• Men’s Open Division
• Men’s Novice Division
• Men’s Lightweight Division

Sunday Athletics

• Pro Division
• Master’s Division
• Women’s Division

Devery was a founding member of the local Wichita Celtic band Claddagh Ring, and with it to the end. Considering herself mostly a singer, she dabbles at guitar, bodhran, tin whistle, flute, accordion…and has a couple of other instruments that may pop up eventually.

Emily is a fairly new convert to Celtic music, but well-versed in folk music in general, plus has an affinity for languages. After singing, Emily is concentrating mostly on bodhran, but is also picking up some whistle and accordion (and also has a couple of other instruments she’d like to add).

The new band has fewer voices and instruments (at this point) than Claddagh Ring did, but follows the same outlook, doing some of the old Claddagh Ring songs as well as exploring as many of the zillions of songs out there that we keep getting excited about! Mostly a cappella at the moment, Devery and Emily create variety through interesting arrangements and harmonies, and singing more songs in the Celtic languages (with plans to make several of these audience-participation songs, like Claddagh Ring did with La Ziguezon).

Lead by fiddler Shawn Craver, Raging Sea showcases ancient songs, heart pounding jigs, reels, and intoxicating live shows. Shawn and the band’s members have performed on the Discovery Channel, NPR, festivals, and the fresh approach to traditional subject matter that is attracting young and old alike to the European “traditional” movement. It’s a rocking ride that reveres the sounds of Scotland, Ireland and the Celtic roots of the Allegheny Mountains.

Mysfit Toyz Dance Troupe

Highland Dance

Our own Lord of the Dance, Andy Aiken will be conducting demonstartions of Highland Dance – an art form that is as beautiful to behold as it is physically demanding of the performers!

Correy Dance Academy

Corry Academy of Irish Dance instructor Noreen was born in Glasgow, and started dancing at the Age of 3 with Frances Teece. Noreen and her family moved to England and spent the rest of her dancing career with the Grainger School of irish dancing in Manchester.

Noreen and her family travelled al over Ireland and Great Britain dancing in all of the major competitions. Noreen qualified every year for the World Irish Championships and the last time was placed in the top 10 of her age goup.

In 1997 Noreen and her husband Ian brought their young family to live in Kansas.
Noreen was homesick and was looking for a connection to home and started the academy in 2001.

Noreen is studying under Cumann Rince Naisiunta to take her teaching exam. This is only our second year with CRN and we are learning all the time.

In May this year Noreen took 7 of her dancers to Dublin for the Irish Open and 3 of them came home with awards.

Irish Language Group

Clan Parade Daily at 3:00 pm

The Pro Division competition will be on Sunday, May 15th.

Daniel McKim

Reigning 2010 US National Champion & 2010 IHGF World Caber Champion Daniel Mc Kim is coming to throw hard! A true champion in every since of the word, get ready Wichita the champ is coming to town! Believe it!!!

Harrison Bailey III

Pro 2008 & 2006 US Champion, Bethlehem
2005 – Third place at world championships, Fergus, Canada
2003 – Third place at world championships, Antigonish
2001, 2003, 2004 – Runner up US championship, Bethlehem
3 time world record holder in wob (20ft)Open Stone: 55’3″
Braemar Stone: 42’11″
56lb WFD: 45’11″
28lb WFD: 88’9″
Sheaf Toss: 34′
Heavy Hammer: 115′
Light Hammer: 141′
WOB: 20′ spinning

Larry A. Brock, Jr

2010 IHGF World Champion & Former US Champ and British Heavy Weight Champion  Larry Brock Jr. is coming to compete in Wichita! This man means business! Big Brock is here to Rock!!!

Name: Larry A. Brock Jr.

Height: 6’3″

Weight: 280 Pounds

Years Pro: 7

Married: Kimberly 6/28/03

Children: Gregor Allen Brock (1/26/08)

Kylie Adele Brock (10/24/09)

College: Appalachian State University

BS: Physical Education 2002

Highland Games Accomplishments

Year Competing: 12

Years Pro: 7

Pro Games Won: 62

American Record Holder 28# Weight For Distance

2008 SGA Brittish Champion

2008 Brittish Heavy Weight For Distance Champion

2008 United States Weight Throw Champion

2007 United States Champion

2007 World Hammer Champion

2007 World Stone Champion

2007 SAAA US National Champion

2007 North American Champion

2007 British Heavy Weight For Distance Champion

2007 Scottish Games Association 28#WFD Champion

2006 British Heavy Weight Champion

2005 Scottish Games Association 28# WFD Champion

2005 Scottish Junior Champion: Hallkirk Highland Games

2004 Scottish Games Association Champion: Halkirk Highland Games

Sean Betz

2008 World Champion & US invitational champion 2007 and 2009 Sean Betz will be taking the field with stone, hammer and iron will! He went undefeated in the open stone during his world champion run! Will Wichita see another world record made? We’re betting on Betz!!!

Born: 1977

Height: 6’5″

Weight: 285 lbs

Residence: Omaha, Nebraska

Years Competing: 10

Tartan: N/A

Occupation: Personal trainer

Team: Team USA 2

Accomplishments:

2008 World champion

28lb WFD North American record holder

Undefeated in 2008 17lb Open Stone: 55’2″

22lb Braemar Stone: 44’

56lb Weight for Distance: 45’1″

28lb Weight for Distance: 93’1/4″ (NA record)

22lb Hammer: 120’10″

16lb Hammer: 148’8″

56lb Weight for Height: 16’6″

20’ Sheaf: 34’

Chad Gustin

By day he is a mild mannered ER Doctor, on the weekends he is Highland Games Pro Athlete Chad Gustin! In his first year pro, he has already served as Captain of Team USA! Lookout Wichita, the doctor is in!!!

#1 ranked Amateur competitor for entire 2009 season

1st Place Pleasanton Highland Games 2009 (A division)

Member of the South Team and Athlete of the Day of the North/South Game in 2008 and 2009

Captain of the West Team for the East vs West Challenge in Orlando, FL in January 2009

Member of the Team USA for the USA vs Scotland Challenge in Orlando, FL in January 2010

Age: 31

Height: 6’5″

Weight: 250

Occupation: ER Doctor

Married: Yes

Wife: Amy

Children: Ace

Hometown: Lawrence, KS

Years competing: 1st year Pro

Ryan Stewart

The pride of the Stewart clan, Ryan is the man!

Scots, who have with Wallace bled,
Scots, whom Bruce has often led,
Welcome to your gory bed
Or to victory!

-Robert Burns

Calling all Scotsman! The pipes are calling and the drums of war are beating!

Do you hear the call?
We are very proud to introduce our premier historical event at the 2nd annual Wichita Highland Games and Celtic Festival: The Legend of Bannockburn Battle Re-Enactment. You will be immersed in the events that lead to this historic conflict throughout the day as we build towards the courageous deeds of Robert the Bruce and the glorious battlefield of Bannockburn reborn. The historical army of the English king Edward II numbered in the tens of thousands, with 2,000 heavy armored knights alone and legions of infantry. It was a grand medieval army and the last of its kind to leave England for centuries to come. Waiting for them was the Scottish King, Robert the Bruce, the clansmen at the ready to victory or death would the fight…and so the battle begins!
The historical army of the Bruce may have numbered as many as 9,000 or more brave Scotsmen. It was gathered from the whole of Scotland; from the knights and nobles, freemen and crofters, townsmen and tradesman. Men who could afford the arms and armor required. We are inviting every able bodied modern Scotsman who owns a kilt, period shirt, sword, spear or axe to take place in the battle sequence as extras. The actual re-enacted combat will be performed by trained actors, but we will be honored to have as many able bodied Scotsmen join us for this glorious celebration of one of the most important battles in Scottish history!

‘Scots, who have with Wallace bled,
Scots, whom Bruce has often led,
Welcome to your gory bed
Or to victory.
‘Now is the day, and now is the hour:
See the front of battle lour,
See approach proud Edward’s power -
Chains and slavery.
‘Who will be a traitor knave?
Who will fill a coward’s grave?
Who’s so base as be a slave? -
Let him turn, and flee.
‘Who for Scotland’s King and Law
Freedom’s sword will strongly draw,
Freeman stand or freeman fall,
Let him follow me.
‘By oppression’s woes and pains,
By your sons in servile chains,
We will drain our dearest veins
But they shall be free.
‘Lay the proud usurpers low,
Tyrants fall in every foe,
Liberty is in every blow,
Let us do or die!’

-Robert Burns

You COULD just watch – or you could stand up, fight, yell, and side with the Scotts or the English!  Interested in being a part of this event?  You’ll need to bring your own appropriate attire for the time-period, bring your own weaponry (a spear or a sword) and fill out the form below. NOTE: you won’t actually get to swing your sword at people – this is for ‘background actors’ to be a part of the action!

[contact-form]

By submitting this form you are agreeing to the the following waiver:

WAIVER: In consideration of my admission to and participation in the Wichita Highland Games & Celtic Festival (hereafter referred to WHG & CF)and admission or participation of any minor child(ren) or minor ward(s)of whom I am legal guardian, and for myself, my child(ren),or wards, I hereby waive and release and covenant never to sue the WHG & CF, Black Galley Productions, Richard Cathey, directors, committee members, workers, agents, representatives and sponsors, from and for any and all liability, claims, demands, and causes of action whatsoever arising out of or related to any loss, damage, or injury including death, sustained by me or my minor child(ren)or ward(s),while on or enroute to or from the Wichita Highland Games, and I further agree to indemnify and hold harmless the WHG & CF from any and all claims asserted by any person by reason of my or my minor child(ren)or ward(s) attendance or participation in the WHG & CF or claimed to have resulted from the negligence of the WHG & CF.

Payment By Mail:

No registration is complete until payment is received. You can make your payment by mail by sending your check to “Black Galley Productions” to:

Black Galley Productions
212 N. Dellrose
Wichita, Kansas 67208

May 14th, 2011
Sedgwick County Park
Wichita, Kansas

Trio Piping Competition Registration

This is step one of the entry – read the rules, and fill out the form that appears below.  When you hit Submit, it will take you to step two of the application process automatically.

1. The Wichita Highland Games and Celtic Festival disclaims any and all liability for injury to persons or property related to the event. Participants agree to defend, indemnify, and hold the Wichita Highland Games Celtic Festival, its officers, agents, and sponsors, harmless from all such liability. Heirs and executors waive and release any all right and claims for damages against the Wichita Highland Games and Celtic Festival, agents or representatives for any injuries or loss which may be suffered by attending, participating, or traveling to or from the Wichita Highland Games and Celtic Festival.
2. WHG & CF officials shall have the power to rule on all protests and complaints relating to the competitions of the day. All protests should be made in writing and lodged with an WHG & CF official within 7 days, along with a $10 fee. This fee shall be refunded if the complaint is withheld.
3. Entry fee(s) must accompany entry form and be paid in U.S. funds. Trios must also send their complete competition roster.
4. All advance entries must be postmarked no later than the last day of April of this calendar year. Late entries will be accepted on a space available basis only.
5. Gate passes will be distributed for competing members only. Soloists who are not members of a competing trio will receive their gate passes with their confirmation of playing times.
6. Proper Highland attire is mandatory for all trio and solo performances
7. A soloist more than 5 minutes late may be disqualified and not “worked in” later, at the discretion of the judges.
8. Soloists may play in only one grade. Decision of the judges are final in this regard.
9. If gate passes are lost or left behind, the band or soloist will be responsible for paying gate admission.
10. Competition times will be based on the order of registration, the earlier you register the later you will get to play.
11. The Wichita Highland Games and Celtic Festival reserves the right to change these rules as required.

By hitting send you agree to the terms of conditions appearing below, and the rules that appear abobe. You will be taken to the second step of the signup process.

WAIVER: In consideration of my admission to and participation in the Wichita Highland Games & Celtic Festival (hereafter referred to WHG & CF)and admission or participation of any minor child(ren) or minor ward(s)of whom I am legal guardian, and for myself, my child(ren),or wards, I hereby waive and release and covenant never to sue the WHG & CF, Black Galley Productions, Richard Cathey, directors, committee members, workers, agents, representatives and sponsors, from and for any and all liability, claims, demands, and causes of action whatsoever arising out of or related to any loss, damage, or injury including death, sustained by me or my minor child(ren)or ward(s),while on or enroute to or from the Wichita Highland Games, and I further agree to indemnify and hold harmless the WHG & CF from any and all claims asserted by any person by reason of my or my minor child(ren)or ward(s) attendance or participation in the WHG & CF or claimed to have resulted from the negligence of the WHG & CF

We would be greatly honored to have representatives of your clan join us for the ThirdAnnual Wichita Highland Games & Celtic Festival. It is our goal to bring a taste of Scottish and Irish culture to the Wichita area and to showcase the beauty and rich heritage of the Celtic nations. As in the days of old we are passing the torch, so to speak, from clan to clan and it is our hope that you will join us in this celebration of Highland Glory and Celtic Pride.

This is list is updated frequently as we add new clans who will be attending the 2012 Wichita Highland Games & Celtic Festival!

Show your pride!  Hit the ‘Like’ button on your clan (or your favorite clan) to show your pride for your heritage!  This is an informal contest – there’s no prize, just bragging rights.  Of course, bragging rights are still very important!

Clan MacNeil Seal

Clan MacNeil Tartan

Clan MacNeil, also known in Scotland as Clan Niall, is a highland Scottish clan, particularly associated with the Outer Hebridean island of Barra. The early history of Clan MacNeil is obscure, however despite this the clan claims to descend from the legendary Niall of the nine hostages. The clan itself takes its name from a Niall who lived in the 13th or early 14th century, and who belonged the same dynastic family of Cowal and Knapdale as the ancestors of the Lamonts and the McSweens. While the clan is centred in Barra in the Outer Hebrides, there is a branch of the clan in Argyll that some historians have speculated was more senior in line, or possibly even unrelated. However, according to Scots Law the current chief of Clan Macneil is the chief of all MacNeils.

The MacNeils of Barra claim descent from a prince of the O’Neill dynasty, Ánrothán Ua Néill. Anrothan emigrated to Scotland in the 11th century. Through him the MacNeils of Barra also naturally claim descent from the legendary Niall of the Nine Hostages. The clan Neill were among the secondary vassal tribes of the lords of the Isles, and its heads appear to have been of Norse or Danish origin. Mr Smibert thinks this probable from the fact that the Macneills were lords of Castle Swen, plainly a Norse term. “The clan”, he says, “was in any case largely Gaelic, to a certainty. We speak of the fundamental line of the chiefs mainly, when we say that the Macneills appear to have at least shared the blood of the old Scandinavian inhabitants of the westerm islands. The names of those of the race first found in history are partly indicative of such a lineage. The isle of Barra and certain lands of Uist were chartered to a Macneill in 1427; and in 1472, a charter of the Macdonald family is witnessed by Hector Mactorquil Macneill, keeper of Castle Swen. The appellation ‘Mac-Torquil’, half Gaelic, half Norse, speaks strongly in favour of the supposition that the two races were at this very time in the act of blending with one people. After all, we proceed not beyond the conclusion, that, by heirs male or heirs female, the founders of the house possessed a sprinkling of the blood of the ancient Norwegian occupants of the western isles and coasts, interfused with that of the native Gael of Albyn, and also of the Celtic blood, beyonf doubt, is far the largest in the veins of the clan generally”.

The Macneills of Barra were expert seamen, and did not scruple to act as pirates upon occasion. An English ship having been seized off the island of Barra by Ruari the turbulent, Queen Elizabeth complained of this act of piracy.
The 18th and 19th century saw severe hardship to Clan Macneil clansfolk. During this era there was mass emigration from Barra to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. During the chiefship of Colonel Roderick (c.1755–1822) Barra suffered its first mass emigrations, ironically the chief described himself as a melieuratier (an “improver”). One mass exodus of Barra folk was led by Gilleonan, elder son of the chief. This consisted of 370 Catholic Barra folk (about 75 families in total) who emigrated in August to Nova Scotia. In 1838 after going broke, Colonel Roderick’s son and heir, General Roderick Macneil of Barra, sold Barra to Colonel Gordon of Cluny. When Roderick died in 1863 the chiefship passed to a cousin (descendant of Gilleonan) who had emigrated during the mass emigrations to Canada in 1802.

Robert Lister Macneil, was born in 1889. An American citizen and a trained architect, he succeeded the chiefship of Clan Macneil in 1915. In 1937 he was able to purchase Barra and the ruinous Kisimul Castle largely using the money from his second wife. Immediately he began work restoring the castle, aided in part by funds from a British Government grant. By his death in 1970 he had completed the restoration of the castle – ancient seat of the chiefs of the clan.

Years Attended: 2010 (First Year Attendee!)

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Clan Elliot Tartan

Clan Elliot Sign

The Elliots were a famous, indeed notorious, Border clan, like the Armstrongs. Their territory was around Upper Liddesdale, where they conducted their more or less profitable banditry for many centuries. The principal family in the early days was the Elliots of Redheugh, who often held the captaincy of Hermitage Castle — still to be seen, squat and impregnable, on the moors south of Hawick. One of the Elliots of Redheugh, forefather of the Elliots of Arkleton, fell at Flodden (the beautiful lament for that disaster, The Flowers of the Forest, was written by Jane Elliot, sister of Sir Gilbert Elliot, first Baronet of Minto in the 18th century).

The Elliots of Stobs go back to Gawain Elliot of Stobs in the late 16th century, who was descended from the Elliots of Redheugh. Since the 17th century, when Border plundering was finally suppressed, they have been the principal among the many cadet houses. Gawain was succeeded as Laird of Stobs by Gilbert, known as “Gibbie wi’ the gowden gartens”, and from one of his sons the baronets and earls of Minto are descended.

Of this line, several of whom were distinguished as judges and empire builders, the most famous were George Elliot, vegetarian and teetollar, who as governor of Gibraltar in 1779 conducted the heroic and successful defence of the Rock when it was besieged by Franco-Spanish forces, and Gilbert Elliot, first Earl of Minto, a notable Governor-General of India in the early 19th century.

His great grandson, Gilbert, fourth Earl of Minto (1845-1914), is remembered in the sporting world for having broken his neck riding in the Grand National. The mishap had no permanent effects and he was Governor-General of Canada before succeeding Lord Curzon as Viceroy of India in 1905. He was the chief architect of the Morley-Minto Reforms, regarded as dangerously radical in some circles at the time though, as it turned out, insufficient to stem the tide of Indian unrest.

The seat of the Earl of Minto is Minto House, in Hawick, and of the Eliot of Stobs, chief of the clan at Redheugh.

Years Attended: Fall 2010 (First Year Attendee!)

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Clan Davidson Sign

Clan Davidson Tartan

According to the Highland manuscript believed to be written by one MacLauchlan, bearing the date 1467, and containing an account of the genealogies of Highland clans down to about the year 1450, which was accepted as authoritative by Skene in his Celtic Scotland, and believed to embody the common tradition of its time, the origin of the Davidsons is attributed to a certain Gilliecattan Mhor, chief of Clan Chattan in the time of David I. This personage, it is stated, had two sons, Muirich Mhor and Dhai Dhu. From the former of these was descended Clan Mhuirich or Macpherson, and from the latter Clan Dhai or Davidson. Sir Aeneas Macpherson, the historian of the clan of that name, states that both the Macphersons and the Davidsons were descended from Muirich, parson of Kingussie in the twelfth century. Against this statement it has been urged that the Roman kirk had no parson at Kingussie at that time. But this fact need not militate against the existence of Muirich at that place. The Culdee church was still strong in the twelfth century, and, as its clergy were allowed to marry, there was nothing to hinder Muirich from being the father of two sons, the elder of whom might carry on his name, and originate Clan Macpherson, while the younger, David, became ancestor of the Davidsons. Still another account is given in the Kinrara MS. upon which Mr. A. M. Mackintosh, the historian of Clan Mackintosh, chiefly relies: This MS. names David Dubh as ancestor of the clan, but makes him of the fourteenth century, and declares him to be of the race of the Comyns. His mother, it says, was Slane, daughter of Angus, sixth chief of the Mackintoshes, and his residence was at Nuid in Badenoch. Upon the whole, it seems most reasonable to accept the earliest account, that contained in the MS. of 1467, which no doubt embodied the traditions considered most authentic in its time.

The chiefs of the Davidsons are said to have been settled, in early times at Invernahaven, a small estate in Badenoch, at the junction of the Truim with the Spey, and when they emerge into history in 1370 or 1386 the holders of the name appear to have been of considerable number, and in close alliance with the Mackintoshes from whose forebears they claim descent.

The historian of Clan Chattan above referred to offers another theory to account for the comparative disappearance of Clan Davidson from the historic page, by pointing out that two of the name were concerned in the murder of Lachlan, the fourteenth Mackintosh chief, in 1524. One of these two, Milmoir MacDhaibhidh, was the chief’s foster-brother, but believed that Mackintosh had helped to destroy his prospects of marrying a rich widow, and accordingly, on 25th March, along with John Malcolmson and other accomplices, fell upon the chief and slew him while hunting at Ravoch on the Findhorn. For this deed the three assassins were seized and kept in chains in the dungeon on Loch.an-Eilan till 1531, when, after trial, Malcolmson was beheaded and quartered, and the two Davidsons were tortured, hanged, and had their heads fixed on poles at the spot where they committed the crime. Mr. Mackintosh also points out that another Davidson, Donald MacWilliam vic Dai dui, conspired with the son of the above John Malcolmson against William, the fifteenth Mackintosh chief in 1550 when the head of that chief was brought to the block by the Earl of Huntly at Strathbogie. The Davidsons who did these things, however, were merely servants and humble holders of the name, and their acts can hardly have brought the whole clan into serious disrepute.

Another important conflict a Davidson was in was the Battle of Harlaw in 1411. This battle, regarded by many today as the conflict between Highlanders and Lowlanders which killed the expansion of Gaelic influence, was one of the most brutal in Scottish history, becoming known as “Red Harlaw”.

On 25th March, 1909, with a view to the formation of a Clan Davidson Society, the Laird of Tulloch called a meeting of holders of the name at the Hotel Metropole in London. Some sixty members of the clan were present, when it was proposed, seconded, and carried that Davidson of Tulloch be recognized and acknowledged as chief of the clan. The act was questioned in a letter to the Northern Chronicle, in which the writer pointed out that, while for a long period of years writers on Highland history had all pointed to Tulloch as the chief, this must be taken as an error seeing that The Mackintosh was the only chief of Clan Chattan. In proof of this statement it was pointed out that in 1703 twenty persons named Dean alias Davidson had at Inverness signed a band of manrent declaring that they and their ancestors had been followers, dependents, and kinsmen to the lairds of Mackintosh, and were still in duty bound to own and maintain the claim, and to follow, assist, and defend the honorable person of Lachlan Mackintosh of that ilk as their true and lawful chieftain. A long correspondence followed pro and con, but it was pointed out by later writers that the acknowledgment of Mackintosh by twenty Davidsons as supreme head of the Clan Chattan confederacy did not prevent the Davidson sept from possessing and following a chief of their own. As a matter of fact, history shows them to have had a chief at the battle of Invernahaven, and by all the laws of Highland genealogy the clansmen were fully entitled to meet and confirm the claim of their present leader and head.

It should be added that Davidson of Tulloch is hereditary keeper of the royal castle of Dingwall.

Among notable holders of the name of Davidson mention must be made of the redoubtable provost of Aberdeen, Sir Robert Davidson, who led the burghers of the city at the battle of Harlaw in 1411, and gallantly fell at their head. It is said to be his Armour which is still treasured in the vestibule of the City Chambers at Aberdeen, and when the great old church of St. Nicholas in that city was being repaired a generation ago his skeleton was recognized by a red cloth cap with which he had been buried.

Another notable clansman was John Davidson, Regent of St. Leonard’s College at St Andrews in the days of Queen Mary, and afterwards the minister of Liberton near Edinburgh, who quarreled with the Regent Morton, opposed the desire of James VI. to restore prelacy, excommunicated Montgomerie, Bishop of Glasgow, at the desire of the General Assembly in 1582, and was author of Memorials of His Time.

Years Attended: Fall 2010 (First Year Attendee!)

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Clan MacPherson Tartan

Clan MacPherson Sign

The name Macpherson — or MacPherson or McPherson, according to different spellings — comes from the Gaelic Mac a’ Phearsain and means ‘Son of the Parson’. The Parson in question was Muriach, a 12th century parson, or lay preacher, of Kingussie in Badenoch. Historically, the term ‘parson’ (in the Gaelic pearsain or pears-eaglais literally ‘person of the church’) had a different meaning. Before the Reformation in Highland Scotland, the religious leader of a parish was the priest and the parson was the steward of church property, responsible for the collection of tithes. The history of Clan Macpherson has been called “The Posterity of the Three Brethren” as the three grandsons of Muriach are the antecedents of the three main clan families, Cluny, Pitmain and Invereshie.

For many centuries, the Macphersons have been a leading clan in the Clan Chattan Confederation. Although the Macphersons have a strong claim to the Chattan lineage, they have been unsuccessful in wresting control of the Clan Chattan from the MacKintosh. Today, the clans cooperate closely in the Clan Chattan Association, where John MacKintosh, chief of Clan MacKintosh, is president and Sir William Macpherson, chief of Clan Macpherson, is vice president of the association along with allied clan chiefs.

Years Attended: Fall 2010 (First Year Attendee!)

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Clan MacKenzie Sign

Clan MacKenzie Tartan

The name Mackenzie, or MacCoinneach in Gaelic, means literally, “Son of Kenneth. The original Kenneth, who lived in the 13th Century, was descended from a younger son of Gilleoin of the Aird, from whom can also be traced the once powerful Earls of Ross.

The MacKenzies were, without doubt, of Celtic stock and were not among the clans that originated from Norman ancestors. We know little about the generations immediately following Gilleoin, but in 1267 Kenneth was living at Eilean Donan, a stronghold at the mouth of Loch Duich. He must have been an important vassal, for the Earl of Ross appears to have married Kenneth’s aunt and thus strengthened the relationship which already existed between the two families.

At the start of the fifteenth century the Earldom of Ross came, through marriage, into the hands of the powerful family of MacDonald, who owned vast property on the west of Scotland and called themselves, at first without the King’s authority, Lords of the Isles. In this way the Mackenzies became vassals, not of their kinsmen the Earls of Ross but of the MacDonalds.

Clan MacKenzie rose rapidly in importance during the 15th Century through the acquisition of lands extending across Scotland from the west to east coasts, in the counties of Ross and Cromarty, and parts of Sutherlandshire.

In 1991, under the leadership of Cabarfeidh, the Clan Mackenzie announced plans to restore the original portion of Castle Leod, built at the end of the 15th Century. The restored Castle will include a Clan genealogical center and will be open to the public. The Earl and his family will continue to live in an extension to the Castle built in the Victorian and Edwardian periods.

The clan country of the Mackenzies includes almost every kind of scenery and conditions to be found in Scotland. The original home of the clan is Kintail, which in Gaelic means “head of the sea.” High hills fall steeply down to Loch Duich, giving little space for cultivation. At the mouth of Loch Duich stands Eilean Donan castle, no longer a stronghold of the Mackenzies, but the first home of their chief. Built on a rocky island at the narrow entrance of the loch, where the arrival of enemy boats could be seen and contested, it looks over the water towards Skye and the west.

Years Attended: Fall 2010 (First Year Attendee!)

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Scottish - American Military Society Sign

The Scottish-American Military Society (SAMS) was founded and chartered in North Carolina, April 12, 1981, as a non-profit organization with the following purpose:

• To preserve and promote Scottish and American Armed Forces customs, traditions, and heritage, by:
• Providing a forum for exchange of military history and genealogical information
• Conducting public education programs
• Presenting military student honor awards
• Supporting Scottish activities at Highland Games
• Making contributions to qualified scholarship funds or institutions
• Making appropriate charitable contributions
• Providing a fraternal atmosphere for members

The Society was founded as a veterans organization. The membership is composed primarily of veterans of Scottish ancestry who have served — or are serving — in the Armed Forces of the United States and the Commonwealth. If you support the purposes shown above, we would welcome your membership if you qualify. Membership is open to honorably discharged veterans or active duty or reserve military persons who have served or are serving with any branch of the United States or Commonwealth Armed Forces.

Years Attended: 2010 (First Year Attendee!)

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Clan Keith Sign

Clan Keith Tartan

A Scottish warrior slew the Danish General Camus at the Battle of Barrie in 1010. For this, King Máel Coluim II of Scotland dipped three fingers into the blood of the slain and drew them down the shield of the warrior. Thereafter the warrior was named Marbhachir Chamius or Camus Slayer. Ever since then the Chief of the Clan Keith has borne the same mark of three red lines on his arm.
Máel Coluim’s victory at the Battle of Carham in 1018 brought him into outright possession of the lands of the Lothians and the Merse. The Keiths derive their name from the Barony of Keith, Humbie, East Lothian, said to have been granted by the king to Marbhachir Chamius for his valour.

The office of Earl Marischal and later Knight Marischal of Scotland was hereditary in the Keith family until the 18th century. It may have been conferred at the same time as the barony, since it was confirmed, together with possession of the lands of Keith, to Sir Robert Keith by a charter of King Robert the Bruce, and appears to have been held as annexed to the land by the tenure of grand serjeanty. Sir Robert Keith commanded Scottish light cavalry at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 and was killed at the Battle of Dupplin Moor. His grandson, also a Robert Keith, was killed at the Battle of Neville’s Cross in 1346.
At the close of the 14th century Sir William Keith, by exchange of lands with Lord Lindsay, obtained the crag of Dunnottar in Kincardineshire, where he built the Dunnottar Castle, which became the stronghold of the Clan Keith. He died in about 1407. The castle is on a cliff-top south of Stonehaven.
The Battle of Champions (probably 1478) was fought between twelve men of the Clan Gunn and twenty four men of the Clan Keith. All the Gunns, including the chief of the clan, were killed. However, the chief of the Clan Keith was soon after killed by the Gunns in a revenge attack.
William, fourth Earl Marischal (died 1581), was one of the guardians of Mary, Queen of Scots, during her minority, and was a member of her privy council on her return to Scotland. While refraining from extreme partisanship, he was an adherent of the Reformation; he retired into private life at Dunnottar Castle about 1567, thereby gaining the sobriquet “William of the Tower.” He was reputed to be the wealthiest man in Scotland]. His eldest daughter Anne married the regent Murray.
His grandson George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal (c. 1553-1623), was one of the most cultured men of his time. He was educated at King’s College, Aberdeen, where he became a proficient classical scholar, afterwards studying divinity under Theodore Beza at Geneva. The 5th Earl was responsible for the tower house still extant on his ancestral lands at Keith Marischal.
Sir John Keith (d. 1714), brother of the 7th Earl Marischal, was, at the Restoration given the hereditary office of Knight Marischal of Scotland, and in 1677 was created Earl of Kintore, and Lord Keith of Inverurie and Keith-Hall, a reward for his share in preserving the regalia of Scotland, which were secretly conveyed from Dunnottar to another hiding-place, when the castle was besieged by Cromwell’s troops, and which Sir John, perilously to himself, swore he had carried abroad and delivered to Charles II, thus preventing further search. From him are descended the Earls of Kintore.
George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal (c. 1693–1778), served under Marlborough, and like his brother James Francis Edward Keith (1696–1758), later a Prussian field marshal, was a zealous Jacobite. He inherited the title of Earl Marischal in 1712 and took over as chief of Clan Keith, but after taking part in the rising of 1715 had to escape to the continent. In the following year he was attainted, his estates and titles being forfeited to the Crown. Later he led the clan when they fought at the Battle of Glen Shiel in 1719. He lived for many years in Spain, where he concerned himself with Jacobite intrigues, but he took no part in the rebellion of 1745, proceeding about that year to Prussia, where he became, like his brother Francis, intimate with Frederick the Great. Frederick employed him in several diplomatic posts, and he is said to have conveyed valuable information to the Earl of Chatham, as a reward for which he received a pardon from George II, and returned to Scotland in 1759.
George Keith died unmarried and without issue in 1778. His heir male, on whom, but for the attainder of 1716, his titles would have devolved, was apparently his cousin Alexander Keith of Ravelston, to whom the attainted earl had sold the castle and lands of Dunnottar in 1766. James Francis Edward Keith did have issue with his common law wife Eva Merthen, but the identity of the children remains a mystery to this day. One theory states that her heirs, the purported brother and sister of her second husband J. D. von Reichenbach, were in fact her children with James Keith.
The current Chief of Clan Keith is James William Falconer Keith, 14th Earl of Kintore (b. 1976).
Castles

• Keith Hall estate in Aberdeenshire is the current seat of the chief of Clan Keith.
• Dunnottar Castle became the seat of the chief of Clan Keith in 1639 but is now ruined.
• Fetteresso Castle passed from the Clan Strachan to the Clan Keith chief, Earl Marischal during the early 14th century.

Clan Profile

• Mottos: Dexter, Quae amissa salva (What has been lost is safe), Sinister, Veritas vincit (Truth conquers), On compartment, Thay say: quhat they say: thay haif sayed: let thame say
• Slogan: A Keith, Veritas Vincit (also Truth Prevails)
• Plant Badge:White Rose

Septs
Austen, Austin, Cate, Cates, Dickson, Dixon, Dixson, Dick, Falconer, Faulkner, Harvey, Hackston, Haxton, Hervey, Hurrie, Hurry, Keath, Keech, Keeth, Keyth, Kite, Laird, Lumgair, MacKeith, Marshall, Ouston, Urie, Urry

Years Attended: 2011

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Clan Barclay Sign

Clan Barclay Tartan

Since the eighteenth century, Barclay historians, noted for their low level in medieval scholarship, have assumed the Scottish family Barclay (de Berchelai) is a branch of one of the two Anglo-Norman families of de Berkeley of Berkeley in Gloucestershire, without any evidence which would link the Scottish and English families.

A more plausible theory of the Barclay origin, put forth by the historian G. W. S. Barrow, points to the small village of Berkley in Somerset (in 1086 Berchelei). In 1086 the overlordship of Berkley belonged to Robert Arundel, whose main tenant was a Robert. Arundel’s manors included Cary Fitzpaine (in Charlton Mackerell), near Castle Cary. And Cary Fitzpaine seems to have been held by the tenant Robert as well. At the same time as Henry Lovel of Castle Cary first appears in Scotland, there appear the names of Godfrey de Arundel and Robert and Walter de Berkeley.

The main line of the Scottish Barclays has been represented by the Barclays of Mathers. The descendants of this line were noted in more modern times for producing field marshals, Quakers and bankers. Barrow also noted that Barclay historians fail to mention that this line had not been a Barclay in the male descent since the end of the twelfth century. Charters from the reign of William the Lion show that the king granted the Barclay estates of Laurencekirk and Fordoun to Humphrey son of Theobald, in right of his wife Agatha. Agatha, herself was a ‘de Berkley’ and her husband and children adopted her surname. A charter preserves Humphrey’s father’s surname as ‘de Adevil(l)e’.

17th century

The Barclay clan always maintained trade links with Scandinavia and the Baltic states through their coastal lands. In 1621, John and Peter Barclay, merchants of Banff, wished to settle in Rostock in Livonia. Sir Patrick Barclay, Baron of Towie signed a letter of safe conduct in their favour, a letter which remains in the hands of the Barclay descendants in Riga to this day. The brothers traded in silk and became burghers of the town. John Barclay had written “Norway is an abominable nation where many are notorious for their witch craft” in 1631. John Barclay was among many foreign officers who towards the end of the Thirty-year War (in which he seems to have participated), enlisted in Norwegian military service during the so-called Hannibal War, 1643 to 1645 between Denmark-Norway and Sweden. He was engaged as Captain on 9 September 1644. Although foreign officers were discharged after the war, Captain Barclay sought to maintain his military position. It is unknown whether his application was granted. John’s grandson, Stephen Barclay de Tolly, believed to have been born in Riga in 1677, also served as a Major in the service of Denmark-Norway.

During the seventeenth century another Sir George Barclay was second in command of King James of Scotland’s Highland forces and a major branch of the family was established at Urie, near Stonehaven in Kincardineshire. During the Thirty Years’ War the First Laird of Urie, David Barclay, was a major in the service of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. He returned home when civil war broke out, attaining the rank of colonel in a regiment of horse, serving the king. Following his retirement in 1647 he purchased the Urie estate. He was charged with hostility to the government following the Restoration but was released after pressure from his friends. During his time in detention he was converted to the Religious Society of Friends by Laird Swinton, who was also imprisoned.

The Second Laird of Urie, Robert Barclay, also a Quaker, published an “Apologia“ in 1675 described as “Explanation and Vindication of the Principles and Doctrines of the People called Quakers“. It was originally written in Latin but was translated into English, Dutch, German, French and Spanish. Barclay’s Apologia was widely influential, although Quakers were persecuted at the time, and he even attained favour at the royal court. He was friends with well-known Quakers, George Fox and William Penn and together created the idea of a city of brotherly love in America, which became Philadelphia. In 1682 Robert was granted 5,000 acres (20 km²) of land in East New Jersey by the proprietors of that state (then province) and bestowed upon him the title of governor, a title which he never took up.

18th century

Robert’s second son, David Barclay, became a merchant with not inconsiderable wealth. Through his second wife, he acquired premises in Lombard Street which became the site of Barclays Bank. The strict Quaker principles remained in the family and when David obtained an estate in Jamaica he freed the slaves and taught them trades. He entertained King George III of the United Kingdom at his London home and was excused the requirement to kneel before their monarch due to their Quaker beliefs. He was offered a knighthood, which he refused, and the chance to advance his son at court. He also refused this, explaining that he preferred ‘to bring up his sons in honest trade’.

Napoleonic wars

The direct descendant of the Livonian Barclays was Russian Field Marshall Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, Count of the Holy Roman Empire, born in 1761. He was made Russian Minister of War in 1810, rising to Commander of the Russian Armies in 1812 fighting against Napoleon Bonaparte. Instead of pursuing a campaign of direct confrontation with the French, he chose a scorched earth policy which starved the French army as it passed through the country towards Moscow. The plan was a resounding success, leading to the French retreat from Moscow in 1812 and their ultimate defeat. The Russian nobility resented the appointment of a foreign commander-in-chief, but his ability was undeniable and the Tsar named him a prince in 1815. George III of the United Kingdom named him a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. His portrait hangs in the Military Gallery in St Petersburg.

Years Attended: 2011

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Clan Scott Sign

Clan Scott Tartan

One of the most powerful of the Border families, the name was derived from the Scots who invaded Dalriada (Argyll) from Ireland and the surname is found in all parts of Scotland. However in the Borders, an area that was never fully Gaelic speaking, it may have meant a Scottish Gaelic speaker.

The first record of the name Scott is when Uchtred filius Scot witnessed the foundation charter of Selkirk in 1120. Henricus le Scotte witnessed a charter by David Earl of Strathearn around 1195.

Sir Michael Scott, 2nd Laird of Buccleuch was a staunch supporter of King Robert the Bruce and distinguished himself at the Battle of Halidon Hill, fighting against the English in 1333 during the Wars of Scottish Independence.

The Lanarkshire estate was exchanged for Branxholm in Selkirkshire as the family became more and more established in the Borders. In the 15th century, as was common in the Borders, the Scotts quarrel led frequently with their neighbours, particularly the Clan Kerr. The clans would gather for battle at a place called Bellendean. The feud caused the deaths of both chiefs and was only resolved by marriage during the chieftainship of the 10th Laird. The 13th Baron was created Lord Scott of Buccleuch by James VI and in 1619 Lord Scott was created an Earl. The male line failed and Anne, Countess of Buccleuch married the illegitimate son of King Charles II, the Duke of Monmouth. Charles created the couple Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch but the Duke supported the Protestant cause and at one stage led an unsuccessful rebellion against his uncle King James II.

During the 16th century the Clan Kerr and the Clan Scott continued to raid each other’s lands. The Chief Kerr of Cessford, who had worked as warden for peace and co-operation with England, was killed by a follower of Clan Scott of Buccleuch in the attempt to rescue King James V of Scotland from the Clan Douglas. In 1552 the Chief of Clan Scott of Buccleuch was killed by the Clan Kerr of Cessford in Edinburgh. Fighting between the clans continued until a peace agreement was signed in 1602.
The third Duke of Buccleuch married the heiress of the Duke of Queensberry (Clan Douglas) and became one of the richest men in Britain.

During the Civil War, Sir James Scott led his forces in support of the Covenanters at the Battle of Tippermuir in 1644 but the Covenanters were defeated by the Royalist forces under James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose.

During the Jacobite Uprisings the Clan Scott supported the British Hanoverian Government. Captain Scott was taken prisoner by the Jacobites during their first hostile action which later became known as the Highbridge Skirmish in August 1745. Later Captain Scott was released and is remembered for the successful defense during the Siege of Fort William in March 1746 where he held command and the Jacobites were defeated.

In the 19th century, Sir Walter Scott (from a junior branch, the Scotts of Harden) changed Scotland’s image forever. The Duke of Buccleuch today is the largest private landowner in the United Kingdom and the art collections at the family’s great houses of Drumlanrig, Bowhill and Boughton are internationally famous.

Clan profile
• Clan Chief: His Grace Richard Walter John Montagu Douglas Scott, The 10th Duke of Buccleuch, Duke of Queensberry, Marquess of Dumfriesshire, Earl of Buccleuch, Earl of Doncaster, Earl of Dalkeith, Earl of Drumlanrig and Sanquhar, Viscount of Nith, Torthorwald and Ross, Lord Scott of Buccleuch, Lord Scott of Whitchester and Eskdaill, Baron Scott of Tindale, Lord Douglas of Kilmount, Middlebie and Dornock.
• Clan crest: A stag trippant, encircled in a leather strap inscribed with the chief’s motto “Amo” meaning “I Love”.
• Clan Motto: Amo (“I love”).
• Clan war cry: ‘a Bellendaine! (“To Bellendaine!”)
• Clan badge: Blaeberry.
Septs
The septs of Clan Scott include: Buccleuch, Geddes, Laidlaw, Langlangs, McCorquodale.
Castles
• Branxholme Castle has been owned by the Clan Scott since 1420.
• Dalkeith Palace in Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland, is the former seat of the Duke of Buccleuch.

Years Attended: 2011

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Clan Robertson Sign

Clan Robertson Tartan

There are two main theories as to the origins of the Clan Robertson:
• That the founder of the clan, Donn(a)chadh (Duncan) was the second son of Angus MacDonald, Lord of the Isles.
• That the Robertsons are lineal descendants of the Celtic Earls of Atholl, whose progenitor was King Duncan I (Donnchadh in Scottish Gaelic), eldest son of Malcolm II.

The clan’s first recognised chief Donnchadh Reamhar, ‘Stout Duncan’, son of Andrew de Atholia (Latin ‘Andrew of Atholl’), was a minor land-owner and leader of a kin-group in Highland Perthshire, and allegedly an enthusiastic and faithful supporter of Robert I (king 1306-29) during the Wars of Scottish Independence; he is said to have looked after King Robert after the Battle of Methven in 1306[citation needed]. The clan claims that Stout Duncan’s relatives and followers (not yet known as Robertsons) supported Robert Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 (although this patriotic story is not supported by contemporary documentation). His descendants became known (in English or Scots) as the Duncansons, or Gaelic Clann Donnchaidh, ‘Children of Duncan’.

In 1394 a clan battle took place between Clann Donnchaidh and Clan Ogilvy, during a cattle raid on Angus. Sir Walter Ogilvy was slain at this battle. Clandonoquhy (Old Scots form of the Gaelic name) had rather a reputation as raiders and feuders in late medieval Scotland, though the chiefs seem always to have been loyal to the Bruce and Stewart royal dynasties.

Struan (Gaelic Sruthan, ‘streamlet’, ‘brook’) is a parish church, of early Christian origin and dedicated to St. Fillan, at the confluence of the Errochty Water and Garry rivers. Many of the medieval chiefs were buried in this church (although individual monuments have unfortunately not survived). The present building was built in the early 19th century, but the foundations of its predecessor can be traced in the churchyard. Donnchadh Reamhar is, however, said to have been buried in the parish church of Dull, near Aberfeldy. Recent excavations by members of the Clan Donnachaidh Society within the now redundant church of Dull (Gaelic Dul, ‘meadow’, ‘haugh’) failed to find evidence of this specific burial, although others were uncovered, along with early medieval carved stones. Recent generations of chiefs have been buried in a family vault in the grounds of the estate of Dunalastair, near Kinloch Rannoch.

Under Alexander Robertson, 12th chief, the clan are said to have supported James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose in all of his battles during the Scottish Civil War. During this time, the main Robertson castle at Invervack, near the present Clan museum, was burned by Cromwell’s forces, and many family records were lost.
In 1653 the Earl of Glencairn was in Rannoch looking for support for Charles II. He raised the Clan MacGregor from the Isle of Rannoch and Alexander Robertson led his men from Fea Corrie. Both forces met above Annat and marched up the old path to Loch Garry. However, the leaders reportedly quarrelled so much among themselves that Cromwell’s General, George Monk had little difficulty in winning the ensuing Battle of Dalnaspidal.

Alexander Robertson, 13th chief (b. 1668) joined the Jacobite rising of 1689 and was taken prisoner a few weeks after the Jacobite defeat at the Battle of Dunkeld. After being released he went to live in France for thirteen years where he served for some time in the French army. He returned to Scotland in 1703.
Alexander Robertson, 13th chief, led 500 men of Clan Donnachaidh in support of the Earl of Mar at the Battle of Sheriffmuir in 1715. He was captured, but later rescued and he took refuge in France. The fighting force of Clan Robertson was estimated at 800 men in 1715 and at 700 men in 1745.

After the defeat of the 1745/46 rebellion the Robertson lands became part of the Forfeited Estates, although most were returned to the then chief, another Alexander Robertson, in 1784, after it became clear that the Central Highlands were wholly pacified.

Unlike many other Highland noblemen, the Robertson chiefs refused to ‘clear’ their estates of their clansmen in favour of the more profitable sheep during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. This honourable but financially disadvantageous policy led to the eventual alienation of the entire clan lands by the early 20th century. Only the family vault at Dunalastair is still in the possession of the family of Struan; however, many modern properties have been added to the clan land. The title Baron of Struan is still transferred through Dunalastair.

Gaelic names
• MacDhonnchaidh (surname, ‘son of Duncan’)
• MacRaibeirt (surname, ‘son of Robert’)
• Robasdan (surname – used when following a first name)
• An Robasdanach (surname, ‘the Robertson’ – used on its own, without a first name)
• Clann MhicDhonnchaidh / Clann ‘IcDhonnchaidh (collective – ‘Clan Robertson’)
• Clann Donnchaidh (collective)
• Na Robasdanaich (collective)

Note: the Gaelic spelling often appears with an “a” after the double nn of Dhònnchaidh, but this is not correct (though it does reflect the Gaelic insertion of an obscure vowel in pronunciation). Cf. the anglicised surname MacConnochie (and variants).

Clan profile
• Motto: Virtutis gloria merces (Glory is the reward of valour)
• Slogan: Garg ‘n uair dhuisgear. (Fierce when roused)
• Crest: A dexter hand holding up an imperial crown, all proper
• Badge: Bracken.[9] (the clan had lands on the southern side of Loch Rannoch – Gaelic Loch Raineach, ‘Loch of Bracken’
• Pipe music:
• Salute: Fàilte Thighearna Struhain (Struan Robertson’s Salute)
• Gathering: Thàinig Clann Donnchaidh (The Robertsons Have Come)
• March: Till an Crodh Dhonnchaidh (Turn the Cattle, Donnachaidh); Riobain Gorm (Blue Ribbon); Teachd Chlann Dhonnchaidh (Coming of the Robertsons)
• Lament: Cumha Struhain (Lament for Robertson of Struan)
• Clan chief: Alexander Gilbert Haldane Robertson of Struan, 24th Chief of Clan Donnachaidh, 28th of Struan (styled Struan Robertson).

Branches
• Robertson of Auchleeks.
• Robertson of Inches.
• Robertson of Kindeace.
• Robertson of Kinlochmouidart.
• Robertson of Lude.
• Robertson of Struan.

Septs
The main surname used by Clan Donnachaidh is Robertson, which is also used by the present chief’s family, though other names are associated with the clan, the most common being Duncan and Reid. Other names associated with the clan may include:
• Collier
• Colyear
• Conlow
• Connachie
• Dobbie
• Dobieson
• Dobinson
• Dobson
• Donachie
• Donica
• Donnachie
• Duncan
• Duncanson
• Dunkeson
• Dunnachie
• Inches
• MacConachie
• MacConlogue
• MacConnichie
• MacDonachie
• MacInroy
• MacIver
• MacIvor
• MacLagan
• MacLaggan
• MacRob
• MacRobb
• MacRobbie
• MacRobert
• MacRobie
• MacWilliam
• Reed
• Reid
• Robb
• Roberts
• Robison
• Robson
• Roy
• Stark
• Tannoch
• Tannochy

Note that several of the above are merely anglicised variants of the Gaelic MacDhonnchaidh or literal translations into English of the same (Duncan, Duncanson, etc).

Years Attended: 2011

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Clan Stewart Sign

Clan Stewart Tartan

The Stewart family records its traditional descent from Banquo, Thane of Lochaber, who makes an appearance as a character in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Historically, however, the family appears to be descended from a mediaeval family who were seneschals of Dol in Brittany, the earliest recorded being Flaald.[2]

They acquired lands in England after the Norman conquest, and moved to Scotland with many other Anglo-Norman families when David I ascended to the throne of Scotland. The family was granted extensive estates in Renfrewshire and in East Lothian and the office of High Steward of Scotland was made hereditary in the family.

Walter, the son of Alan or Fitz-alan was the founder of the royal family of Stewarts. He was the first of the family to establish himself in Scotland. Walter’s elder brother called William was the progenitor of the family of Fitzalan who were the Earls of Arundel. Their father who was a Norman married soon after the Norman Conquest. He married the daughter of Warine, sheriff of Shropshire. He acquired the manor of Ostvestrie or Oswestry on the Welsh border. On the death of King Henry I of England in 1135 Walter and William supported the claims of Empress Maud and in doing so raised themselves high in the favour of her uncle King David I of Scotland.

Alexander Stewart had two sons, James and John. The elder, James would succeed Alexander as chief of the clan. During the Wars of Scottish Independence the Clan Stewart gave much support to King Robert the Bruce. Alexander’s second son, known as Sir John Stewart of Bonkyll, was killed at the Battle of Falkirk (1298), fighting in support of William Wallace.

Alexander’s second son, John, who was killed at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298 had seven sons. The eldest was Sir Alexander who was the ancestor to the Stewarts who were Earls of Angus. The second son was Sir Alan of Dreghorn whose family became the Earls and Dukes of Lennox. The third son was Walter whose family were the Earls of Galloway. The fourth son was Sir James whose family were the Earls of Atholl, Earl of Buchan and Earl of Traquair. The fifth son Sir John Stewart was killed at the Battle of Halidon Hill in 1333. The sixth son Sir Hugh Stewart fought in Ireland under Edward Bruce, the younger brother of King Robert the Bruce. The seventh son was Sir Robert Stewart of Daldowie (NOT the Lanarkshire Daldowie).

James Stewart, the eldest son of Alexander Stewart, succeeded as the fifth high steward in 1283. On the death of King Alexander III of Scotland in 1286, James Stewart was one of six magnates of Scotland chosen to act as regents of the kingdom. James died in the service of Robert the Bruce in 1309. James’s son Walter became the sixth high steward. This Walter Stewart at the age of just twenty-one years commanded the left wing of the Scottish army, along with Sir James Douglas at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Robert the Bruce and his wife Isabella’s only child, Marjorie Bruce, married Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland (1293–1326), and from him the Royal House of Stewart are descended.

A chief of the Clan Stewart Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland married Marjorie Bruce daughter of King Robert the Bruce, this began the Royal House of Stewart. Walter Stewart’s son called Robert the seventh lord-high steward had been declared heir to the throne of Scotland in 1318. However the birth of a son to Robert the Bruce in 1326 interrupted Robert Stewart’s prospects for a time. Robert Stewart received from his grandfather large amounts of land in Kintyre. During the long and disastrous reign of King David II of Scotland, Robert Stewart acted a patriotic part in the defense of the kingdom. On the death of King David II without issue on 22 February 1371 Robert Stewart, at the age of fifty five, succeeded to the crown of Scotland as King Robert II of Scotland. He was the first of the Stewart family to ascend to the throne of Scotland.

The royal line of male Stewarts continued uninterrupted until the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary’s son James VI and descendents, monarchs of Great Britain and Ireland from 1603 to 1714, continued to use the surname Stuart as they were descended from Mary’s second husband, Henry Stewart a member of the clan Stewart of Darnley. It was around this time that the second and interchangeable spelling of the name Stuart became common allegedly through the French influence of Mary’s upbringing.

The Stuarts held the throne of Scotland and after the Union of the Crowns in 1603 they held the throne of England too. This was held until the death of Queen Anne of Great Britain in 1714, the last monarch from the House of Stuart. Anne was succeeded by her cousin, King George I of England and Elector of Hanover of the House of Hanover. The present Royal Family still has Stuart blood links.

Queen Anne of Great Britain died in 1714, the last monarch from the House of Stuart. Anne was succeeded by her own cousin King George I of Great Britain of the House of Hanover.

The Jacobite Uprisings of the 18th century were led by Charles Edward Stuart who was the exiled claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland, commonly known as “Bonnie Prince Charlie”. Charles was the son of James Francis Edward Stuart also known as the Old Pretender. James Francis Edward Stuart was in turn the son of King James II of England and Ireland, who had been deposed in 1688. After his father’s death Charles was recognised as “King Charles III” by his supporters but his opponents referred to him as “The Young Pretender”.

This resulted in the Jacobite Risings which first began in the late 17th century but did not gain momentum until the 18th century. The Clan Stewart fought at the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689. Their prowess in battle is celebrated by the fact that the present Duke of Atholl maintains the Atholl Highlanders as the only private army in the United Kingdom.

Although many Stewarts and Stuarts fought for the Jacobites, many also remained peaceful.

The next major Jacobite uprising during the 18th century was known as the ‘Forty Five’. See Main article: The ‘Forty-Five’. During this rising the Jacobites led by the Stuarts gained much success and support, winning many victories including the Battle of Prestonpans and the Battle of Falkirk (1746). However their success ended at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, the last major battle on mainland Britain, where the Jacobites were defeated and the British government remained with the House of Hanover.

Charles Stewart of Ardsheal led the men of Clan Stewart of Appin during the rising of 1745, and many fell at the grim field of Culloden, having first gained glory by breaking the Redcoat ranks. Colin Campbell of Glenure, ‘the Red Fox’, was placed as government factor on the forfeited Stewart estates. His murder in 1752 has been immortalised by Stevenson in the novel, Kidnapped. After the chief suspect, Alan Breck Stewart, made his escape, James Stewart, the half-brother of the chief, was tried by a jury composed entirely of Campbells at Inverary presided over by Argyll himself, and, perhaps not surprisingly, was convicted and hanged.

Clan profile
• Gaelic Name: Stiùbhard.
• Motto: Virescit vulnere virtus (Courage grows strong at a wound).
• Plant badge: Thistle.
• Lands: Renfrewshire, Teviotdale and Lauderdale.
• Origin of Name: From the High Steward of Scotland.
• Pipe Music: Bratach Bhan nan Stiubhartach (The white banner of the Stewarts).

Septs
Stewart: Boyd, Denniston, France, Francis, Lennox, Lisle, Lombard, Lyle, Mentieth, Moodie, Stuart, Young.
Stewart of Atholl: Conacher, Crookshank(s), Cruickshank(s), Duilach, Garrow, Gray, Larnach, MacGarrow, MacGlashan
Stewart of Appin: Carmichael, Clay, Combich, Combie, Conlay, Donlevy, Leay, Levac, Livingston(e), Lorne, MacColl, MacCombe, McCombich, MacDonLeavy, MacLeay, MacLew, MacMichael, MacNairn, MacNucator, MacRob, Mitchell, Mitchelson, Robb, Walker
Stuart of Bute: Ballantyne, Caw, Fullerton, Glass, Hunter, Jamieson/Jamison/Jameson/Jimerson, Lewis, Loy, MacCamie, MacCaw, MacCloy, MacKirdie/McCurdie/McCurdy/McKirdie/McKirdy, MacElheran, MacKerron, MacLewis, MacLoy, MacMunn, MacMurtrie, Malloy, Milloy, Munn, Neilson, Sharpe, Sharp
Stewart of Galloway: Carmichael, MacMichael

Years Attended: 2011

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Clan Leslie Seal

Clan Leslie Tartan

The family name comes from the Leslie lands of Aberdeenshire and was to become famous in Germany, Poland, France and Russia. According to tradition, a Hungarian (or more likely by onomastics and typical of the times as well as later Leslie history, a Kievian of Varangian origins) nobleman, named Bartholomew arrived in the retinue of Agatha, wife of Edward the Exile. Bartholomew became Chamberlain to Saint Margaret of Scotland. Bartholomew later married Malcolm III’s sister, Princess Beatrix of Scotland. His brother inlaw Malcom III made him Governor of Edinburgh Castle. No trace can be found in the Ragman Rolls of any members of the Leslie family-despite their strong connection to a number of claimants to the Scots crown.We can only surmise that they viewed the slaughter by Edward I at Berwick upon Tweed with disdain. The family sided with Robert the Bruce against firstly The Comyn in the Buchan and secondly Edward I and as a result were awarded large tracts of Aberdeenshire. They fought at the Battle of Bannockburn.

Sir Andrew de Lesly was one of the signatories when a letter, the Declaration of Arbroath, was sent to the Pope in 1320 asserting Scotland’s independence.The first Leslie in Aberdeenshire was Alexander who was Constable of The Bass in Inverurie on behalf of the kings brother.His son Walter died at the Battle of Harlaw in 1411 together with six of his cousins from Balquhain.

During the Anglo-Scottish Wars George de Lesly was the Leslys’ first Earl. His grandson, the 2nd Earl, was killed at the Battle of Flodden Field in 1513 and the third Earl, also George, carried out a private family vendetta on the life of David Beaton, cardinal Archbishop of St Andrews. At the trial he was acquitted.

Fetternear which became the home of the Leslie,s of Balquhain,Wardes and Warthill includes the remains of a 14th-century palace, home of Bishop Alexander Kininmund who, in 1320, drafted the Declaration of Arbroath, the letter sent to Pope John XXII in Avignon declaring that the Scots would never be subjected to English rule. It also incorporates the remains of even earlier palaces and sites of settlement dating back 4,000 years.

After the Reformation in Scotland in 1560, Fetternear became the principal Scottish seat of the Leslies of Balquhain and Fetternear. It had been granted to the family as a reward for saving St Machar’s cathedral, Aberdeen, from destruction. In the 17th century, the family became successful mercenaries, acquiring through might, diplomacy and marriage a string of properties in central and eastern Europe. Their strong Catholic faith helped sustain Fetternear as a centre of recusancy, as evidenced by a religious plaque carrying IHS and MRA monograms set into the facade of the existing 17th-century palace, now only a shell. Given Leslie links with central Europe, it is significant that the combination of monograms, extremely rare in Scotland, is characteristically used in the Alps.

Years Attended: 2011

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Clan MacGregor Seal

Clan MacGregor Tartan

Clan Gregor, or Clan McGregor, Clan MacGregor or Clan M’Gregor is a Highland Scottish clan. Outlawed for nearly two hundred years after losing their lands in a long power struggle with the Clan Campbell, the Clan Gregor claims descent from Constantin and wife and cousin Malvina, first son of Doungallas and wife Spontana (daughter of a High King of Ireland) and grandson of Giric, the third son of Alpín mac Echdach, the father of Kenneth Mcalpin, the first King of Scotland, a descent which is proclaimed in the motto, ‘S Rioghal Mo Dhream, translated as Royal is my Race.

The surname MacGregor is an Anglicization of the Gaelic Mac Griogair meaning “son of Griogar”. The personal name Griogar is a Gaelic form of the personal name Gregory. The Clan Gregor is believed to have originated in Scotland during the 9th century. The MacGregors suggest that they take their name from Gregor (derived from the Latin ‘Gregorius’ and the Late-Greek ‘Gregorios’ which means “Alert, Watchful, or Vigilant”). Gregor is said to be a son of the Scottish king Alpin II Mac Eochaidh and younger brother of Kenneth MacAlpin, the now famous Scottish king who first united Scotland in A.D. 843. Alpin II was the son of Eochaidh VI ‘the Poisonous,’ High King of Scots, by his marriage to his cousin, the Pictish Princess Royal, and thus had claims to the Scottish and Pictish Thrones.

Years Attended: 2011

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Clan Douglas Seal (old)

Clan Douglas Seal (new)

Clan Douglas Tartan

Clan Douglas is an ancient Scottish Kindred from the Scottish Lowlands taking its name from Douglas, South Lanarkshire, and thence spreading through the Scottish Borderland, Angus, Lothian and beyond. The clan does not currently have a chief, therefore it is considered an armigerous clan.

The Douglases were once the most powerful family in Scotland. The powerful Douglas chiefs held the titles of the Earl of douglas (Black Douglas), Earl of Angus (Red Douglas) and at one point the Earl of Morton. Many Douglases married into Scottish and other European royal and noble houses, thereby ensuring Douglas power within Scotland, as a result of their accumulated wealth.

The family’s original seat was Castle in Lanarkshire, but they spread to many properties throughout Scotland.

Years Attended: 2011

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Clan Ross Tartan

Clan Ross Seal

The name Ross derives from the ancient Celtic word “Ros”, meaning “a promontory”, in this case the lands of Easter Ross. The clan is known to Highlanders as Clann Aindreas – the sons of Andrew.

The traditional progenitor of the clan was Fearchar Mac an t Sagairt which is translated as “son of the priest”. Fearchar was created Earl of Ross in 1234, for services to Alexander II.

The last chief of the clan Ross to hold the earldom died in 1372, having fathered no sons. His daughter tried to claim the earldom, but it passed to the MacDonalds of the Isles and subsequently into the hands of the crown in 1476. The once proud Ross estate of Balnagowan became heavily burdened by debt in the 18th century and it was purchased by a lowland branch of the Ross family who, although bearing the family name, were genealogically complete strangers to the Celtic Earls of Ross.

In the early 20th century the chiefship of the clan Ross was restored to the true line.

Years Attended: 2010 (First Year Attendee!)

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Clan MacNachtan Seal

Clan MacNachtan Tartan

The progenitor of this ancient clan is alleged to be Nachtan Mor. The story is told that sometime during 685, a stranger brought a parcel of bones to the house of Nachtan. Nobody doubted his claim that they were the true relics of the apostle Andrew, least of all, Nachtan, whose recent conversion probably required an act of credulous faith. The stranger was allowed to build a shrine for the bones on the coast of Fife, and Scotland thus acquired its patron saint and the ultimate site for its first university.

In many countries the great historic families were seperated from the mass of the people, not so in Scotland. The pride of the Name has never depended on wealth or rank, and all the bearers of great Scottish names share alike in their ancient traditions.

It is this brotherhood within clan or name which transends religion and politics, class or status, success or failure, bringing as their natural right to all clansmen everywhere all the regal pride and historic color that so justly surronds your tartan.

May the faith of Nachtan rekindle our own faith as we remember our clan motto:

I HOPE IN GOD.

Years Attended: 2011

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Clan MacFie Tartan

Clan MacFie Seal

Clan Macfie is one of the oldest Scottish Clans with a history going back before records were kept. The ancient name for our Clan is Macdubhsith. While literally meaning “dark man of peace”, sithe is also the term used for supernatural beings that populated the islands and the highlands and the term dubh or dark also had mystical and supernatural connotations. The ancestral homeland for the Macfies is the islands of Colonsay and Oronsay in the Western Isles of Scotland.

In 1623, Malcolm, the last Chief of the Clan Macfie, was captured by the infamous Colla Ciotach MacDonald. He was tied to a Standing Stone, known as Carraig Mhic a’ Phi at Balaruminmore, on our ancestral island of Colonsay, and summarily shot. The Clan Macfie was dispossessed of its lands and dispersed as a “broken” Clan.

That is, until 27th May 1981, when the Clan was reactivated and again formally recognised as an “active” Clan by the Lord Lyon. Macfies all over the world celebrate that date as Clan Macfie Day – a new ‘birthday’ for the Clan Macfie. As no hereditary Chief has been traced, a Ceann-Cath, or Clan Commander, was appointed to head the Clan. The current Clan Commander is Iain Morris McFie Esq. of Coulintyre, Kincraig, Kingussie, Scotland.

Years Attended: 2011

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Clan MacLeod Seal

Clan MacLeod Seal

The progenitor of the Clan was Leod, who gained possession of much of Skye, including the Cuillins, Harris and Lewis in the mid 13th century. Later tradition claimed that he was descended from the Norse Kings of Man. Dunvegan was acquired by marriage to the MacRailt heiress and became the principle seat of the Clan where the Castle was built and developed. The Clan takes its name from Leod, whose sons were called MacLeod, mac being Gaelic for son.

Leod had two sons, or grandsons, Tormod, English Norman, and Torcall, English Torquil, who became progenitors of the MacLeods of Harris and Dunvegan and the MacLeods of the Lewes.

In the 14th century the MacLeods of Harris acquired Glenelg on the mainland at the strategic crossing point to Skye. Malcolm MacLeod, 3rd Chief of Harris, built the keep at Dunvegan.

The MacLeods of the Lewes acquired Gairloch and Assynt on the mainland and the Isle of Raasay.

Both MacLeod Clans supported the MacDonald Lord of the Isles, semi independent kings on the west coast. In Skye land was lost to the MacDonalds. After the forfeiture of the Lordship of the Isle, in 1493, the MacLeods and MacDonalds began feuding. At this difficult time Alexander MacLeod, 8th Chief of Harris, known as Alasdair Crotach, kept the clan lands together and built himself a fine tomb in St Clement’s Church, Rodel, Harris.

Alasdair Crotach MacLeod built the Fairy Tower and the Fairy Flag is still the most celebrated relic at the Castle. The flag was given to a MacLeod chief by the fairies and had the power to summon up a magic host in time of need. It was twice used in defeating the MacDonalds.

The MacCrimmons, hereditary pipers at Dunvegan, became pre-eminent pipers and people were sent from all over Scotland to be perfected as pipers. The MacCrimmons had a piping college at Boreraig, where a cairn now commemorates the family.

Years Attended: 2011

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Clan MacFarlane Wordwide Seal

Clan MacFarlane Tartan

Clan MacFarlane (Clann Mhic Pharthalain) is a Highland Scottish Clan. The clan claims a descent from the old line of the Earls of Lennox. For some time there had been some controversy as to the descent of these earls, with both Gaelic and Saxon origins given. Though today it is accepted that Clan MacFarlane is of Gaelic descent. The clan takes its name from a Malcolm MacFarlane, who lived in the fourteenth century. Clan MacFarlane took part in several conflicts including brutal fighting for Scottish Independence alongside Robert the Bruce. The clan was also noted for its daring night time raiding on English army divisions, and as such, it is said that the full moon became known throughout the highlands as “MacFarlane’s Lantern”. For many years Clan MacFarlane was one of the most respected and feared clans in the highlands until the clan was denounced by the English government. The ancestral lands of the clan were Arrochar, located at the head of Loch Long and further northwest of Loch Lommand. The lands of Arrochar were first granted to an ancestor of the clan in the thirteenth century, and were held by the chiefs until they were sold off for debts, in 1767. The last descendant of the chiefs, in the direct male line, died in 1886. Since the modern clan is without a chief it can be considered an Armigerous clan.

Years Attended: 2011

Website: http://www.clanmacfarlane.org/

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Clan MacKintosh Tartan

Clan MacKintosh Seal

Clan profile

• Gaelic Name: Mac-an-tòisich
• Origin: Gaelic ‘Toiseach’ – leader, chief or captain. According to clan historians, the first chief of the clan was Seathach, second son of Donnchadh Mac Duibh, Earl of Fife, Royal house of Dál Riada. The name therefore has been thought to mean ‘son of the chief’.
• Crest: A cat-a-mountain salient guardant Proper
• Mottos: Touch Not The Cat Bot A Glove (“Touch not the cat without a glove”) & Loch Moigh – Rallying Cry

The motto means to not touch the Mackingtoshes unless you have very good protection. (The wild cat on the crest is symbolises power.)

• Arms: The Arms in the hoist and of two tracts Or and Gules, upon which is depicted the Crest in the first compartment, and a sprig of red whortleberry in the second and third compartments, along with the Slughorn ‘Loch Moigh’ in letters Or upon two transverse bands Azur.
• Reputation: One of the most psychic-inclined lineages.

Years Attended: 2011

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Clan Brodie Seal

Clan Brodie Tartan

The origins of the Brodie clan are mysterious. Much of the early Brodie records were destroyed when Brodie Castle was pillaged and burnt in 1645. It is known that the Brodies were always about since records began. From this it has been presumed that the Brodies are ancient, probably of Pict ancestry, referred to locally as the ancient Moravienses. The historian Dr. Ian Grimble suggested the Brodies were an important Pictish family and advanced the possibility of a link between the Brodies and the male line of the Pictish Kings.
Years Attended: Fall 2010 (First Year Attendee!)

Years Attended: 2011

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