Scottish Clan Profile

Clan Gunn

Guinne — “from the Norse personal name Gunni”
“Aut pax aut bellum” · Either peace or war
Indicative sett, woven in CSS, not a licensed tartan image
GaelicGuinne
Historic titleCrowner of Caithness; the chief styled MacKeamish
HeartlandCaithness & east Sutherland
Plant badgeJuniper

A clan of Norse descent in Caithness, long at feud with the Keiths and the Sinclairs. The chiefship has been dormant since the 18th century, but the clan remains strongly organised worldwide.

Ancestral seats

  • Halberry Castle, Caithness
  • Clyth, Caithness

Where to walk in their footsteps

Access, opening hours and admission change. We confirm every site before it goes into an itinerary.

Clan Gunn Heritage Centre, Latheron

Small museum in a former church; summer season only and opening has been intermittent, so phone ahead.

Halberry Castle, Caithness

Coastal promontory ruin traditionally held by the Gunns, reached on foot.

Also recorded as

GunGunneMacRob

Travelling to Gunn country

Cashel Travel has arranged clan gatherings and heritage tours across Scotland and Ireland since the 1990s, including full gatherings for Clan Gordon, Hay, Keith, Lindsay, Hunter, Dunbar, Graham, Sutherland and MacLaren. We research the family history, build the itinerary around it, and arrange access to places that are not normally open to the public.

Plan a heritage tour