Battle of Gruinnart

Battle of Traigh Ghruinneart Scottish Gaelic: Blàr Tràigh Ghruineart
Part of the Scottish clan battles
Cairn marking the spot where Sir Lachlan Mor Maclean fell in battle
Date 5 August 1598 Location Islay, Scotland 55°49′19″N 6°21′18″W / 55.822°N 6.355°W / 55.822; -6.355Coordinates: 55°49′19″N 6°21′18″W / 55.822°N 6.355°W / 55.822; -6.355 Result Clan Donald victory
Belligerents
Clan Donald	Clan Maclean
Commanders and leaders
Sir James MacDonald, 9th of Dunnyveg	Sir Lachlan Mor Maclean  †
Strength
Around 300–500 men	800–1,000 men
Casualties and losses
30 MacDonalds dead with 60 wounded	280 Macleans dead

The Battle of Traigh Ghruinneart or in Scottish Gaelic Blàr Tràigh Ghruineart or sometimes called the Battle of Gruinart Strand was a Scottish clan battle fought on 5 August 1598, on the Isle of Islay, in the Scottish Highlands. It was fought between the Clan Donald and Clan Maclean. A tràigh or stand is the flat area of land bordering a body of water, a beach, or shoreline; specifically flats. In this particular case, the flats in question are the Gruinart Flats.

Prior to 1506, the Isle of Islay, along with the part of Jura south of Loch Tarbert, had belonged to Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg. In 1357, the MacDonalds acquired the rest of Jura, but owing to hostility with the Clan MacInnes, who lived there, they replaced them with the MacLeans. In 1501, Black Donald, leader of the broader MacDonald clan, escaped imprisonment, and caused an insurrection which sought to re-establish the Lordship of the Isles, a quasi-independent realm. This was defeated in 1506, and the MacDonald leadership was exiled.

In 1545, the king of Scotland terminated the exile, and restored MacDonald authority on Islay. By this point, the MacLeans appear to have taken advantage of the absence of the MacDonalds, and expanded into Islay; it may be that they had been given some authority to do so, or it may not - the details are unclear. In particular, when the MacDonalds were restored, the MacLeans claimed lairdship over the Rinns of Islay.

A series of skirmishes followed over the next few decades. In 1578, the leader of Clan MacDonald of Sleat attempted to visit Angus MacDonald, leader of the MacDonald of Dunnyveg, but poor weather forced them to land on the part of Jura controlled by the MacLeans. For unclear reasons, this lead to a spiral of violence between the MacLeans and the MacDonalds of Sleat. Angus attempted to mediate, but was seized by Sir Lachlan Mor Maclean, leader of the MacLeans, and forced to quitclaim the Rinns to Sir Lachlan.

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