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
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.
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 19th
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!
This posting archives the final resting places of some of Robert John McClean Hetherington's immediate family buried in Whitechurch Cemetery at Ards and other Hetherington graves in St. Eunan's at Raphoe. The Raphoe Hetherington's may not be related or perhaps are related through Nathaniel Hetherington? Pictures of the people interned are also presented.
