| Clan MacPhail | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Conchie Dhu or Condochy Doye | |||
 Crest: A stag salient | |||
| Motto | "Memor Esto" (Be Mindful) | ||
| Profile | |||
| Region | Highland | ||
| District | Inverness | ||
| Plant badge | Red whortleberry,bearberry, | ||
| Animal | Stag | ||
| Pipe music | The MacPhail's Banner (by Allan W.R. McBean) | ||
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| Clan MacPhail no longer has a chief, and is anarmigerous clan | |||
| Seat | Inverernie | ||
| Last Chief | Paul MacPhail | ||
| Died | early 1900s | ||
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Clan MacPhail or the Sons of Paul is aScottish clan of theScottish Highlands. Known inScottish Gaelic as Conchie Dhu or Condochy Doye, the clan is mainly associated with the confederation ofClan Chattan.
The originalGaelic name of this clan was Conchie Dhu or Condochy Doye.
The MacPhails were always considered to be of oldClan Chattan stock and closely related toMacPhersons,MacBeans and other Cattanach families that together formed the Clan Chattan Confederation.Cattanach is still a surname associated to these clans.[1][2]
Originally the MacPhails had a stronghold until 1291 atFassfern about 16 kilometers west ofFort William.[3] A Paul Conchie Dhu is reputed to have accompanied others of the Clan Chattan on their migration from Lochaber to Strathnairn during the time of Angus, 6th chief of Mackintosh who had married Eva, the heiress of Clan Chattan.Some of the first MacPhails are reputed to have been descended from a Paul Cattanach.
MacPhails, or Son of Paul, are mentioned early in the Kinrara manuscript stating that a Paul Gow MacPhail, "good sir" lived in the time of Duncan, 11th of MacKintosh. The term "good sir" was a custom mainly related to addressing clergymen.[4]
When the Chief ofClan MacKintosh, Angus, married the heiress of Clan Chattan in the 13th century, the majority of the Chattan families including most of Clan MacPhail moved to eastern Inverness-shire.[5][6]
In 1414, the name appears in a Retour of Inquest on DonaldThane of Calder's succession to the lands ofDunmaglass, Gillemore M'Phale being one of the inquest.[4]
In 1547, a MacPhail, Duncan Makconquhy Dow leased half the towns ofTullich andElrick. This lease was inherited through generations.[2]
In 1566, an Andrew MacPhail is described in the Burgh Court Book as "minister of Inverness andPetty in theErse/(Gaelic) tongue".[7]
In 1595, Andrew M'Phail, minister at the Kirk ofCroy and Findla MakPhail, one of thebeillis ofInverness appear in a contract between the magistrates of Inverness and aRobert Waus.
In 1631, another MacPhail entered into a long lease to Invernarnie with the Laird ofKilravock. For 1000Pound Scots he was granted a wadset and long tack of Invernarnie, which faced the river Nairn and lay within the Barony ofStrathnairn in the Parish of Daviot and Dunlichty. The land also included Duglass and Dullatur facing the river Findhorn.[8] These lands were held by descendants until 1773, when the lease was not renewed. The unity of the family was destroyed and a large portion drifted southward toArgyllshire and were largely absorbed into urban life.[9]
In 1662, records from Inverness show debt from failed business agreements resulted in a publichorning issued against a Duncan MacPhail and again in 1669 against his son Paul and his business partner Alexander Shaw of Tordarroch.[10]
A number of Clan Chattan bonds however signed through the 17th and 18th centuries continued to have MacPhail signatures still indicating their stature in the Federation.[2]
Some of the Clan MacPhail chiefs included:
The MacPhails ofInverernie in theStrathnairn and theShaws of Tordarroch buried their dead for generations in an enclosure adjoining the east wall of Dunlichty Kirk.[4]
The last lineal MacPhail chief, Paul MacPhail died in Australia in the early 1900s.[3][12][13][14]
As an integrated clan of the Chattan Confederation, Clan MacPhail was obligated to answer the call of the superior Mackintosh Chief. More information on this aspect can be found on theClan Chattan andClan Mackintosh pages.
MacPhails were also involved individually in other conflicts. For example, around 1627, a Johne M'Phale of Inverness was recruited as an archer for Captain Alexander M'Naughtan in service ofKing Charles the 1st to support Protestants in France.[15]
Several MacPhails were officers in the Mackintosh/Clan Chattan regiment in the '15. The heir to the MacPhail Chieftainship, was apparently deported toVirginia following his surrender after theBattle of Preston but died on board the ship.[16]
A MacPhail of the '45 was evidently the last person to shake hands withPrince Charles Edward Stuart and to his death he never greeted anyone else with that hand.[17] The muster roll of Charles' army lists 2 Macphails:
An auction of household goods of the Late Sir William Fraser and others in 1898 at Dowell's Auction House in Edinburgh presented a basket hilted sword said to have belonged to a MacPhail who had fought at Culloden, had been kept by his daughter Bell who eventually had sold it to Fraser.[19] This sword is now in the collection of theBattle of Falkirk Muir Trust.[20]Dr Charles Mackintosh of Drummond mentions in his Antiquarian Notes no 96 that when he lived inGollanfield, in Petty, an old man of ninety known as John Oig told him he had known a Paul MacPhail of Ballenreich, who the day after theBattle of Culloden helped to dig a trench where many of the dead were interred and had known the man who had escaped with the Clan banner, which was the only one in the prince's army that did not fall in the enemy's hands. All the rest were burned by the common hangman in Edinburgh.[21]
Another MacPhail, Hugh MacPhail ofStrathglass is also recorded to have fought at Culloden and was apparently one of several men ofGlenmoriston who sheltered the Prince after the battle. His sword has ended up on display in theInverness Town House on the right side of the main stained glass windows. The sword is sometimes described as aAndrew Ferrara sword, a sword maker of esteemed renown.[22]
Records also exist of the atrocities committed after the battle of which some MacPhails were victim to: "A woman brought to bed, Sunday before the battle, was Elspet MacPhail, in Gask; her husband is Donald MacIntosh, had her child born on the Sunday, who was called Alexander, of which one of theDragoons took by the leg or thigh, and threw it about his hand, not head."[23]
Members of Clan MacPhail are entitled to wear acrest badge to show their allegiance to their clan chief. This crest badge contains theheraldic crest andheraldic motto of the clan chief. For Clan MacPhail, it is a Stag Salient. These elements, like the chief'scoat of arms, are the heraldic property of the chief alone. The symbolism of Clan MacPhail is distinct from the majority of the Chattan Federation having no wildcat, but a stag. The most similar to this is with Clan Davidson, their close neighbours to the north. The Davidsons appears to have changed their crest to honour an important marriage to a Mackenzie of Gairloch and the MacPhails could have done something similar. The use of the stag with certain clans could also represent an association with the cult ofSaint Giles.[24][25]
Clan badges are usually worn on atam o' shanter or attached at the shoulder of a lady's tartan sash.[26]
In 2022, the clan has started the process to select a commander.[28]
Since the 15th century, Clan MacPhail was found mainly in the lands ofInverernie about 8 km west ofLoch Moy, near the ancestral home of the MackIntoshes.[30][31]
In 1490, a Donald MacPhail witnessed a bond between theLairds of Mackintosh andKilravock and two years later between Mackintosh and theDunbars. This MacPhail is identified as a tenant ofDullatur according to theExchequer Rolls of Scotland.[32]
One of the earliest recorded MacPhail, a certain Gillies MacPhail married a Margaret Macintosh in 1500.[33] There was several other MacPhails that intermarried with MacKintoshes showing a close fraternity.[34]
A Anndra MacPhail, the parson ofCroy wrote the history of the MacKintoshes down to the murder of the 15th chief in 1550 and that document has come to be known as the Croy Manuscript.
In 1708, a Coll MacDonell wrote to Paul MacPhail, who was theChamberlain to the Laird of MacKintosh, explaining why he couldn't pay his rent, that had been due in 1707 and 1708, asking for relief.[35]
The MacPhail surname was also found with their neighbors and close relatives ofClan MacBean:
Other Clans also have small smatterings of MacPhails.
Records show Johannes McFaill was a parishioner inDuthil. Gillepatrik McFale lived inGlenurquhart in 1545. Duncan McFaill was areader atCromdale in 1584. Other variants of the name were noted later in Invera’en, Cromdale,Abernethy andAberlour.[37]
The remnants of Clan MacPhail that stayed in the west and did not migrate with Clan Chattan/MackIntosh in the 13th century, eventually integrated withClan Cameron. Clan Cameron tradition has it that the MacPhails and MacBeans are MacGillonies in origin who eventually became the Camerons of Strone, one of the four branches of this clan. MacGillonies is thought to be from the Gaelic "Mac Gille 'an fhaidh"/"Mael an' fhaidh," meaning "son of the servant of the prophet."[38] These MacPhails appear to have lived onLoch Eil atFassfern and some were cited for cattle raiding with a Ewen Cameron on theRegister of the Privy Council in 1547.
Variations on the name found with Clan Cameron include: MacKail, MacKell, MacPhail, MacVail, MacVaaile, MacVaill, MacVale and Paul.[39][40]
Some of the remainingLochaber MacPhails also became a sept ofClan MacDonell of Glengarry and were mainly settled aroundLaroche. A well known MacPhail from this group was Big Archibald MacPhail, a cattle drover, who attacked a group of Campbells near the village ofKillin in 1646.[41]The Dewar Manuscripts Vol.1 which contains Gaelic folktales includes the life of Big Archibald MacPhail.[42]
Another Archibald MacPhail fell foul of Coil MacDonell who was authorized to regulate fishing in the local lochs. In 1809, a letter to officials at Inverness he states: "I have sent to you with Sergeant Donald Macdonell, one Archibald MacPhail to jail at Inverness. He ought at least to be banished toBotany Bay, or to send him on board one of Her Majesty's ships, which last punishment is too good for him".[43]
Families of MacPhails were found throughout the West Highlands and Islands, includingGlengarry,Glencoe,North Uist,Islay andKintyre.[44][45]
The MacPhails were always associated withArdchattan Priory which had been originally founded by Duncan MacDougall of Lorn. At least one monk was named MacPhail. The signature of David MacPhail is found on a number of monastic documents between 1552 and 1564, some of which are also signed by Sir John MacPhail, rector or parson of nearby Kilnynvir. There is also references to MacPhails being hereditary physicians to theMacDougalls.[46]
The records of theThane of Cawdor state that:
Various MacPhails are also recorded in Campbell lands in the 17th and 18th century, apparently in one incident, after an argument with their neighbors,Macleans, moved inland to Argyll andGlenlyon. e.g. John MacPhail inAuchauaich around 1691.[48][11] MacPhails were mainly found in a narrow gorge betweenLoch Awe andLoch Etive, with a few becoming ship wrights.[49] The ferry from Portachoillan was run by Malcolm MacPhail from about 1800, then by his son John MacPhail from 1830 to 1860, then by his sons Neil and John.[50] Several MacPhails were among thefencible men enrolled inGlen Lyon by theDuke of Atholl in 1706.[51]
A sept of theClan Mackay by the surname of Polson who are also known asSiol Phail are, according toSir Robert Gordon, 1st Baronet, descended from Neil, son of Neil, son ofDonald Mackay, 5th of Strathnaver, chief of Clan Mackay. Although one of their ancestors, Neil Neilson Mackay, died fighting against his own Strathnaver kinsmen at theBattle of Drumnacoub in 1433, the Polsons later gravitated back towards their Strathnaver kindred.
In 1497, 1506, and 1511, Sir John Polson who waspresbyter and later chanter ofCaithness acted forIye Roy Mackay, 10th of Strathnaver.
At theBattle of Torran Du in 1517, the Polsons supported the Clan Mackay against theMurrays of Aberscross. In a list of men inSutherland capable of carrying arms during theJacobite rising of 1745, a number of Polsons appear in the parishes ofLoth andKildonan. However, according to historian Angus Mackay writing in 1906, the sept was no longer numerically strong and many of them had adopted the surname MacPhail or were now signing themselves as Mackay.[52]
Late 18th centuryClan MacLeod tradition has it that MacPhails in their lands are descendants of Páll, son of Bálki, orPaal Baalkeson, His name appears as Pol filius Boke in the medievalChronicle of Mann and as Paal Baccas in the 19th centuryBannatyne manuscript; a 13th-centuryHebridean lord who was an ally ofOlaf the Black,king ofMann and the Isles. TheBannatyne manuscript states that Paal Baccas had anatural son, from whom descended a family that held the island ofBerneray and other lands on Harris under the MacLeods. Matheson proposed that the MacPhails, originally from the Sand district onNorth Uist, and those fromCarloway onLewis, derived their surname from Páll.[53] There is a township on the northern tip of the Island called Baile Mhicphail (Macphail's village).
A group of sea crags called theFlannan Isles off theIsle of Lewis was regarded as a refuge of sanctity, as well as being a rich source of seabirds. On Maol nam Both, are found two stone beehive houses named, the MacPhail bothies, which are said to be the remains of two monks' cells, part of a small early Celtic monastic settlement.
Donald MacDonald, in his book Tales and Traditions of the Lewis, dedicates a short chapter to the MacPhails of Lewis. "The MacPhails made their power felt throughout the ages, and we find that they were used as wardens by the MacLeods of Lewis and placed along the west coast...to prevent the Macaulays ofUig from passing north to raid theMorrison territory".[54][55]
McFall, McFaul and McPhails records are found clustered inUlster especially aroundCounty Antrim andDerry.They appear to date from theBritish Plantation period. These variants are in church registers of County Antrim. As an example, on 29 August 1824, Sarah Jane, daughter of William McFaul, was christened atBallymena in that county.[56]
TheHearth Money Roll of 1669 for the baronies of Cary, Dunluce, Kilconway, Toome, Antrim and Gelnarm in County Antrim also lists Macffall, McPhall, McPhall, Maiklefall and Paule in the parishes of Ballclug, Racavan, Rashee, Ballintoy, Layd and Rasharkin.[57][58]
Other derivations found include MacPhóil, MacPóil, MacPaul, MacVail, Vail, Paulson, Polson and Powlson[59]
MacPhaayl, Maelfabhail;From the book, Manx Names of 1890 by Arthur William Moore: "Phail is Anglicised from Maelfabhail. Maelfabhail, son of Muircheartach, slain by the Norsemen"
Today MacPhails can generally track their origins from these four main migrations in Scotland, mainly showing fealty to larger clans in those regions:
Diaspora MacPhails can also be found in significant numbers in the following countries:
The poetJohn Leyden, was an enthusiastic collector of old folklore. He compiled a poem "The mermaid". It is based on a gaelic traditional ballad, called MacPhail ofColonsay, and the Mermaid ofCorrivrekin. The story states that this MacPhail was carried off by a mermaid, that they lived together in a grotto beneath the sea and had five children, but finally he tired of her and escaped to land.[76]
Acairn nearLoch Spelve celebrates Dugald MacPhail (1819–1887), a bard who composed Ant-Muileach (TheIsle of Mull) which became the island's anthem.[77] These MacPhails where apparently known as cattledrovers for hundreds of years in this area.
Pipe tune written by Peter MacFarquhar of Moss in remembrance of Lachlan MacPhail, an accomplished piper and writer of Gaelic poetry. Lachlan was a ruse mourner at the funeral inOperation Mincemeat, a British deception operation of the Second World War.[78]
Quoting: 1st edition (1948) by Margaret Mackintosh of Mackintosh and 2nd edition (1982)
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