MacNeil of Barra

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Note: extracted from Red Book of Scotland, Fifth Series (2025) Volume 10, pp. 72-81. This entry was one of the more interesting to research, particularly as evidence located during that process either corrected or else did not support aspects of existing accounts derived from more traditional sources.

 

MACNEIL

of BARRA

 

Traditional accounts assert that the MacNeils descend in the male line from Niall of the Nine Hostages, High King of Ireland in the 5th century, and that they first settled on the Island of Barra about the mid 11th century. No evidence exists to prove either of those points and it is not until almost four centuries later in 1427 that the first Chiefs emerge into written record when in that year, Alexander, Lord of the Isles, granted the island of Barra and the lands of Boisdale in Uist to Gillean, son of Roderick, son of Murchard. Although Gillean’s grant secured his possession of Barra, it is not now possible to determine whether his father and grandfather also possessed rights to that island, however, the date of that grant considered with the 15th century construction or at least an extensive renovation of castle Kisimul, the seat of the Chiefs, is noteworthy as both are suggestive of the consolidation of a power base there by the local ruling lord at that time. It may therefore be asserted with confidence that the grant to Roderick was not in novodamus in recognition of those lands having been held in heritage by his forebears but rather, it was a grant anew by the Lord of the Isles to a suitable and loyal vassal with standing as well as the means to better fortify and maintain that strategic point of the isles kingdom than a previous minor local chieftain had been capable of.

Murchard, is included within the patronymics of his grandson, Gillean, but of whom nothing further beyond that is known. He was father of,

Roderick, of whom little is known. He married the daughter of Farquhar Maclean by whom he was father of,

Gillean MacNeil of Barra, to whom Alexander, Lord of the Isles, granted a charter for the island of Barra and the lands of Boisdale in Uist on 23 July 1427, to be held by himself and the heirs male of his body, which failing, by his brothers born between his father, Roderick, and mother, the daughter of Ferchard Makgilleoin.[1]

Gillean MacNeil of Barra, is the next for whom there is evidence and was in all likelihood the lineal heir male of the last Chief. He was included with Lachlan Maclean of Duart, Neil MacKinnon of Mishnish and others in a remission under the Privy Seal on 12 March 1516/17[2] and with those same persons he subscribed to a Bond of Manrent in favour of Colin, Earl of Argyll, on 14 July 1519.[3] He died before February 1545/46 and had issue;

Gillean MacNeil of Barra, was included in a respite granted to Hector Maclean of Duart and others on 6 February 1545/46, for “their treasonable assistance gevin be thame to oure auld inymis of Ingland in the birning of the Illis of Bute and Arrane.”[4] He was also included with his son, Rorie oig, and other chiefs in a complaint brought before the Privy Council on 28 March 1579 by John, Bishop of the Isles, for troubling him in his possession of the mails, duties and profits of his office.[5]He died after then and by 16 April 1587, and was father of,

Rorie oig MacNeil of Barra, is named with his father in a complaint by the Bishop of the Isles on 28 March 1579. He had succeeded by 16 April 1587, when he and his sons John and Murdo were included in orders by the Privy Council for the release of certain prisoners being held by MacDonald of Dunnyveg, and for a chieftains of all clans to “contene thameselffis in quietnes.”[6] He was subject to a commission by the Privy Council on 9 January 1610, commanding Hector Maclean of Duart to apprehend him as “though often charged to render his obedience to the King and Council, has always absented himself, and remains in the Isle of Barra, committing all kind of barbaritie on the poor inhabitants thereof and also on the inhabitants of the Isles next adjacent, thus hindering his Majesty’s princelie resolutioun for reducing the whole of the Isles to obedience.”[7]

He married Moir, daughter of Allan MacDonald, Captain of Clanranald, with whom on 11 March 1613, he complained to the Privy Council that in “October last bypast, thaty being within their awne house and castell of Kismule in the Yle of Barray, their doing their lauchfull effairis in sober and quite maner, lippying for no violence, injurie, nor oppressioun to have bene done to thame be ony persone, it is of treuth that Neill Oig McNeill and Gillevuan McNeill, sones natural to the said Rorie unlauchfullie procreat betwixt him and the mother to Sir Dougall Campbell of Auchinbrek, accompanied with Rorie McConneill and Johnee McAllan pyper, with convocatioun of his Majesteis leigeis to the nowmer of twenty personis, all bodin in feir of weir with swerdis…. Come to the said castell of Kismule, enterit, violently thainintill and pat violent hands in the saidis complenaris, took and apprehendit thame selffis maisteris and commanderis thairof, hes furneist the said house with men… and detenis the saidis complenaris fast in the yrnis within the same all without lawful cause or commission.”[8] He died before June 1629 and was father of,

  1. Neil MacNeil of Barra, (see below).
  2. John oig MacNeil, was named with his father and brother, Murdoch, on 28 March 1579. He had been apprehended by the Captain of Clanranald and taken to Glasgow and on 6 February 1610, the Privy Council “seeing it not equitable that the said Captain should be burdened with the farther transport of the said Johne, there is order to charge the provost and bailies of Glasgow, under pain of rebellion, to receive the said rebel from the said Captain within six hours after his being presented to them, and to transport him to the magistrates of Linlithgow within 48 hours thereafter, and to charge the magistrates of Linlithgow to deliver him to the provost and bailies of Edinburgh within 48 hours after the receipt for him ; which last are to commit him to ward in their tolbooth.”[9]
  3. Murdoch MacNeil,
  4. Gillean MacNeil,[10]

He was also father of two natural sons whose mother was Mary, only child and heiress of William Macleod of Dunvegan;[11]

  1. Neil oig MacNeil, against he and his brother Gillean, a Commission was issued by the Privy Council on 28 April 1613, to Donald MacDonald, Captain of Clanranald, “to apprehend and exhibit” them before.[12]
  2. Gillean MacNeil,

Neil MacNeil of Barra, who, for “spuilying a ship belonging to Abel Dynneis, merchant in Bordeaux, laden with Spanish wine and lying at anchor beside the isle of Barra, and for slaying and hurting five of the crew”[13] had been apprehended and was being held in ward in Edinburgh by 27 July 1610, when the Privy Council ordered that he be given over to Donald MacDonald, Captain of Clanranald, “his uncle”[14] who presented him before those Lords, firstly, on 5 December 1611,[15]then again on 14 January 1613.[16] He had succeeded his father by 30 June 1629, when Sir John Mackenzie of Tarbert became cautioner for him to appear before the Privy Council biannually commencing 31 July 1631[17] but on 27 November 1632, he appeared before them by procurator excusing his absence “because, as he alledged, he wes unable to travel in respect of ane hurt quhilk he received by a fall frome his hors.”[18] In July 1632, he petitioned the Privy Council to be excused “compearance before them once in every two years in the month of July, a course which has never been taken with any of his quality within the Yles, he not being chiftane of ane clan nor ane frehalder of his Majestie bot onlie tennent to the Laird of Tarbet, who is answerable for him ; and by his coming already but once or twice his mean estate is greatly exhausted, as it takes over three years rent of his living to make the journey to and from Edinburgh.”[19] He married Margaret, daughter of Alan Maclean of Ardtornish, and was living on 27 January 1663[20] and died about 1665 having had issue;

  1. Gillean MacNeil of Barra, (see below).
  2. Hector MacNeill, is styled brother to Gillean MacNeil of Barra in a Bond dated 1687.[21]
  3. Neil MacNeil, is styled son to Neil MacNeil of Barra in a Bond of 1664.[22]
  4. Marion MacNeil, married Ranald MacDonald, 2nd of Benbecula, (he survived her and married secondly, to Ann, daughter of Sir John MacDonald of Moidart,[23] by whom he had further issue)

Gillean MacNeil of Barra, is styled son and heir to Neil MacNeil of Barra in his marriage contract of April 1653, and again in letters of horning he issued against John MacDonald of Moidart on 27 January 1663, for payment of cows and money due in the name of tocher.[24] He married Catherine, daughter of John MacDonald, Captain of Clanranald, (marriage contract 28 April 1653[25]) and died about 1685 having had issue;

  1. Roderick MacNeil of Barra, (see below).
  2. James MacNeil, was executor to Margaret Mackay, wife of Donald MacNeil in Auchachoan, in May 1694 and is then styled brother to Rorie MacNeil of Barra.[26]
  3. Murdoch MacNeil, is listed amongst the “Popish Parents” on Barra in 1705, and is then styled brother to the Laird of Barra and father of two children “that are not yet come to the years of instruction.”
  4. John MacNeil, is also listed with his brothers as a “Popish Parent” on Barra in 1705 and that he also had “three children tuo of which ar come to the years of instruction.”[27]
  5. Margaret MacNeil, married James MacDonald, second son of Alexander MacDonald of Kinlochmoidart.
  6. Catherine MacNeil, married in 1684, to John MacDonald of Borrinskittaig and had issue.
  7. Janet MacNeil, married Hector Maclean, second son of Donald Maclean, 1st of Brolos, and had issue.

Roderick MacNeil of Barra, had succeeded his father by 9 May 1680 and had the lands of Barra confirmed to himself by charter under the Great Seal on 10 August 1688.[28] He married Isobel, daughter of Sir Norman Macleod of Berneray,[29] and was father of,

  1. Roderick MacNeil of Barra, (see below).
  2. Anne MacNeil, married as a third wife, Alexander MacDonald, 1st of Boisdale, and had issue.
  3. Penelope MacNeil, married firstly, Angus MacDonald of Belfinlay, (he died in 1731) and surviving him, she married secondly, to Dr. John MacDonald, brother of Ranald MacDonald of Kinlochmoidart.

Roderick MacNeil of Barra, was born in 1693 and succeeded his father. He was taken prisoner on Barra by Captain Fergusson in May 1746 upon suspicion of having been involved in the ’45[30] and was taken to Fort Augustus on 1 July. He was in confinement aboard the Pamela transport in Inverness in September[31] and on 30 October of that same year the Duke of Newcastle issued orders to bring he and others “with their papers, in safe custody before me, to be examined concerning the premises & further dealt with according to the law.”[32] He remained in prison and on 22 December he and other Chiefs including Ranald MacDonald of Clanranald and Alexander MacDonald of Boisdale petitioned the Duke that being “so crowded in our present confinement that we suffer very much in our health, doe most earnestly beg the favour of you that you would be so good as to intercede with His Grace the Duke of Newcastle in out behalf for a permission now and then of breathing a little fresh air in the park.” He was finally discharged on 25 May 1747, with no case to answer.[33] He married Alice, daughter of William Macleod, 1st of Luskintyre, and died at Borrough in Barra, on 7 May 1763[34] having had issue;

Roderick MacNeil, fiar of Barra, served as a Lieutenant in the 78th Fraser Highlanders and was killed v.p. at Quebec in September 1759.[35] He had issue;

Roderick MacNeil of Barra, succeeded on his grandfather’s death in 1763. He married at Edinburgh, on 4 April 1788, to Jean, daughter of Sir Ewen Cameron, 1st Baronet, of Glendessary,[36] and died at Liverpool, on 24 April 1822,[37] having had issue;

  1. Roderick MacNeil of Barra, entered the army as Ensign in March 1808 and was a Major in the 2nd Regiment of Life Guards. He served under Sir John Moore in the Pensiula war and was present at the battle of Corunna. He took part in the Walchern expedition in 1809, and after active service in Swedish Pomerania and Holland in 1813 and 1814, he served in the campaign of 1815, and was present at the battle of Waterloo. He was appointed Colonel of the 8th Regiment of Foot in 1855, but upon a vacancy opening in the 78th Regiment, he transferred there, and in that same year, in recognition of his long and meritorious service, he obtained the rank of General. Succeeding his father in Barra, he was served heir male of provision to him on 4 November 1822,[38] but his estate being burdened by significant debts he sold it in 1838, to John Gordon of Cluny. He married at Queen’s Square Chapel, Bath, on Saturday 20 June 1818, to Isabella Caroline, eldest daughter of Charles Brownlow of Lurgan,[39] and died at Hyde Park Gardens, London, on 22 October 1863[40] having had issue;

1a} A son, who was still-born at Montague Square, London, on 28 May 1829.[41]

1a} Caroline Elizabeth Florence MacNeil, born at Florence, Italy, on 16 September 1819 and married at Poonah, India, on 24 June 1843, to Major John Fowden Haliburton, 78th Highlanders,[42] (he died at Lucknow, on 5 October 1858, of wounds received the previous day, while commanding a force, in the attempt to clear a communication with Alumbagh[43]). She survived her husband and died at Fowden Villa, Chelsea, on 15 June 1862.[44]

  1. Anne MacNeil, married, firstly, at Arthurstane House, Perthshire, on 4 October 1814, to John Livington Campbell of Achalader,[45] (he died at Edinburgh, on 16 August 1820[46]). She survived him and married secondly, at Edinburgh, on 6 June 1838, to Archibald Douglas of Glenfinnart.[47]
  2. Louisa MacNeil, died unmarried, at Edinburgh, on 22 August 1863.[48]
  3. Catherine MacNeil, died unmarried at St. Leonard’s-on-Sea, on 8 September 1866.[49]
  4. Jane MacNeil, married on 15 July 1828, to Charles Brownlow of Lurgan, county Armagh,[50] and died at Ridghill, Torquay, on 6 January 1878, aged seventy-five.[51] They had issue.
  5. Ewen Cameron MacNeil, married at Portobello Chapel, on 13 August 1840, to James Douglas, Glasgow,[52] and died at Gothic House, Richmond, on 1 August 1848.[53]

 

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[1] C2/13/188. The charter was confirmed under the Great Seal on 12 November 1495 but not as part of a reconfirmation or new grant in favour of an heir.

[2] PS1/5/101.

[3] NRAS1209/1080/misc.

[4] PS1/19/74.

[5] RPC First Series, Vol. 3, p. 125.

[6] RPC First Series, Vol. 4, p. 160.

[7] RPC First Series, Vol. 8, p. 396.

[8] RPC First Series, Vol. 10, pp. 6-7.

[9] RPC First Series, Vol. 8, p. 409.

[10] He is likely identical to the “Gillean MacNeill of Barra” who was killed at the battle of Glenlivet on 5 November 1594. See Makintosh MS printed in SHS MacFarlane’s Genealogical Collections, Vol. 1, p. 257.

[11] She is styled “mother to Sir Dougall Campbell of Auchinbrek” in their father’s complaint against them in 1613. Evidence proves her to have been Mary Macleod, wife of Duncan Campbell of Auchinbreck and although traditional accounts considered her to have married Rorie MacNeil of Barra after the death of Auchinbreck, the sons listed here being particularly described by Barra as being illegitimate, it is evident they were born out of wedlock. No evidence of the marriage having been discovered, it is likely that she and Barra cohabited for a time but did not solemnise their union. She was still living on 11 March 1597/98.

[12] RPC First Series, Vol. 10, p. 42.

[13] RPC Privy Council, Vol. 9, p. 318.

[14] RPC First Series, Vol. 9, p. 32.

[15] RPC First Series, Vol. 9, pp. 295-296.

[16] RPC First Series, Vol. 9, pp. 533-534.

[17] RPC Second Series, Vol. 3, p. 199.

[18] RPC Second Series, Vol. 4, p. 576.

[19] RPC Second Series, Vol. 4, p. 677,

[20] GD201/1/77.

[21] RD4/61/382 and 386.

[22] RD2/11/217.

[23] RS38/3/294.

[24] GD201/1/177.

[25] GD201/1/77.

[26] Argyll Register of Inventories.

[27] Maitland Club Miscellany, Vol. 3, p. 426.

[28] SIG1/109/16.

[29] RS38/5/525.

[30] Caledonian Mercury, 6th May 1746 edition. Upon search there Fergusson “150 stand of arms, and a large quantity of Spanish gold.”

[31] SP 36/87/Pt 1. Under questioning he declared his age to be 53 years and that in regard to participation in the ’45, “he never left home”.

[32] SP44/88.

[33] SP 36/97.

[34] Scots Magazine, 2nd May 1763 edition.

[35] Aberdeen Press and Journal, 30th October 1759 edition.

[36] Scots Magazine, 1st April 1778 edition.

[37] Edinburgh Magazine, 1st May 1822 edition.

[38] Services of Heirs.

[39] Inverness Courier, 16th July 1818 edition.

[40] Morning Herald, 27th October 1863 edition.

[41] Morning Post, 30th May 1820 edition.

[42] London Evening Standard, 9th November 1843 edition.

[43] Illustrated London News, 13th March 1858 edition.

[44] West Middlesex Advertiser, 21st June 1862 edition.

[45] Scots Magazine, 1st November 1814 edition.

[46] Morning Post. 30th August 1830, edition.

[47] Inverness Courier. 13th June 1838, edition.

[48] Greenock Advertiser, 29th August 1863 edition.

[49] Edinburgh Evening Courant, 12th September 1866 edition.

[50] Morning Post, 16th July 1828 edition.

[51] Illustrated London News, 12th January 1878 edition.

[52] Perthshire Courier, 20th August 1840 edition.

[53] Dumfries and Galloway Standard, 16th August 1848 edition.