| Clan Livingstone | |
|---|---|
| Mac Dhunnshleibhe andMac an Léigh | |
 | |
| Motto | NI MI E MA'S URRAIN DHOMH[2] |
| Slogan | CNOC AINGEIL[1] |
| Profile | |
| District | Argyll |
| Plant badge | Grass of Parnassus[3] |
| Chief | |
 | |
| The Much Hon. Niall Livingstone of Bachuil[4] | |
| Baron of the Bachuil[4] By The Grace of God | |
| Seat | Bachuil,Isle of Lismore |
TheClan Livingstone, also known asClan MacLea, is aHighlandScottish clan, which was traditionally located in the district ofLorn inArgyll,Scotland,[5] and is seated on theIsle of Lismore. There is a tradition of some MacLeasAnglicising their names to Livingstone, thus the Clan Livingstone Society's website[6] also refers to the clan asthe Highland Livingstones.[5] The current chief of Clan Livingstone was recognised byLord Lyon as the "Coarb ofSaint Moluag" and the "Hereditable Keeper of the Great Staff of Saint Moluag".
There are conflicting theories of theetymology of MacLea, MacLay and similarsurnames, and they could have multiple origins. The name may be anAnglicisation ofMac an Léigh (Scottish Gaelic), meaningson of the physician.[7] In addition to MacLea, the Gaelic language surnameMac an Léigh is also anglicized toMcKinley (surname) and MacNulty. The leading theory today, however,[from whom?] is that the name MacLea was adopted from the patronymicMac Duinnshleibhe, meaningson ofDonn Sléibhe (son of +the brown haired, orchieftain +of the mountain).[7][8] In 1910Niall Campbell, 10th Duke of Argyll maintained that the surname MacLea evolved from the name Maconlea, which was originallyMac Dhunnshleibhe. By the eighteenth century the standard form of the name had become MacLea or other forms with similar spellings (MacLeay,McClay, etc.). This is largely a distinction without significance, though, asMac an Léigh is a nickname surname which was given to theMac Dhunnshleibhe by the indigenous populations in both Ulster and the Scottish Highlands and which was, eventually, adopted as a substitute surname by theMac Dhunnshleibhe themselves.[9] TheMac Dhunnshleibhe royals were also one of Ireland's ancient hereditary medical families.[10]
The surname Livingstone/Livingston is derived from the placename, modernLivingston, which is inWest Lothian,Scotland.[11] Livingston was in turn named after an individual named Leving who appears in the early twelfth century in the charters ofDavid I of Scotland.[7][12] This Leving was the progenitor of the powerful aristocratic Livingston family.[13] There are multiple theories of the origin of Leving (Anglo-Saxon,Fleming,Frank,Norman, and evenHungarian).
In the mid seventeenth century James Livingston ofSkirling, who was of a branch of these Lowland Livingstons, was granted a nineteen-year lease of the Bishoprics of Argyll and the Isles.[14] Sometime before 1648, James Livingston seems to have stayed atAchanduin Castle on Lismore, and it is thought that around this time that the surname Livingstone would have been adopted by MacLeas on the island.[14]
The Duke of Argyll wrote that it was possible that the eponymic progenitor of all the Mac(Duns)leves, (MacLeas,highland Livingstones, etc.), of Lismore may beDunshleibe son ofAedh Alain O'Neill.[14] Aed Alain was the son of theIrish princeAnrothan O'Neill, who traditionally is said to have married a Princess ofDál Riata, inheriting her lands ofCowal andKnapdale. Anrothan in turn was a son ofAodh O'Neill,King of Ailech (r.1030-1033).[14] From him the family would ultimately descend fromNiall of the Nine Hostages,High King of Ireland, who reigned in the fifth century, although theO'Neill dynasty actually take their name from his descendantNiall Glúndub, a High King of Ireland living five centuries later. Dunshleibe is also thought to have been the common ancestor of clans in western Argyll including theLamonts, theMacEwens of Otter, theMaclachlans, theMacNeils of Barra, and theMacSweens.[14]
An alternative and the modernly accepted theory, however, is that the MacLea are descended ofRuaidhri Mac Duinnsleibhe, the 54th Christian and last king of Ulidia.[15]
The Coarbs of Saint Moluag are proposed to be closely related to therigdamnai orRoyal Family of Ulster and their use of the nameMac Duinnshleibhe to be a proud reminder and declaration of that fact.[16]
According toByrne theUlaid rigdamnai alone used the name Mac Duinnshleibhe
So for instance when after 1137 theDál Fiatach kingship was confined to the descendants of Donn Sleibe Mac Eochada (slain in 1091), the rigdamnai set themselves apart from the rest of the family by using the name Mac Duinnshleibhe (Donleavy).
— Francis John Byrne,Irish Kings and High-Kings, page 128
It seems as though Ruaidhri Mac Duinnsleibhe was the last king of Ulidia, dying at the end of the twelfth century. Rory, son of Dunsleve, is number 54 on O'Hart's roll of the kings of Ulidia and described as "the last king of Ulidia, and its fifty-fourth king since the advent of St. Patrick to Ireland".
InIrish Pedigrees: The Stem of the Dunlevy Family, Princes of Ulidia, O'Hart says:
Tuirmach Teamrach, the 81st Monarch of Ireland, had a son namedFiach Fearmara, who was ancestor of the Kings of Argyle and Dalriada, in Scotland: thisFiach was also the ancestor ofMacDunshleibe andO'Dunsleibhe, anglicised Dunlevy, Dunlief, Dunlop, Levingstone and Livingstone. ...
According to Dr O'Donovan descendants of this family (Cu-Uladh the son the lastMacDunshleibe King of Ulidia), soon after the English invasion of Ireland, passed into Scotland, where they changed their name.
Saint Moluag was a Scottish missionary, and a contemporary ofSaint Columba, who evangelised thePicts of Scotland in the sixth century. According to theIrish Annals, in 562 Saint Moluag beat Saint Columba in a race to the largeIsle of Lismore. The nineteenth-century historianWilliam F. Skene claimed the Isle of Lismore was the sacred island of the WesternPicts and the burial place of their kings whose capital was atBeregonium, across the water atBenderloch.
The Coarb, or successor, of the saint was the hereditary keeper of his pastoral staff. The Great Staff of Saint Moluag, orBachuil Mor, is thought to be the sixth-century saint'scrozier or staff.[14] TheBachuil Mor is a plain wooden staff that is about 38 inches long. There is evidence that theBachuil Mor was at one time covered with plates ofgilt copper of which some remain.[17] On 21 December 1950 on the petition of Livingstone of Bachuil, theLord Lyon King of Arms ruled that Livingstone was the Coarb of Saint Moluag. Livingstone's ancestor Iain McMolmore Vic Kevir appears in a charter of 1544 as "with keeping of the great staff of the blessed Moloc, as freely as the father, grandfather and great-grandfather and other predecessors of the said Iain".[14]
Since St. Moluag was the founder and head of three schools (Lismore,Rosemarkie andMortlach) and several subordinate monasteries, he is viewed as a "sovereign lord" by the Lord Lyon. As his successor, the Coarb is theBaron of the Bachuil and is granted a uniquechapeau of Gules doubled Vair to place in his coat of arms.
Despite claiming ancient heritage the clan was not formally recognised by the Lord Lyon until 2003. The firstclan chief of Clan MacLea to be recognised was William Jervis Alastair Livingstone of Bachuil, in 2003. The late chief represented the clan as a member of theStanding Council of Scottish Chiefs.[18] William Jervis Alastair Livingstone of Bachuil died in February 2008 and was succeeded by his sonThe Much Hon. Niall Livingstone,Baron of Bachuil.[19][20]
During theScottish Civil War of the 17th century the Livingstones remained loyal to the Crown and as a result their estates suffered, firstly at the hands of the ScottishCovenanters and later at the hands ofOliver Cromwell's Parliamentarians.[11]
During the 18th century the Clan Livingstone supported theJacobite rising of 1715 and as a result their titles were forfeited.[11] The MacLeas (later referred to as Livingstones) fought in the Appin Regiment at theBattle of Culloden in 1746. Donald Livingstone,Bun-a-mhuilinn, Morvern, was of the Livingstones of Achnacree, Benderloch and was 18 when he fought at Culloden saving the Appin Standard.[21]
| Tartan image | Notes |
|---|---|
.png) | Modern Livingstonetartan.Livingstone Sett, orLivingstone.[25][26] Although the Livingstones or MacLeas are associated with theBuchanans,MacDougalls and theStewarts of Appin, the tartan sett does not resemble that of any of these clans. The tartan most closely resembles theMacDonell of Keppoch tartan.[27] |
 | Livingston Dress tartan.Livingstone Dress, also known asLivingston Dress.[28][29] |
 | Livingstone or MacLay tartan.Livingstone / MacLay. This tartan is based upon theMacLaine of Lochbuie tartan which dates before 1810.[30] The Maclaine of Lochbuie tartan dates before 1810 and was first published in 1886.[31] |
