MacDowalls of Galloway
MacDowalls of Galloway
Fergus D. H. Macdowall of Garthland is Chief of the Name and Arms of MacDowall and the MacDowalls are recognized as a clan by the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs. Professor Fergus Macdowall is an Honorary President of the Clan MacDougall Society of North America. Our Society has a strong membership of MacDowalls (often spelled in name varations such as McDowell as discussed below) who are anciently connected to us through "Prince" Fergus, Lord of Galloway, a contemporary ally, and grandfather-in-law of King Somerled of Argyll and the Isles.
The proper spelling of the clan name is MacDowall with the letter "D" capitalized. The family originated in Galloway in what is now south west Scotland as descendants of Duegald who was a grandson of Prince Fergus of Galloway and the second son of Uchtred Lord of Galloway. Duegald the eponymous founder of the family is mentioned in the Melrose Chronicle as having been killed in a battle in 1185 while supporting his older brother.
For the next century Duegald's family were known as the Macdougalls of Galloway with their name spelt with a small letter "d". Duegald's name came from the Gaelic words "Dubh" meaning "Black" or "Dark", and "Gall" meaning "Stranger" or "Foreigner". Hence the name Duegald would translate as "Black Foreigner" or "Black Stranger" which was the early Gaelic term or nickname for a Dane, later extended to other Norsemen and later to persons of Norse descent. Duegald's descendants' family name of "Macdougall" came from adding the Gaelic preposition "Mac" meaning "son of" in front of his name.
On 7 July 1292 the family name spelling was changed to MacDowyl to distinguish it from the Highland clan MacDougall of Argyll at a time when leaders of both were signing the oath of fealty known as the Ragman Roll as required of the Scottish nobility by King Edward I of England. In making this name change the letters "gu" became the letter "w" in Macdowyl. The "w" in MacDowall is a Norman transliteration. In later centuries the spellings of Macdowall with a capital "D" and also with the letter "e" as in "MacDowell" became common especially after some emigrated from Galloway accross to nearby Ireland during the Plantations of Ulster in the early 1600's, and then later to North America. As a result most members of the family now live in the United States where the "e" spelling is commonly used but there are also many other spellings of the name as well as discussed below.
The MacDowalls (M'Dowells) of Galloway are the senior descendants in the male line of the princely house of Fergus (b.1096) first of the ancient Lords of Galloway who maintained native leadership by adopting Normanization under David 1. Fergus' successive heirs through his wife Elizabeth (a daughter of Henry 1 of England), were his son Uchtred, grandson Roland (Constable of Scotland), and great-grandson Alan (co-signatory of the Magna Charta) whose daughter Dervorgilla passed the lordship and heirship of the crown to her son John 1 (Baliol).
Uchtred Lord of Galloway's eldest son was Roland who succeeded him as Lord of Galloway. Roland had a younger brother Duegald (k. 1185) from whom the MacDowalls are descended according to Garthland records, as a result of which they carry the undifferenced Arms of Galloway, the same Dalriadic lion used per pale by Somerled, or quartered by the MacDougall, except crowned in Galloway.
John ("The Red ") Comyn of Badenoch was the grandson-in-law of Dervorgilla Lady of Galloway and Lord of Galloway by right of his mother. He was a leading contender for the crown of Scotland. He was murdered during a meeting in the Greyfriars Kirk at Dumfries in February 1306 by Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, (afterwards Robert I King of Scots) in order to usurp the crown. The murder started blood feuds and civil war in which the Galloway MacDougalls were mortal foes of Robert I and close allies of the crowned Baliols of Galloway, of Alexander Comyn Earl of Buchan and of their fifth cousin Edward I of England. After several battles in which the Gallowegians followed their native leader Sir Dougal MacDougall (first translated " MacDowyl" by the English at that time), Sir Dougal was dispossessed by the Bruces. The next three generations changed sides several times until reinstated at Garthland in 1413 defenders of Scotland.
The main branches of the family eventually included the MacDowalls of Garthland, the Makdougals of Makerston, the MacDoualls of Logan, the MacDoualls of Freugh, and the MacDowalls of Machrimore. The caput baroniae of Garthland near Stoneykirk, Wigtonshire, was sold to the Earl of Stair and a substitute estate was established in Renfrewshire at Lochwinnoch. Logan House and Gardens are extant under different ownership in Wigtonshire. The barony of Freugh belongs to the Marquess of Bute. Makerston on the Tweed in Roxburghshire belongs to Baron Biddulph, and Machermore castle is a seniors' residence at Newton Stewart, Kikcudbrightshire.
Today, Fergus Macdowall of Garthland is the Chief of the Name and Arms. The caput baroniae is at Garthland Mains on the Rhinns of Galloway. The present seat is at Barr Castle, Garthland, Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire, Scotland.
Names and Spellings: The migrations of the family to Ireland, North America and elsewhere led to many spellings and variations of the ancient family name Macdowall. Nowadays the names and spellings within the Clan MacDowall include McDowell, MacDowel, Macdowal, MacDowyl, McDuyl, Macdoual, McDouall, M'Douall, MacDool, McDoll, Makdougal, Macdougall, (the ancient name of the MacDowalls) etc. Other names within the clan MacDowall include Dowall, Dugal, Dugle, Duwall, Duvall, M'Gowall etc. Coull, McCoul, Coyle, Cole, Dole, and Kyle which is accepted as a variant name of Coull, are associated.
Tartans: Clansmen may officially wear any of the following four tartans: MacDowall of ancient Galloway a modern tartan, or Hunting Stewart, or Galloway Hunting, or MacDougall.
The tartan of "Clan MacDowall" of ancient Galloway is a modern tartan which was used on the book covers of the "The MacDowalls" published in June 2009 as shown in the book section of this web site. This modern tartan was designed over a seven year period by Fergus D. H. Macdowall the present Clan Chief through alteration of the sett of Hunting Stewart, Lords of Galloway, by differences and by the symbolic use of colors from his plain Arms of ancient Galloway. The central device, the silver (white) lion rampant, is represented in the tartan under the covers' labels by a white square crossed by the yellow overstripe as the gold crown. The lion romps in a blue field indicative of the Irish Sea around the Rhinns of Galloway where the original families were based. Their family seats and the oak badge are represented by the crossing green bands, with the white overstripe to symbolize the widespead family. This clan tartan was registered by the Scottish Tartans Authority on November 12, 2007 and it is before the Lord Lyon to be recorded in the Court Books following the new Scottish Tartan Register under passage by the Scottish Parliament.
Motto: Vincere Vel Mori which is Latin meaning To Conquer or Die.
More information is included in the Book Section in the Heritage Section of this web site at http://www.macdougall.org/books.html
MacDougalls of Lorn