Aonghas Mór

Aonghus Mór mac Domhnaill
Lord of Islay
The seal of Aonghus Mór.
Successor	Alasdair Óg Mac Domhnaill
Issue Alasdair Óg, Aonghus Óg, Eóin Sprangach, "Moram"?
Noble family	Clann Domhnaill
Father	Domhnall mac Raghnaill
Died	c.1293

Aonghus Mór mac Domhnaill (died c.1293) was a leading figure in the thirteenth-century kingdoms of the Isles and Scotland. He was a son of Domhnall mac Raghnaill, the eponym of Clann Domhnaill, a branch of Clann Somhairle. Aonghus Mór appears to have succeeded his father in the mid part of the thirteenth century. At the time, the rulers of the Isles were fiercely independent of the Scottish Crown, and owed nominal allegiance to the distant Norwegian Crown. Aonghus Mór's first certain appearance in the historical record seems to evince his involvement in aiding native Irish kindreds against the consolidation of Anglo-Irish authority in the north-west Ireland. Such cooperation could have been undertaken in the context of overseas kindreds like Clann Domhnaill constructing Irish alliances to gain assistance against Scottish encroachment.

Scottish aggression against the Isles seems to have precipitated the Norwegian Crown's campaign against the Scots in 1263. Like other leading members of Clann Somhairle, Aonghus Mór supported the Norwegian cause against Alexander III, King of Scotland. However, the fact that Hákon Hákonarson, King of Norway had to force Aonghus Mór's submission, suggests that his support was rendered somewhat grudgingly. Nevertheless, the Norwegian campaign was ultimately a failure, and the Islesmen were compelled to submit to the Scots after a retaliatory campaign the following year. As for Aonghus Mór, he was forced to hand over his son, likely Alasdair Óg, as a hostage of the Scottish Crown. By 1266, the Isles were officially annexed by the Scots.

In the decades that followed, Aonghus Mór and his Clann Somhairle kinsmen integrated themselves into the Scottish realm. For example, Aonghus Mór was one of three members of the kindred to attended an important government council at Scone in which Alexander III's granddaughter, Margaret (died 1290), was recognised as the king's rightful heir. Following Alexander III's unexpected death two years later, Aonghus Mór and Alasdair Óg were signatories of the Turnberry Band, a pact between several Scottish and Anglo-Irish magnates. One aspect of this bond may have concerned the continued resistance to Anglo-Irish domination in north-west Ireland. This could indicate that Aonghus Mór was made a party to the pact as a means of limiting his kindred's support of the native opponents of the Anglo-Irish. Whatever the case, Aonghus Mór died in about 1293, and was succeeded by Alasdair Óg as Lord of Islay. Aonghus Mór was married to a member of the Caimbéalaigh kindred. Besides Alasdair Óg, Aonghus Mór had two sons, Aonghus Óg and Eóin Sprangach. He also had a daughter who married Domhnall Óg Ó Domhnaill, King of Tír Chonaill, and another who married Hugh Bisset.