Clan McClean, Duart Castle and Whisky

MacLeans and Duart Castle 

The first recorded mention of the Macleans of Duart is in a papal dispensation of 1367 which allowed their Chief Lachlan Lubanach Maclean to marry the daughter of the Lord of the Isles, Mary Macdonald.
This it is said, was a love match, and her father was persuaded to allow it only after he had been kidnapped by Lachlan (an incident in which the Chief of the Mackinnons was killed). Thus the Macleans came to own much of Mull, the Mackinnon lands being granted to them by the Macdonalds as a dowry. Almost certainly, Lachlan built the keep that stands today though the great curtain walls were probably of the previous century.


The Macleans continued to use Duart as their base but they were always fighting for one cause or another. They were part of the loose alliance of West Coast chiefs who supported the Lord of the Isles. Hector Mor, born in 1497, succeeded his father in 1527 and was described as good, kind and brave. The power of the Lord of the Isles was now broken, the Macleans were wholly independent and the King of Scotland, James V, was making himself felt in the islands. Hector Mor was kidnapped, with many other Chiefs, by the King's Lord Lieutenant at a dinner on board ship off Aros Castle. Hector was only released when he agreed to the destruction of all his galleys. Hector Mor was also a builder.
He strengthened the South East buildings in the courtyard and added the gatehouse. Sir Lachlan, 16th Chief, was created a baronet by Charles I in 1631 and so began the century of unswerving loyalty to the House of Stewart which was to result in the Macleans losing all their lands.


Sir Lachlan joined Montrose and his Highland Army but when General Leslie invaded Mull in 1647, he was unable to hold Duart Castle against him. Sir Allan briefly recovered the castle after the restoration of Charles II to the throne in 1660. Sir Allan remodelled the North East range of buildings in 1673 only to lose the castle to the Earl of Argyll (pressing for repayment of considerable debts) in 1674.
The castle and lands were returned to Sir John, son of Sir Allan, in 1681 when the Earl of Argyll fell out of favour with the King, only to lose it again in 1691 when Argyll was once more in favour with the Whigs.
The castle became ruinous and was purchased by Sir Fitzroy Maclean, 26th Chief, in 1910. He then began the enormous task of repairing the building.

Fitzroy MacLean

1. Restoration

Sir Fitzroy Maclean, born in 1835, was brought up largely in Gibralter and Malta, where his father was serving with his regiment.
Family history says Sir Charles took his son and daughters on a holiday to Scotland in the 1870s and, from then on, Sir Fitzroy was determined to purchase and restore the castle. In 1911 he finally achieved his aim and bought the ruined castle and 300 acres from Mrs Guthrie, the widow of Mr Murray Guthrie, who had inherited the estate from an uncle. She also changed the name of her home, built in 1850, from Duart to Torosay.
Several architects produced drawings and plans for Sir Fitzroy and the ones chosen were those of Sir John Burnett, an eminent architect from Glasgow. Before the restoration could begin the castle had to be excavated and several small items, such as snuffing scissors and wine bottles were found. Most of these objects were apparently left by the soldiers who had been billeted at Duart.
Though some original features were sadly lost, on the whole the restoration was very sympathetic to the original building, and an Edwardian house, complete with all the offices considered necessary, was placed with great care into the ruins of the castle.

2. Present Day

   

                     Duart Castle

In 1991 Sir Lachlan Maclean, the present Clan Chief engaged Professor Sir James Dunbar Naismith to repair the castle. The main repairs were completed in 1995, but work on the castle still continues.
Today the castle is open to the public, for which there is an entrance charge. Visitors may walk through the dungeons and state rooms at their leisure, ending on the top of the keep where it is easy to appreciate the strategic site of the castle.
Below the castle Historic Scotland have designated a site of archaeological importance to mark the spot where the Swann and two of her sister ships sank in 1653.
They had been sent by Cromwell to capture the 10 year old chief who, fortunately, had been removed to the Treshnish Isles for safety.
In January 2000 Sir Lachlan planted the Millennium Wood, a collection of trees and shrubs indigenous to Argyll.

In 2012 at Maclean Gathering was held to mark the centenary of Maclean reoccupation of the castle.

Castle Duart - home to the Chief's of Clan Maclean. The Maclean lineage stems from old Dugald of Scone, of the Royal House of Lorne from the ancient Celtic Kings of Dalriada. Macleans take their name from one of the descendents, a legendary hero of the thirteenth century, Gillean-Na-Tuagha (Gillean of the Battle Axe). Gillean or Gilleoin means a devotee of St. John. Hence his children are called Clan Gillean. Great warriors and supporters of Robert Bruce, they fought at Bannockburn under Gillie Callum. His son, John, obtained grant of lands in Mull and his sons, Lachlan, Duart, and Hector Loch Buie established the Maclean Clan that rose to great power and influence under the Lordship of the Isles. On the forteiture of the Lordship the Maclean’s transferred their loyalty to the Stuart kings. Their loyalty to the Stuarts nearly brought them to ruin (Clan Campbell had a lot to do with it), but they have survived through hard and difficult times. In modern times, Duart remains the main Clan seat and Clan Chief, Sir Lachlan Maclean of Duart and Movern Bt. Is the twenty-eighth Chief of Clan Gillean.

A Commemorative Maclean Duart Whisky

To commemorate the one hundred year anniversary of the restoration Duart Castle, a special Tobermory “Maclean whisky” was drawn and distributed to Clan Members. 

 

"The whisky is an 18 year old Tobermory Malt Whisky and is being drawn from the one cask producing about 300 bottles. The bottle is packaged in a pine box with the Clan Crest on the box. The bottle itself is wrapped in a copy of the front page of one of the newspapers that published details of the Gathering in 1912. The box also has an explanation leaflet on the whisky, the centenary and Charlie Macleans tasting notes. I should have said that this whisky has been selected by Charlie Maclean. Any profits made from the sale of this whisky will go into helping repair the fabric of the Castle." With many thanks. Lachlan.   Sir Lachlan Maclean, 28th Chief of Maclean.

A bottle of this whisky was approved for distribution by Sir Lachlan (as part of the Clan Maclean private release to Clan members) and was transported from Mull and hand delivered by Paul Maclean to Brad Hetherington in Victoria, BC. This bottle was subsequently given to Matthew Hetherington on the occasion of his 19^th birthday (January 21, 2013) by his father Tom McClean Hetherington to commemorate the welcoming of Matthew as an adult member of Clan McClean.

“May life's many pleasures be enjoyed with the respect and caution they deserve ”

Cheers!

Maclean Gathering Whisky: http://angelswhiskyclub.com/awc/charliesdram.asp