Timeline of Clan Donald

This timeline outlines the main events in the history of Clan Donald as presented in the provided source.

• 4th Century AD: The source mentions a traditional lineage tracing back to Colla Uais, a 4th-century warrior-king in Ireland, linking Clan Donald to the ancient High Kings of Ireland (Conn of the Hundred Battles).
• 12th Century AD: The historical foundation of Clan Donald begins with Somerled, a 12th-century Norse-Gaelic warlord.
• 1164: Somerled is killed at the Battle of Renfrew while attempting to assert Norse-Gaelic dominance on the Scottish mainland. His death marks a decline in independent Norse rule in the west. His realm is divided among his sons, with Raghnall taking possession of Islay.
• c. 1192–1220: Somerled’s descendants, including his grandson Donald of Islay, fight rival Norse-Gaelic claimants for control of the Hebrides in the Battle of the Isles, laying the foundation for Clan Donald’s rise.
• 13th Century: Clan Donald first appears in written records following Somerled’s death.
• c. 1200–1250: Donald of Islay, Raghnall’s son, is the first fully recognized chief of Clan Donald and becomes the clan’s namesake.
• c. 1250–1293: Aonghas Mór, son of Donald of Islay, holds lands in Islay and Kintyre.
• 1266: Aonghas Mór pledges allegiance to King Alexander III after the Treaty of Perth brings the Hebrides under Scottish control.
• c. 1293–1299: Alexander Óg, son of Aonghas Mór, is chief. He dies in a feud with the MacDougalls.
• c. 1299–1330: Angus Óg, younger son of Donald of Islay and brother of Alexander Óg, becomes chief. He is a staunch ally of Robert the Bruce.
• 1306: Clan MacDonald, supporting Robert the Bruce, is defeated by the MacDougalls at the Battle of Dalrigh. Angus Óg later gives Bruce refuge at Dunaverty Castle.
• c. 1308–1310: MacDonalds are involved in skirmishes with the MacDougalls, part of Bruce’s campaign to secure western support (Battle of Tyndrum).
• 1314: MacDonald forces under Angus Óg hold the right wing of Robert the Bruce’s army at the Battle of Bannockburn, contributing to a decisive Scottish victory. In return, Bruce grants Angus Óg extensive lands in Glencoe, Lochaber, and Morvern.
• c. 1330–1387: John of Islay (“Good John”), son of Angus Óg, is named the first Lord of the Isles. His marriage to Amie MacRuairi brings vast new territories.
• 1387–1423: Donald of Harlaw, son of Good John and Margaret Stewart, is Lord of the Isles.
• 1411: Donald of Harlaw clashes with the Earl of Mar over the Earldom of Ross at the Battle of Harlaw.
• 1423–1449: Alexander of Islay, son of Donald of Harlaw, is Lord of the Isles and becomes Earl of Ross.
• 1429: Alexander of Islay rebels against King James I and is defeated and later imprisoned at the Battle of Lochaber.
• 1431: Donald Balloch MacDonald, Alexander of Islay’s cousin, routes royalist forces at the Battle of Inverlochy, avenging Alexander’s humiliation.
• 1449–1503: John MacDonald, 4th Lord of the Isles, is chief.
• c. 1480: Civil war erupts within Clan Donald: Angus Òg, son of Lord John, rebels against his father at the Battle of Bloody Bay off the coast of Mull. Angus Òg’s victory fractures the Lordship.
• 1493: The Lordship of the Isles is forfeited by the Crown, ending Clan Donald’s semi-independent rule. Centralized authority within the clan collapses. Clan Campbell begins to claim former MacDonald lands.
• late 1500s: MacDonalds of Keppoch raid Campbell lands in Glen Lyon as part of ongoing feuds.
• 1503–1545: Donald Dubh is chief, during a period when leadership largely shifts to the chiefs of regional branches.
• mid-1500s: Repeated disputes lead to violent clashes between MacDonalds and MacLeans over land and tribute in Islay and Mull.
• 1571: Clan Donald of Glengarry fights the Mackenzies at the Battle of Bun Garbhain.
• 1577: MacLeods massacre over 390 MacDonalds by trapping them in a cave on the Isle of Eigg and lighting fires at the entrance.
• 1578: In retaliation for the Eigg massacre, MacDonalds from Uist burn the church at Trumpan on Skye during worship, killing a MacLeod congregation (Battle of the Spoiling Dyke).
• 1580s: Tensions peak between MacDonalds and MacLeans.
• 1598: Sir Lachlan Mor MacLean invades Islay but is ambushed and killed by MacDonald forces at the Battle of Traigh Ghruinneart (Battle of Gruinart Strand).
• 1598: MacLeans retaliate against the MacDonalds at the Battle of Benbigrie, defeating them and ravaging Islay.
• 1601: The Battle of Coire na Creiche, the final clash between MacDonalds of Sleat and the MacLeods, results in a MacDonald victory, ending a long feud. The Crown intervenes and orders both clans to cease hostilities.
• 1602: The Mackenzies besiege and destroy Castle Strome, a MacDonald stronghold in Wester Ross, forcing the MacDonalds of Glengarry to retreat westward.
• 1602: Clanranald MacDonalds and allies fight the Mackenzies near Morar in a violent land dispute (Battle of Morar).
• early 1600s: Royal pressure curbs the power of both the MacDonalds and MacLeans after years of instability in the Isles.
• 1600s: Colla Ciotach MacDonald and kin engage in piracy or privateering from Ulster to the Hebrides.
• 1645: Alasdair Mac Colla leads a MacDonald force under Montrose that routs the Campbells at the Battle of Inverlochy in a brutal revenge campaign during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
• 1647: Alasdair Mac Colla leads MacDonalds and Irish allies to victory against Covenanting forces at the Battle of Rhunahaorine Moss.
• 1647: MacDonald and Irish defenders surrender at the Siege of Dunaverty to Campbell-led Covenanters and are slaughtered (Dunaverty Massacre).
• 1663: Alexander MacDonald of Keppoch and his brother are murdered by their cousins in a bid for control (Keppoch Murders). The killers are later avenged by a surviving kinsman.
• 1688: Keppoch MacDonalds defeat the Mackintoshes at the Battle of Mulroy, the last private clan battle in Scotland.
• 1689: MacDonalds fight with Viscount Dundee’s Jacobite army at the Battle of Killiecrankie, achieving victory but losing Dundee.
• 1692: Government troops, many bearing Campbell names, massacre 38 MacDonalds in their homes in the Massacre of Glencoe after enjoying their hospitality. A supernatural warning from a caoineag is said to have preceded the event.
• 1715: Chief of Castle Tioram deliberately burns the castle to deny its use to Hanoverian forces.
• 1715: MacDonalds of Clanranald, Keppoch, and Glengarry fight on the Jacobite right wing at the indecisive Battle of Sheriffmuir.
• 1719: MacDonald regiments fight alongside Spanish troops in support of the failed Jacobite cause at the Battle of Glen Shiel.
• 1730s: Duntulm Castle on Skye is abandoned due to chilling hauntings.
• 1745: MacDonald regiments form the Jacobite right and help rout government forces at the Battle of Prestonpans.
• 1746: Fought in fog and cold, the MacDonalds again hold the right and help secure another Jacobite victory at the Battle of Falkirk Muir.
• 1746: At the Battle of Culloden, Clan Donald regiments fight for the Jacobite cause. They are placed on the far left, a breach of custom. The Jacobites suffer a crushing defeat. Many MacDonalds face persecution and exile.
• c. 1766–1795: Alexander MacDonald is the 1st Lord MacDonald of Sleat.
• 1848: Ranald MacDonald, of MacDonald and Chinook descent, smuggles himself into Japan and becomes its first English teacher.
• 19th Century: The Highland Clearances and forced emigration scatter MacDonalds to North America, Australia, and beyond.
• 1947–Present: Godfrey James MacDonald of MacDonald, 8th Baron MacDonald, is the current High Chief of Clan Donald.
• 2006: The chiefship of the MacDonalds of Keppoch is restored after centuries dormant.