MacDonnell of Antrim: Difference between revisions

[[File:Dunluce Castle - Arms of McDonnell of Antrim.jpgsvg|thumb|175px|right|The armsArms of the MacDonnellsMcDonnell of Antrim, as displayed at [[Dunluce Castle]].]]

The '''MacDonnells of Antrim''' ([[Goidelic languages|Gaelic]]: ''Mac Domhnaill''),<ref>{{cite web|title=Dunluce Castle, Ulster-Scots translation |url=http://www.doeni.gov.uk/niea/dunlucecastleus.pdf |publisher=Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland) |access-date=15 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120903154513/http://www.doeni.gov.uk/niea/dunlucecastleus.pdf |archive-date=3 September 2012 }}</ref> also known as the '''MacDonnells of the Glens''', are a branch in [[Ireland]] of the primarily [[Scotland|Scottish]]-based [[Clan Donald]]. Initially part of [[Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg]] ('''Clan Donald South'''), the MacDonnells of Antrim became their own branch in 1558 when [[Sorley Boy MacDonnell|Somhairle Buidhe MacDonnell]] obtained the lordship of the territory in Ireland from [[James MacDonald, 6th of Dunnyveg|James MacDonald, 6th chief of the Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg]].<ref name="National Biography pp. 59-60">{{cite DNB|wstitle=MacDonnell, Sorley Boy|volume=35|pages=59-60}}</ref>

The MacDonnells of Antrim were a sept of the powerful [[Clan Donald]] of the royal Clann Somhairle, (see Lords of the Isles), that the English crown had attempted to cultivate since the early 14th century in its efforts to influence the course of politics in Scotland. The MacDonnells established a growing presence in Ireland throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, and played a crucial role in the politics of 17th century Ireland. TodayThe theMacDonnell's surnameachieved ismuch predominantly spelled [[McDonnell (surname)|McDonnell]]success in Ireland andlargely abroad,to althoughcultural manyand McConnellsfamilial areconnections also ofto the sameGaelic family,nobility asof are the McDanielsIreland. Many of the present day McDonnells have a common descent from [[Sorley Boy MacDonnell]].

Perhaps their crowning achievement was when, in a daring winter campaign, the Clan Donald forces undertook a surprise march through the snow-covered mountains into the Campbell heartlands of Argyll, which were considered impregnable. They then scored an overwhelming victory against the Campbell force that was arrayed against them at the [[battle of Inverlochy (1645)|battle of Inverlochy]], with the chief Archibald Campbell ignominiously fleeing for his life on a barge as the men of his clan were being slaughtered in battle. Alasdair MacColla then occupied Argyll, and the chief Randall MacDonnell arrived to join him, but the successes of the Scottish campaign were to be undone by the defeat of King Charles in England. Many MacDonnell troops fell back to Ireland, where they opposed the Cromwellian invasion.<ref name=stevenson>Stevenson, ''Highland Warrior; Alasdair MacColla and the Civil Wars''.</ref>

MacDonnell forces supported King James II in the [[Williamite War in Ireland]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=McDonnell|first=Hector|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/36469715|title=The wild geese of the Antrim MacDonnells|date=1996|publisher=Irish Academic Press|isbn=0-7165-2609-3|location=Dublin|oclc=36469715}}</ref>

*[[Dunnyvaig Castle]] in was the Earl of AntrimsAntrim's seat in [[Scotland]] where he headed the [[Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg]]