Clan MacAlister
| Clan MacAlister | |||
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| Profile | |||
| Region | Highland | ||
| District | Kintyre | ||
| Plant badge | Heath | ||
| Chief | |||
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| William St John Somerville McAlester of Loup and Kennox | |||
| The Chief of the Name and Arms of MacAlister (Mac Iain Duibh) | |||
| Historic seat | Kennox House | ||
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Clan MacAlister is a Scottish Clan and a branch of Clan Donald. The clan is the earliest branch to have split off from Clan Donald, claiming descent from Alasdair Mòr, son of Domhnall founder of Clan Donald. From Alasdair Mòr the clans takes its surname MacAlister; this surname is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic MacAlasdair meaning "son of Alasdair". In the 15th century the chief of the clan was seated in Kintyre, and the clan was centred there until the 18th century, when a chief sold the family estate in preference to a lowland estate.
Clan MacAlister is a branch of Clan Donald—one of the largest Scottish clans. The eponymous ancestor of Clan Donald is Domhnall, son of Raghnall, son of Somhairle. Traditional Clan Donald genealogies, created in the later Middle Ages, give the clan a descent from various legendary Irish figures. Modern historians, however, distrust these traditional genealogies, and consider Somhairle, son of Gille Brighde to be earliest ancestor for whom there is secure historical evidence. Somhairle, himself, was a 12th-century leader, styled "king of the isles" and "king of Argyll"; yet there is no reliable account for his rise to power.
Today, Clan MacAlister claims to descend from Alasdair Mòr, son of Domhnall, founder of Clan Donald. There has, however, been confusion as to who really was the clan's founder. This is because within a generation there lived two prominent Alasdairs (an uncle and nephew). Both of these men left many sons, however, their immediate posterity are not clearly connected with definite area. The lack of charter evidence clouds the true history of the clan; as does the fact that for about two hundred years, the descendants of both men did not form an organised clan of their own.
Alasdair Mòr first appears on record in 1253, when is recorded as witnessing a charter by his brother, Aonghas Mór a Íle, to the Paisley Abbey. According to Angus and Archibald Macdonald, he must have been a prominent man, being the only recorded brother of the Aonghas Mór. A. and A. Macdonald state that he was recorded in the Irish Annals, in 1299, as being a man noted for "hospitality and excellence". In that year he was slain in a conflict with Alasdair of Argyll and the MacDougalls. According to the traditional shanachies, Alasdair Mòr had at least five sons: Domhnall, Gofraidh, Donnchadh, Eoin and Eachann. He was succeeded by Domhnall.
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Wikipedia