Hello to all,
As we migrate to the new version of the Web site, I am eager to hear any comments or criticism.
The decision to switch to a new format was made for several reasons.
First, our old site's layout and structure has been around since 1996 in one form or another. From 1996 until 1998, we were at charleston.net/org/clanmacdougall/ and in 1998 we moved to www.macdougall.org but the overall look and feel of the site has remained much the same.
Second, and perhaps the most compelling reason from my point of view, was the inadequacy of the Forums software that we've been using since about 2003. The old Message Forums were hacked and defaced in 2005, with the hacker removing ALL of the previous messages. The membership database was left intact, but with no posts, the forum was back to square one. A newer version of the same software was installed, with this version having greater security measures to prevent hacking, but it continues to present a problem in that "SpamBot" scripts are constantly trying to register new "users" with the sole purpose of adding links to their Web sites, usually sites that promote Viagra or porn or some other such thing. Five or six times a day, I need to log in and delete these fake "users."

I - Dougall (1164) :      Eponymous founder of Clan MacDougall. He was the son of the Royal House of Somerled, King of the Hebrides and Regulus of Argyll. His mother was Raghnild the daughter of Olaf King of Man and she was the second wife of Somerled.      Dougal or Dugall or Dougall derived from the Gaelic word Dubh meaning Black or Dark, the Gaelic word Gall meaning Stranger or Foreigner. Hence Dougal would translate as "Black Foreigner" or "Black Stranger" which was the early Gaelic nickname for a Dane, later extended to Norsemen. By the mid 12th century the name implied that the bearer likely had Norse connections in his ancestry. Dougall's mother and great grandmother were both of Norse descent.      Upon the death of his father and elder step brother at the Battle of Renfrew in 1164, Dougal inherited the mainland kingdom of Lorn from Morvern to Knapdale along with the islands of Jura, Coll, Mull, Tiree, Kerrera, Lismore, and the surrounding smaller isles. The remainder of Somerled's territories were divided amongst his younger brothers such as Reginald who founded Clan Donald. Dougall died in 1207.

 II - Duncan de Ergadia (1207) :      Second Chief of the clan and son of Dougall. Called King Duncan in the Norse sagas, he was ruler of Argyll (Ergadia) held as vassal under the King of Scots, and Regulus of the Isles which he held as vassal under the King of Norway. He founded Ardchattan Priory about 1240 and is believed to have built many of the MacDougall castles of that era. His major stronghold seems to have been Dunstaffnage but he probably had fortified Dunollie's promontory as well. Duncan died in 1248.
 
III - Ewan of Argyll, King of the Hebrides and Lord of Lorn (1248) :      Third Chief of the clan and son of our Second Chief, Duncan. Ewan or John of Argyll (de Ergadia), Lord of Lorn. There is evidence that Ewan had assumed the eponymic title of MacDhughaill (MacDougall). For a time he was King of the Isles under Hakon the High King of Norway and at the same time Ewan held his mainland possessions under Alexander II the King of Scots. At this time Ewan had control of Dunstaffnage, Dunollie, Aros, Cairnburg, Dunchonnel, Coeffin and Duntrune castles and his influence was widespread. His sister Gill of Argyll was married to Brian O'Neill the last High King of Ireland.      When Norway and Scotland were headed to war each side pressured him to support them against the other. Because of his feudal oaths of fealty to King Hakon of Norway for his island lands held of Norway, and oaths of fealty to the Alexander II King of Scots for his mainland lands held of Scotland, Ewan could not take up arms against either King despite being strongly pressured by both.      In the summer of 1249 Alexander II brought an invasion fleet to conquer the Hebrides. Alexander II became sick and landed at Horseshoe Bay on the eastern side of the island of Kerrera which as an island was legally a Norwegian territory. He demanded that Ewan surrender to him Cairnburgh Castle in the Treshnish isles which belonged to Norway. Ewan refused saying that in only the previous year of 1248 he had done feudal homage to the King of Norway for his island possessions. "No man can serve two masters!" exclaimed the angry King Alexander II. "One can quite well serve two masters provided the masters are not enemies" was Ewan's quiet rejoinder. Soon afterwards Alexander II died at Horseshoe Bay on July 8, 1249 and so the invasion was cancelled. He was succeeded by Alexander III.      In 1263 King Hakon brought a large invasion fleet to the Hebrides in response to Scottish raids on his territory. During this offensive he anchored twice at Kerrera and at one point he detained Ewan as a "guest" to pressure him for support in attacking Scotland. Ewan refused. After being released Ewan joined the side of Scotland in the fighting. The ensuing Treaty of Perth in 1266 transferred the Hebrides islands from Norway to Scotland and all of Ewan's island possessions were thus restored to him. Died in 1266.
 
IV - Sir Alexander of Argyll, Lord of Lorn (1266) :      Fourth Chief of the clan and son of our Third Chief, Ewen. Sir Alexander was also called Alasdair de Ergadia in charter latin. He was overlord of a large part of the western Highlands. In 1267 he married Julienne Comyn the third daughter of John Comyn of Badenoch and Marian, daughter of Alan of Galloway. This marriage allied the MacDougals with powerful Comyn and Balliol families. Alliances also extended through Alexander's sister Mary who was married firstly to Magnus the King of the Isle of Man, then later to the powerful Earl of Strathearn, and then to Lord Abernethy of Clan Macduff. In August 1292 John Baliol became King of Scots and he soon created Argyll into a shire to be governed by the crown. He made Sir Alexander MacDougall the Sheriff of Lorn to govern for the crown. As Sheriff he was the senior of twelve Argyll great barons whose estates formed Argyllshire. As a very powerful official representative of the king he had authority over a very large territory on the mainland and the islands.      It is believed that the Campbells challenged his authority. In 1294 the Battle of Allt Dearg (the Red Ford) was fought between the MacDougalls and the Campbells in Nether Lorn in a boundary dispute regarding the exact location of the shared border at the String of Lorn. The MacDougalls suffered severe losses and an arrow killed Sir Colin Campbell, the Campbell Chief known as Cailein Mor.      Sir Alexander was always a strong supporters of the Balliols and their royal cause. Sir Alexander fought on the Scottish side in the Wars of Independence until February 1306 when Robert the Bruce a contender for the throne killed his rival John the Red Comyn. The murdered man was Sir Alexander's wife's nephew. Bruce had stabbed him at a private meeting of the two men inside the Greyfriars Kirk at Dumfries. By so doing Bruce eliminated John the Red Comyn as his rival for the crown of Scotland but this crime inside a church was sacriledge. After this murder it became a blood feud with the families of the merdered man seeking vengeance against Bruce. Then six weeks later Bruce had himself crowned King Robert I. Sir Alexander no longer supported the Scottish side once Bruce was crowned King of Scots. Sir Alexander had sworn no oath to Bruce and in feudal law had no obligations to support him in his new role as King. Alexander now supported King Edward I of England against Bruce. However Sir Alexander's own brother Duncan (later our Sixth Chief) fought on Bruce's side. Sir Alexander was ill and did not take part in later battles against Robert the Bruce. It was during one of these battles, the Battle of Dalrigh in August 1306, that the MacDougall warriors led by his son Ian Bacach, Lame John, ambushed Bruce's force and stripped the Brooch of Lorn from his cloak. Bruce fled safely after killing three pursuers but had lost his cloak Brooch which was found grasped in the dead hand of one of them. Bruce later returned to take vengeance on the clan which had opposed him so steadfastly. After his son John of Lorn (Iain Bacach) lost the Battle of Brander in 1308, Sir Alexander was forfeited of the Lordship of Lorn by Bruce and the vast lands were distributed to his allies the Stewarts, Campbells and MacDonalds. Sir Alexander died in Ireland in late 1310 after fleeing in late 1309 to join his son Sir John of Lorn, Iain Bacach who continued the clan's fight against Bruce from abroad.
 
V - Sir John of Lorn (Iain Bacach) (1310) :      (lain Bacach) Fifth Chief of the clan and son of our Fourth Chief, Sir Alexander. He was known as Iain Bacach meaning lame John. He defeated Robert Bruce at Dalrigh near Tyndrum in Strathfillan on August 11, 1306 where Bruce was forced to abandon his cloak and brooch in the dying grasp of one of his attackers. Thus clan MacDougall came into possession of the Brooch of Lorn which it still possesses. In 1307 Sir John and his Galloway ally Sir Dougal MacDoual of Logan hunted Bruce in Carrick and Galloway. Then Sir John returned to Lorn with an illness.

The arms of the MacDougalls of MacDougall and Dunollie, Chiefs of the MacDougalls of Lorn (54kb download)     Quartered in these arms are two ancient royal emblems, the Black Galley of Lorn symbolizing descent from the royal house of the Norse and the lion symbolic of the descent from the Scottish Kings of ancient Dal Riada.  Note the Cap of Maintenance beneath the arm denoting baronial standing. These personal arms may not be used by others.