Clan Mackinnon or Clan Fingon is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the islands of Mull and Skye, in the Inner Hebrides. Arms of the Chief and the Mackinnon of Mackinnon Popular tradition gives the clan a Dalriadic Gaelic origin. The 19th century historian W. F. Skene named the clan as one of the seven clans of Siol Alpin - who according Skene could all trace their ancestry back to Alpin, father of Cináed mac Ailpín. Popular tradition has been until recently to consider Cináed mac Ailpín the first King of Scots and a Gael, however recent research has shown he was actually a Pictish king and likely a Pict himself. Sir Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk speculated that Clan Mackinnon belonged to the kindred of Saint Columba, noting the Mackinnon Arms bore the hand of the saint holding the Cross, and the several Mackinnon abbots of Iona. Though little is known of the early history of the clan, it is likely to have served under the Lords of the Isles. After the forfeiture of the Lordship of the Isles in 1493 the clan would have gained some independence, and was at various times allied or at war with neighbouring clans such as the MacLeans and the MacDonalds. The clan supported the Jacobites in the 17th and 18th centuries, and tradition has the chief of the clan aiding in the escape of Bonnie Prince Charlie in his flight to France. Because of their support for the last Jacobite rebellion the Mackinnon chiefs lost the last of their ancient clan lands.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 02:04:59 +0000
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