MacTavish
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The History of the clanClan MacTavish can be traced back to the 12th Century with the birth of Taus Coir to the daughter of Suibhne Ruadh (Sween the Red of Castle Sween) and Colin Mael Maith (Clan MacDuine). The line that Taus was born into was an illustrious one, with the family of Suibhne descending from the Kings of Ireland and Scotland; and Colin Mael Maith being of Clan MacDuine and a close friend and follower of Alexander I of Scotland. From Taus Coir, descended the families of MacTavish of Dun-ArdRigh (meaning fort or castle of the High King) in Knapdale. A Timothy Pont 1634 map marks the castellated building of Dunardry. Anyone traveling the Crinan Canal and passing through Dunardry Lock is within a short distance of the site on which this castellated building stood.In the 16th Century during the Anglo-Scottish Wars the Clan MacTavish fought at the Battle of Flodden Field when the Scots Army faced the English, and many of Scotland’s Nobles and Chiefs lost their lives with King James IV. Chief Ewin MacCawes (MacTavish) was one of those. The MacTavish Clan was also known as “The Children of the Mistâ€, an acronym more commonly attributed to the Clan MacGregor. During the Rebellion of 1745 the Clan was sympathetic to the Jacobite cause but due to the fact that Dugald the Younger was imprisoned in Dumbarton by the Duke of Argyll and Archibald the Chief was quite elderly, some MacTavishes fought within the ranks of their neighbours the MacIntosh. For this reason there are few instances of the MacTavish or Thomsons being noted as Jacobite soldiers, as they came and went of their own accord, having no formal leadership from within their own clan. During the bloody aftermath of Culloden many MacTavishes changed their name to Thompson to avoid the persecution perpetrated on the Highland Clans. Dugald’s son and Heir, Lachlan MacTavish succeeded his father in 1775; but by 1785, was forced to sell Dunardry by public auction. Although Lachlan had registered his Arms in 1793 and was intending to buy back Dunardry he died in 1796 and in a few generations the line of the Chief was lost. This was only reinstated in 1997 after the Lord Lyon had traced the Chiefly line. The current Chief of Clan MacTavish is Steven Edward Dugald MacTavish, 27th Chief. The Clan web site is www.clanmactavish.org |
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