The Battle of Carinish, 1601

The Battle of Carinish was a Scottish clan battle fought in the summer of 1601 in the island of North Uist. The battle was part of a year-long feud between the Clan MacLeod of Dunvegan and the Clan MacDonald of Sleat, which had been brewing for some time.

The feud began when Donald Gorm Mor MacDonald, the chief of Clan MacDonald of Sleat, rejected his wife, who was a sister of Rory MacLeod of Harris and Dunvegan. MacLeod responded to this slight by devastating the Trotternish peninsula in the north of Skye, which prompted MacDonald to attack MacLeod land in Harris.

In retaliation, MacLeod raided North Uist, sending 40 men under the command of his cousin Donald Glas MacLeod to seize goods that the locals had put for safety in the Trinity Temple, Teampull na Trionaid, at Carinish. Upon hearing this, Donald MacIain ‘ic Sheumais of Clan Ranald gathered his 12 gillemores and set out for Carinish. His force was augmented to 15 along the way. They arrived early in the forenoon and successfully surprised the raiders as they feasted in the church. Only two MacLeods survived; Donald MacLeod was among the dead. Donald MacIain ‘ic Sheumais suffered a serious arrow wound but soon recovered.

The battle is said to be the last engagement fought with bows and arrows in the British Isles, though such an engagement may have taken place in England in 1642. The outcome of the Battle of Carinish was a MacDonald victory, and it played a key role in the end of the feud between the two clans, which had plagued the Scottish Highlands for years.

After the battle, MacIain ‘ic Sheumais returned to Skye to report his victory, but a violent snowstorm forced him to seek shelter at Rodel in Harris. He was given hospitality by the MacLeods, and the tension at dinner was severe, but violence was only avoided by Rory’s firmness. The Macdonalds then left before dawn, and the MacLeod set fire to their quarters without the knowledge of their chief. The Macdonalds sailed away, their piper playing the tune “The MacLeods are disgraced”.

A few weeks later, MacLeod was defeated in the Battle of Coire Na Creiche, and the Privy Council of Scotland intervened to end the feud. The peace was celebrated with three weeks of feasting and festivities at Dunvegan Castle. Apart from a brief flare-up in 1603, that was the end of violence between the two clans.