Alasdair MacColla
| Alasdair Mac Colla | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1610 Colonsay, Hebrides, Scotland |
| Died | 16 November 1647 (aged 37) Battle of Knocknanuss, County Cork, Ireland |
| Cause of death | summary execution |
| Resting place | Clonmeen, County Cork, Ireland |
| Nationality | Gael (Scottish & Irish) |
| Other names | Fear thollaidh nan tighean ("The Devastator of Houses") |
| Occupation | clansman of MacDonald of Dunnyveg, soldier, knight |
| Known for |
Scottish Civil War Irish Confederate War MacDonald-Campbell feud |
| Title | Sir |
| Political party |
Irish Confederate Scottish Royalist |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth MacAlister |
| Children | Coll & Gillespie Mór |
| Parent(s) | Coll Ciotach |
Alasdair Mac Colla Chiotaich MacDhòmhnaill (c. 1610 – 13 November 1647) was a Gaelic warrior from the Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg who were a branch of the Clan Donald active in the Hebrides and Ireland. He is best known for his participation in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. His name was Scottish Gaelic and meant 'Alexander the son of Coll the Left-handed MacDonald'. Older texts sometimes refer to him as "Collkitto", an anglicised spelling of Coll Chiotaich, a nickname properly belonging to his father, Coll Macdonald.
Mac Colla fought in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, being involved in the Irish Confederate Wars and most notably in Montrose's campaign in Scotland. In the latter campaign he was given a knighthood; as a result his name is often given as Sir Alexander Macdonald. He died in 1647 at the Battle of Knocknanuss. Mac Colla is particularly notable for the very large number of oral traditions and legends which his life inspired in the Highlands.
Mac Colla was born on the Inner Hebridean Isle of Colonsay in the early seventeenth century into Clan Donald. His early life encompassed both Gaelic Ireland and the Gaelic western Highlands of Scotland, as in this period the MacDonalds had a presence in both countries.
His father Coll was a prominent figure in the Clan Donald South (Macdonald of Dunnyveg), a branch of the Clan Donald with interests both in the western Scottish islands and County Antrim, north-eastern Ireland. His mother Mary, according to some traditions, was a daughter of Campbell of Auchinbreck, but has also been suggested to be one of the O'Cahans of Dunseverick, a daughter of Macdonald of Sanda, a daughter of Macneil of Barra, or a daughter of Ranald MacDonald of Smerby, the latter being the tradition favoured on Colonsay. Mac Colla was born into a period in which the Clan Donald's regional power and influence had waned, largely due to the expansion of the rival Clan Campbell, although there was ongoing conflict between the two clans. Mac Colla's career would, despite the larger context of the Scottish and Irish wars, therefore become defined by an effort to counter Campbell expansionism, and particularly to recover Islay and other lost Macdonald possessions. This enmity was deepened by religious factors. The Campbells were Presbyterians, whereas the MacDonalds, among whom a mission of the Order of Friars Minor had settled, were largely Catholics. Mac Colla's father Coll Chiotaich in particular is sometimes described as a recent "convert" from Protestantism and enthusiastic supporter of the Catholic Church, though he in fact appears to have embraced the faith long before the missionaries first appeared in 1623.
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