MacNeil of Barra
| Clan MacNeil | |||
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| Motto | Buaidh no bas (Victory or death) also translated as "Conquer or Die" | ||
| Profile | |||
| Region | Highland and Islands | ||
| District | Western Isles | ||
| Plant badge | Dryas | ||
| Chief | |||
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| Roderick Wilson Macneil of Barra | |||
| The Macneil of Barra, Chief of Clan Niall and 27th of Barra, Baron of Barra | |||
| Historic seat | Kisimul Castle | ||
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Clan MacNeil, also known in Scotland as Clan Niall, is a highland Scottish clan, particularly associated with the Outer Hebridean island of Barra. The early history of Clan MacNeil is obscure, however despite this the clan claims to descend from the legendary Irish King Niall of the nine hostages. The clan itself takes its name from a Niall who lived in the 13th or early 14th century, and who belonged to the same dynastic family of Cowal and Knapdale as the ancestors of the Lamonts, MacEwens of Otter, Maclachlans, and the MacSweens. While the clan is centred in Barra in the Outer Hebrides, there is a branch of the clan in Argyll (McNeill/MacNeill) that some historians have speculated was more senior in line, or possibly even unrelated. However, according to Scots law the current chief of Clan Macneil is the chief of all MacNeil(l)s.
The MacNeils of Barra claim descent from a prince of the Uí Néill dynasty, Ánrothán Ua Néill, son of Áed, son of Flaithbertach Ua Néill, King of Ailech and Cenél nEógain, who died in 1036. Anrothan emigrated to Scotland in the 11th century. Through him the MacNeils of Barra also naturally claim descent from the legendary Niall of the Nine Hostages. Anrothan is claimed as ancestor of several clans in the Argyll vicinity: Clan Lamont, Clan Maclachlan, Clan MacEwen of Otter, and also the Irish Sweeneys (MacSween). If the MacNeils are indeed connected to Anrothan, then they appear to have been a junior branch of the family and were certainly overshadowed in the 13th century by the MacSweens, Lamonts and descendants of Gilchrist. An opposing theory, proposed by Nicholas Maclean Bristol, is that there is reason to believe that they descend from Neill Maclean who appears on Exchequer Rolls at a time when Tarbert Castle was being rebuilt by Robert the Bruce. In 1252 Neil Macneil, fifth of Bara was described as a prince at a Council of the Lord of the Isles. His son was Neil Og Macneil who is believed to have fought for Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. The earliest contemporary record of the Macneils of Barra is only in 1427, when Gilleonan Macneil received a charter of Barra and Boisdale.
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