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Scottish Clan Profile

Clan MacDonald

Dòmhnallach — “son of Donald ('world ruler')”
“Per mare per terras” · By sea and by land
Indicative sett, woven in CSS, not a licensed tartan image
GaelicDòmhnallach
Historic titleLord of the Isles (forfeited to the Crown in 1493)
HeartlandThe Hebrides & Lochaber
Plant badgeCommon heather

The largest of the Scottish clans and once rulers of a sea kingdom stretching from Islay to Skye. As Lords of the Isles the MacDonalds governed the western seaboard from Finlaggan until the title was forfeited to the Crown in 1493.

Ancestral seats

  • Finlaggan, Islay
  • Armadale Castle, Skye
  • Duntulm Castle, Skye

Where to walk in their footsteps

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

Finlaggan, Islay

Island council seat of the Lords of the Isles, with an interpretive centre.

Armadale Castle, Skye

Home of the Clan Donald Centre, gardens and the Museum of the Isles.

Also recorded as

McDonaldMacDonellDonaldMacDonnell

Travelling to MacDonald 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