Mackinnon

The Mackinnons, a branch of the great Siol Alpin, descendants of Kenneth Macalpin, are of royal descent from Fingon, grandson of Gregor. ‘Fingon’ in
Gaelic means ‘fair-born’. The clan slogan is ‘Cumhnich Bas Alpin’ ‘Remember the death of Alpin’. Alpin was slain by Bruch, King of the Picts, in 837. Findanus, the fourth chief, brought Dunakin into the clan around 900 by marrying a Norse princess. The castle, properly called Dun Haakon, was a broch (a circular dry-stone tower) commanding the narrow sound between Skye and the mainland. The enterprising Mackinnons ran a heavy chain across the sound, and levied a toll on all passing ships. King Haakon IV assembled his fleet of longships beneath the castle of his namesake before the Battle of Largs in 1263. His defeat there effectively ended Norse domination of the islands. Findanus also held land on Mull.

The Mackinnons on Arran gave shelter to Robert the Bruce during his time as a fugitive, helping him make his escape to Carrick. After the king’s victory at Bannockburn they were rewarded with land on Skye. The chiefs were then styled ‘of Strathardale’, and lived at Dunringall Castle. Dunakin passed to another branch of the family. A branch of the chiefly family became hereditary abbots of Iona. Fingon, son of Gilbride, was Master of the household to the Lord of the Isles before becoming Abbot of Iona, the crucible of the Celtic church. Known as the Green Abbot, he was a powerful churchman, and lent encouragement to a rebellion against the Lord of the Isles for which his brother, Neil, Gilbride’s eldest son, was put to death. The last hereditary abbot was John Mackinnon, the ninth chief, who was also Bishop of the Isles. He died around 1500.

The Mackinnons regularly feuded with the Macleans, and incidents flared up from time to time. One encounter in particular provides a good illustration of the Gaelic sense of humour. The Macleans seized some Mackinnon lands on Mull while the chief was visiting in Skye. On learning of the outrage, he gathered his men and discovered that the Macleans were celebrating with a great feast at Ledaig. Ascertaining that the Macleans were all in a drunken stupor, Mackinnon caused his men each to cut and trim a fir tree, and plant all of them around the hall. He himself placed one in front of the door along with a naked sword. The next morning the Macleans, seeing they were surrounded by the plant badge of Clan Mackinnon, realised that they could all have been slaughtered, and promptly withdrew from Mackinnon land.

The Scots kings since the reign of James IV had slowly undermined the power of the island chiefs. In 1606 James VI sent Lord Ochiltree to Mull to make proposals to the chiefs on his plans for government of the isles. When they disagreed with Ochiltree’s plans, he seized the chiefs and imprisoned them in castles on the mainland. In 1609, Lachlan Mackinnon of that Ilk and other chiefs were forced to subscribe to the Statutes of Iona, which placed many restrictions upon their power. English was to become the language of the chiefs and firearms were banned. Despite this, the Mackinnons were loyal to the Stuarts, and fought in the army of Montrose at the Battle of Inverlochy in 1645. Their young chief, Lachlan Mor was, at the time in the custody of Argyll. In 1650, Lachlan raised a regiment which fought on the royalist side at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The chief was created a knight banneret by Charles II on the field of battle.

The clan remained loyal to the Stuarts in the next century, and sent one hundred and fifty men to join the Earl of Mar at the Battle of Sheriffmuir in 1715. For this act the chief was declared forfeit for treason. The Mackinnons were also out during the Forty-five, marching to Edinburgh to join Prince Charles. They fought at Culloden, where the Stuarts dreams of the Crown were crushed. The prince was sheltered by the Mackinnons in a cave, and Iain Og, who was over seventy years old, sent for his galley to take the prince to Mallaig, avoiding two Government warships on the way. He was less fortunate on the return voyage, however, and was captured in Morar. He was incarcerated in a prison ship at Tilbury, where he languished until 1750.

When Iain Og died in 1756, his son, Charles, succeeded, but this line died out in 1808. In 1811, William Mackinnon, MP for Dunwich in England, matriculated arms in the Lyon Court, showing his descent from Daniel, second son of Sir Lachlan Mor, who had emigrated to Antigua after a quarrel with his father. The new chief was a prominent parliamentarian, and sat for thirty-five years. He was succeeded by his son, the thirty-fourth chief, who was high sheriff of Kent in 1885. The chief’s second son, Sir William Mackinnon, served in the Grenadier Guards, becoming director of recruitment at the War Office during the First World War. He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath and a Knight of the Royal Victorian Order. The present chief is Sir William’s grand-daughter, Anne Mackinnon.