Mac Lennan History

In Gaelic this name is rendered as "MacGille Finnan"son of the follower of St Finnan. Who St Finnan"s disciple truly was is now lost in the mists of time The history of the Mac Lennans is made particularly complex by the fact that until 1976 there had not been a recognised chief for over three hundred years.

The Mac Lennans settled around Kintail, and they were related to the Logans, who also held lands in Faster Ross. (The Logans were to become most prominent in the Lowlands, where they became Barons of Restalrig, near the Port of Leith.) However, other historians have suggested that the original name of the clan was Logan, and that it was not until the fifteenth century that the name Mac Lennan was adopted. According to this version of the family"s origins, Gillegorm Logan led his men towards Inverness to prosecute a feud against the Frasers. Gillegorm was ambushed at Kessock and he and most of his men were slain. The Frasers captured Logan"s pregnant wife, intending either to kill the child, or perhaps to raise him as a fosterling, a common Highland method of obtaining influence over a rival clan. The son was born, but was so deformed that he was allowed to live, and was placed with the monks at Beauly, entering the church in due course. He disregarded the decree of Pope Innocent III enjoining the celibacy of the clergy, preferring to follow the Celtic practice, and he married and had several children. He was the "Gille Finnan" and his sons honoured his memory by adopting a new name.

Whatever the truth of this story, the her­aldry of the chief proclaims the link between the Logans and the Mac Lennans, as each bear the heart and passion nails which allude to the pilgrimage of Sir Robert and Walter Logan accompanying the heart of Robert the Bruce to the Crusades. The expedition, led by Sir James Douglas, never saw the Holy Land. The Scots knights reached Spain where they were enlisted to fight the Moors. This seemed compatible with their vows as the Moors were heathens occupying Christian lands. But Douglas was killed in the Battle of Teba, and the crusade came to an abrupt end. The shield also alludes to the Mac Lennans" connection to the Mac Kenzies, whose banner was the "caber feidh" so called from the deer"s head in the centre. The Mac Lennans, along with the Mac Raes, were staunch supporters of the Mac Kenzies, and may at one time have been custodians of the great castle at Eilean Donan. It was in the service of the Mackenzie chief that the clan came to great prominence. The Marquess of Montrose had rallied many Highland clans to the royalist cause in 1645. He was, however, equally opposed by many, including the Covenanter Earl of Seaforth, then chief of the Mac Kenzies. The men of Kintail, led by the Mac Lennan chief Ruaridh, a red-bearded giant standing well over six feet tall, carried Lord Seaforth"s standard. The forces of the Covenant engaged Montrose at Auldearn on 9 May 1645. The marquess was heavily outnumbered but his strategic genius more than compensated. He massed his banners, hoping to deceive the enemy as to the location of his main force. The ruse succeeded, forcing the Covenanters to mass their forces for a full assault. Montrose outflanked Seaforth, turning the tide of battle in his favour. The Mac Lennans were sent an order to withdraw, but it was never delivered. Ruaridh and his men fought to the last, defending Seaforth"s standard. They were finally cut down by the Gordon cavalry.

The decimated clan played little part in any of the Jacobite risings, although eleven Mac Lennans are recorded as being taken prisoner after Culloden. After the terrible defeat, the clan system began to fall apart, with many Highlanders emigrating to other parts of the world. There are Mac Lennan Mountains in New Zealand and a Mac Lennan County in Texas in the United States.

Ronald Mac Lennan of Mac Lennan was recognised by the Lord Lyon, King of Arms, as chief of this name under the process of selection known as the "ad hoc derbhfine. He was not a bloodline chief, although he was a member of the only Mac Lennan family to have matriculated arms since 1672. He carried out a great deal of research into the clan history, and published this in 1978. He traced the clan"s origins to the ancient royal Celtic families of Ireland and Scotland through Aengus Macgillafinan, Lord of Locherne around 1230.

The family also developed a great tradition as pipers. Mac Lennans were town pipers in Inverness in the early sixteenth century, played at the Battle of Waterloo, and regularly won modern competitions. This is commemorated by the heraldic supporters which the chief selected when his arms were matriculated.