Alexander Og MacDonald, Lord of Islay

Alexander Og MacDonald
Lord of Islay
Seal of Alexander Og MacDonald
Reign	c.1293 – 1299
Predecessor	Angus Mor MacDonald
Successor	Angus Og MacDonald
Died	1299
Wife	Juliana
Dynasty	Clan Donald
Father	Angus Mor MacDonald

Alexander Og MacDonald (died 1299), also known as Alexander of the Isles, was a 13th-century Hebridean magnate. With the death of his father in about 1293, MacDonald succeeded as Lord of Islay, and the chiefship of the MacDonalds. During his tenure as chief, the lands of his family fell prey to the powerful Alexander MacDougall, Lord of Argyll, the chief of the MacDougalls. MacDonald and his younger brother entered into the service of Edward I, King of England, and made several appeals to the English king for aid against MacDougall. In fact, MacDonald may well have been married to a sister or daughter of MacDougall, and MacDonald and his wife fought a legal dispute against MacDougall over the island of Lismore. Although he is sometimes said to have lived into the 14th century, MacDonald may well have been slain in battle against MacDougall in 1299, and appears to have been succeeded by his younger brother, Angus Og MacDonald. MacDonald had six sons, and his descendants were noted gallowglass-warriors in Ireland. MacDonald is one of the earliest MacDonalds to bear a heraldic device.

The eldest son of Angus Mor MacDonald, Lord of Islay (d. c.1293), Alexander Og MacDonald was probably born during the reign of, and named after, Alexander III, King of Scots (d. 1286). His younger brother was Angus Og MacDonald. Alexander Og MacDonald's byname (Og) was probably used to differentiate him from his elder namesake-uncle, Alexander Mor MacDonald. During Alexander III's reign, the MacDonalds were one of the most powerful kindreds on the western seaboard of Scotland. The MacDonalds (descended from Donald, son of Ranald, son of Somerled) were related to the MacRauris (descended from Ruari, son of Ranald, son of Somerled), and the extremely powerful MacDougalls (descended from Dugald, son of Somerled).