When King Somerled was killed fighting Malcolm IV the Maiden in 1164, he was succeeded by his son Dougall. From Dougall would come the Clan MacDougall and the MacDonalds trace their ancestry to King Somerled of the Isles. The MacDougalls descend from Somerled's eldest son Dugall.
The clan takes its name from Dougall, a son of Somerled, who, after his father's death in 1164, held most of Argyll and also the islands of Mull, Lismore, Jura, Tiree, Coll, parts of Argyll and Lorn and many others when the Western Isles were part of Norway. At that time the islands were part of Norway and the mainland was ruled by the king of Scots. Dugall's sons accompanied King Håkon of Norway when he attacked the island of Bute in the Firth of Clyde. One of the sons, Duncan, was appointed by Håkon to govern all the islands stretching from the Isle of Man to Lewis. Duncan was the first to adopt the name MacDugall.
From Dougall’s son Ranald (Reginald) came a grandson Donald, progenitor of the mighty Clan MacDonald.
In 1263, when Håkon's fleet arrived on the west coast heading to attack Scotland further south, the MacDugalls declined to join them and later attacked part of the Norse fleet near Mull. After Håkon IV of Norway had been defeated by the Scottish army at the Battle of Largs in 1263 the Clan MacDougall attacked his fleet. Håkon was defeated at the Battle of Largs and the Western Isles were ceded to Scotland by the Treaty of Perth in 1266. The Norsemen were defeated by the MacDougalls in the sea battle. Battle of Red Ford, Lorn 1296; Battle between Clan Campbell and Clan MacDougall. This battle took place due to the feud over coastal lands between the two clans.
In the late 13th century the rising force on Scotland's Western Seaboard was the MacDougalls. Controlling the Western mainland was MacDougall's Dunollie Castle and Dunstaffnage Castle, near Oban in Argyllshire while their huge fleet of galleys commanded the seas. The Campbells inherit the leadership of the Clann Duibhne of Tyrone, were by origin Strathclyde Britons from around Dunbarton, where they were still important to the end of the thirteenth century. The senior line of the Campbells, descended from Sir Gillespic’s older brother Duncan, were the MacArthurs (Clann Artair) of Loch Fyne and Lochawe. The MacDougalls were supporters of William Wallace and King John I of Scotland but were later driven out by supporters of King Robert I of Scotland during the civil wars in Scotland which formed part of the Wars of Scottish Independence.
The MacDougalls were supporters of William Wallace and King John I of Scotland but were later driven out by supporters of King Robert I of Scotland during the civil wars in Scotland which formed part of the Wars of Scottish Independence. Two years later and Bruce led an army of three thousand men against the MacDougalls. John MacDougall of Lorne set an ambush for them but after a savage engagement the MacDougalls were broken and forced to flee. The MacDougalls lost most of their lands in Argyll which were then passed to the Clan Campbell for their loyalty to the King. Clan MacDougall fought against Robert the Bruce and the Earl of Atholl at the Battle of Dalry in 1306 where the MacDougalls were victorious. However the victorious MacDougalls later fought against Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Pass of Brander in 1308 where they were defeated.
The MacDougalls were kinsmen of the Comyns (the 4th chief had married John Comyn's sister) who were the rivals of Robert the Bruce. Alistair MacDougall married the sister of John Comyn of the Comyn, Scotland’s most powerful man. The MacDugalls fought against Bruce and Alastair MacDugall defeated him at a skirmish near Tyndrum. A reliquary brooch was ripped from Bruce as he made off - the Celtic "Brooch of Lorne" is still in the possession of the family. Alastair MacDugall later paid homage to Bruce but his son John supported King Edward of England. John’s son, the Red Comyn, was next in line as King of Scotland after the Balliols. However this was the time when Bruce made his bid for the Crown. Bruce slew the Red Comyn at the altar rails in Dumfries and the MacDougalls entered into the feud which ended in the utter destruction of the Clan Comyn and the loss of the MacDougalls' islands to Bruce. When Bruce became more established, he defeated the MacDugalls at Brander Pass and part of their territory was given to the Campbells. Later, when Robert the Steward became king, the MacDugalls came back in favour again and King David II restored their mainland estates.
MacDhughaill -or- Mac Dubh-Gall of Argyll and Lorn: MacDougall of MacDougall and Dunolly, MacDougall of Lunga, Carmichael, Conacher, Cowan, Dougall, Dowall, Dowell, MacConacher, MacCoull, MacCowan, MacCulloch, MacDowall, MacDowell, MacDulothe, MacGugan, MacHowell, MacKichan, MacLintock, MacLucas, MacLugash, MacLullich, MacNamell, MaCoul, MacCoull, MacOwl