leven in Lennox and another in Glen Lyon similarly pronounced...
at Camus-na-h-erie. John Macintyre of Camus-na-h-erie, 10th of his line, fought on the Jacobite side in the 1745 and was wounded at the battle of Falkirk. It is reported that nine members of MacIntyre of Camus-na-h-erie were taken prisoners in the 1745 rising. In the early 19th century, the family was represented by the Rev. John MacIntyre, D.D. of Kilmonivaig.
Badenoch: The MacIntyres of Badenoch
Badenoch
Badenoch is a traditional district which today forms part of Badenoch and Strathspey, an area of Highland Council, in Scotland, bounded on the north by the Monadhliath Mountains, on the east by the Cairngorms and Braemar, on the south by Atholl and the Grampians, and on the west by Lochaber...
are said to have been descended from a bard taken under the protection of the Clan Mackintosh
Clan MacKintosh
Clan Mackintosh is a Scottish clan from Inverness with strong Jacobite ties. The Mackintoshes were also chiefs of the Chattan Confederation.-Origins:...
chief at the end of the 15th century. The Badenoch MacIntyres were a constituent group of Clan Chattan, an alliance of clans headed by the Mackintosh chief which fought on the Jacobite side in the risings of 1715 and 1745.
Cladich: The little hamlet of Cladich
Cladich
Cladich is a scattered settlement in Argyll, Scotland.Cladich lies on the B840 road just to the west of its junction with the main A819.- External links :**...
above Loch Awe near the road to Inveraray was a center of weaving and almost all of the inhabitants were MacIntyres. A specialty of the industry were men's hose and garters, which were prized at that time for wearing with the highland costume.
Irish MacIntyres
The relationship of MacIntyres in Scotland to those in Ireland is not entirely clear. Given the proximity of the two countries and the similarity of their languages, some Scottish MacIntyres undoubtedly settled in Ireland, mainly in UlsterUlster
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...
.
Dr. Edward MacLysaght
Edward MacLysaght
Edward MacLysaght was one of the foremost genealogists of twentieth century Ireland. His numerous books on Irish surnames built upon the work of Patrick Woulfe's Irish Names and Surnames and made him well known to all those researching their family past.-Early life:Edward was born in Flax Bourton...
, authority on Irish genealogy
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
, does not include MacIntyre as a separate entry in his two works on Irish families. Rather, he lists MacIntyre, along with Carpenter, Freeman, O’Seery, and Searson in his entry on the name “Macateer.” He likewise specifies that in Ireland MacIntyres are found chiefly in Ulster, and in County Sligo. It would appear, in Dr. MacLysaght's view, that those MacIntyres who are of native Irish ancestry originally were Macateers who changed their names.,
It is believed that some Irish MacIntyres descend from native Irish stock whose ancestors were living in the same areas in which Scottish MacIntyres settled and who assumed the Scottish surname, rather than Macateer, as an anglicization of the Irish name Mac an tSoir.
Septs
Septs are family names associated with a particular clan. In the case of MacIntyre, the surname Wright, when of Scottish origin, is considered an anglicized form of the name. Other family names associated with the clan include Tyrie (also Tyree) and MacTear.Clan profile
- Chief: Donald Russell MacIntyre of Glenoe Chief of the Name and Arms of MacIntyre,
- Arms:A coat of arms consisting of a shield divided into quarters. In the upper left and lower right quarter, a red eagle, its wings outstretched. The upper right quarter shows a ship with furled sails, while in the lower left quarter a red hand grasps a blue cross. A cow, standing on two hooves, appears on either side of the shield. The shield is surmounted by a silver helmet above which there is a hand grasping a dagger.|Coat of armsCoat of armsA coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
of the chief of Clan MacIntyre.]] - Motto: Per ardua (Through hardship or difficulty).
- War CryBattle cryA battle cry is a yell or chant taken up in battle, usually by members of the same military unit.Battle cries are not necessarily articulate, although they often aim to invoke patriotic or religious sentiment....
: "Cruachan" (A mountain, Ben CruachanBen CruachanBen Cruachan is a 1126 m mountain that is the highest point in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It gives its name to the Cruachan Dam, a pumped-storage hydroelectric power station located in a cavern inside the mountain, as well as providing the slogan for Clan Campbell.It is the high point of a...
, near Loch AweLoch AweLoch Awe is a large body of water in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It has also given its name to a village on its banks, variously known as Loch Awe, or Lochawe. There are islands within the loch such as Innis Chonnell and Inishail.- The loch :It is the third largest freshwater loch in Scotland with...
)., - Pipe Music: "We Will Take The Good Old Way" .
- Plant BadgeClan badgeA clan badge, sometimes called a plant badge, is a badge or emblem, usually a sprig of a specific plant, that is used to identify a member of a particular Scottish clan. They are usually worn in a bonnet behind the Scottish crest badge, or attached at the shoulder of a lady's tartan sash...
: White Heather.,
Further reading
- Bain, Robert. The Clans and Tartans of Scotland. Glasgow: Fontana/Collins, 1984.
- Innes of Learney, Sir Thomas. The Tartans of the Clans and Families of Scotland. 7th ed. Edinburgh: W. & A.K. Johnston & G.W. Bacon Ltd., 1964.
- Innes of Learney, Sir Thomas. The Scottish Tartans. Edinburgh: Johnston & Bacon, 1969.
- MacIntyre, L.D. Clan MacIntyre; A Journey to the Past. Bethesda, Maryland: The MacIntyres, 1977. (Although having sold nearly a thousand copies and being one of the most complete sources of clan information, as a self-published source it is ineligible for citation under Wikipedia’s Self-published Sources policy.)
- McNie, Alan. Clan MacIntyre. Jedburgh, Scotland: Cascade Publishing Company, 1986 (Your Clan Heritage series).
- McOwan, Rennie. The MacIntyres. Glasgow: Lang Syne Publishers Ltd., 1997 (small pamphlet).
- Scarlett, James D. The Tartans of the Scottish Clans. Glasgow: Collins, 1975.