John of Islay, Lord of the Isles

John of Islay, Lord of the Isles
Lord of the Isles (1336–1386)
18th century illustration of some of the tombs of Oronsay Priory, founded by John of Islay sometime before 1358
Successor	Donald of Islay, Lord of the Isles
Born	1320 Scotland
Died	1386 Ardtornish Castle, Morvern, Scotland
Spouse	Margaret Stewart, daughter of Robert II of Scotland, and Amie, sister of Ruairidh Mac Ruairidh Lord of Garmoran
House	Clan Donald

John of Islay (or John MacDonald) (Scottish Gaelic: Eòin Mac Dòmhnuill or Scottish Gaelic: Iain mac Aonghais Mac Dhòmhnuill) (died 1386) was the Lord of the Isles (1336–1386) and chief of Clan Donald. In 1336, he styled himself Dominus Insularum, "Lord of the Isles"; because this is the first ever recorded instance of the title in use, modern historians count John as the first of the later medieval Lords of the Isles, although this rather broad Latin style corresponds roughly with the older Gaelic title Rí Innse Gall ("King of the Isles"), in use since the Viking Age, and for instance, the even more similar Latin title dominus de Inchegal ("Lord of the Hebrides"), applied to Raghnall Mac Somhairle in the mid-12th century. In fact John is actually styled Rí Innsi Gall or King of the Isles shortly after his death in a contemporary entry in the Irish Annals of Ulster.

John was the son of Aonghus Óg Mac Domhnaill, an Islay-based nobleman who had benefited from king Robert I of Scotland's attacks on the MacDougall (Mac Dhùghaill) rulers of Argyll and their Comyn allies, and had been given Ardnamurchan, Lochaber, Duror and Glencoe, turning the MacDonalds from the Hebridean "poor relations" into the most powerful kindred of the north-western seaboard. The loyalty of Aonghas to Robert, however, did not mean that John's loyalty to Robert's son and successor David II would follow suit. After Edward Balliol's coup against the Bruce regime in 1333, Edward attempted to court John. In 1336, Edward confirmed the territories which the Islay lords had acquired in the days of Robert I; and additionally, Edward awarded John the lands of Kintyre, Knapdale, Gigha, Colonsay, Mull, Skye, Lewis, and Morvern, held by magnates still loyal to the Bruces. John, however, never provided Edward with real assistance. Although Balliol's deposition by the supporters of David meant that the grants made to John void, John's pre-1336 possessions were in fact confirmed by King David in 1343. Moreover, in 1346, John inherited the great Lordship of Garmoran through his marriage to Amie mac Ruari after the death of her brother Raghnall Mac Ruaidhrí. This meant that John's dominions now included all of the Hebrides except Skye, and all of the western seaboard from Morvern to Loch Hourn.