Dubhghall mac Ruaidhrí

Clann Ruaidhrí

Dubhghall was a son of Ruaidhrí mac Raghnaill, Lord of Kintyre (died 1247?), the eponym of Clann Ruaidhrí, a branch of Clann Somhairle. By second decade of the thirteenth century, Ruaidhrí may have been the leading member of Clann Somhairle.

The little that is known of Dubhghall's father suggests that, much like Dubhghall himself, Ruaidhrí operated against the looming threat of Scottish overlordship of Argyll and the Isles. Although Ruaidhrí appears to have originally held power in Kintyre, the Scottish Crown seems to have expelled him from the region in the 1220s. In Ruaidhrí's place, Alexander II, King of Scotland (died 1249) appears to have planted Ruaidhrí's younger brother, Domhnall, an apparently more palatable candidate from the Scots' perspective. This dramatic projection of Scottish royal authority may have also resulted in the king's establishment of the Clann Dubhghaill lordship of Argyll which appears on record not long afterwards. By the midpoint of the thirteenth century, Clann Dubhghaill—yet another branch of Clann Somhairle—was represented by Eóghan Mac Dubhghaill (died c. 1268×1275), whilst Dubhghall himself represented Clann Ruaidhrí.

Although it is possible that Dubhghall's power base was located in Garmoran and perhaps the Uists, there is uncertainty as to how and when these territories entered into the possession of his family. Later leading members of Clann Ruaidhrí certainly possessed these lands, but evidence of custody before the mid thirteenth century is lacking. In theory, these territories could have been awarded to the kindred following the Scots' acquisition of the Isles in 1266. On the other hand, the family's position in the Isles may have stemmed from its marital alliance with the Crovan dynasty, an affiliation undertaken at some point before Ruaidhrí's expulsion from Kintyre.

Alignment with the Norwegian Crown

In 1248, both Dubhghall and Eóghan are stated by the thirteenth-century Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar to have arrived in Norway, with both men seeking the kingship of the northern Suðreyjar from Hákon Hákonarson, King of Norway (died 1263). The entirety of the Suðreyjar—an Old Norse term meaning "Southern Islands"—roughly equates to the Hebrides and Mann. The precise jurisdiction that Dubhghall and Eóghan competed for is uncertain. For example, the northern Hebridean islands of Lewis and Harris and Skye appear to have been held by the Crovan dynasty, then represented by the reigning Haraldr Óláfsson, King of the Isles (died 1248). In about 1241, the dominion of the latter appears to have been defined by Hákon as the islands which had been previously ruled by Haraldr's father, uncle, and grandfather. Hákon, therefore, appears to have not only deliberately excluded the island territories ruled by Clann Somhairle, but limited the possibility of Haraldr becoming in drawn into alignment with Scottish interests as some leading members of Clann Somhairle had been. Eóghan and Dubhghall, therefore, may have contended for all the islands excluded from Haraldr's allotment. It is conceivable that Eóghan and Dubhghall sought kingship of the same jurisdiction that Hákon had awarded to Óspakr-Hákon (died 1230) about a decade before—a region which could have included some or all of the islands possessed by Clann Somhairle.

Although 1247 was also the year of Hákon's royal coronation, and it is possible that the arrival of the Clann Somhairle dynasts was a result of the reimposition of Norwegian overlordship in the Isles, another reason for their arrival may relate to the death of a certain Mac Somhairle, an apparent member of Clann Somhairle, slain whilst resisting an English invasion of Tír Chonaill in 1247. Merely a year before, Haraldr seems to have submitted to Henry III, King of England (died 1272), and it is possible that Hákon had consequently recognised Mac Somhairle's kingship in the Isles in retaliation to Haraldr's acceptance of English overtures. If so, Dubhghall and Eóghan, may have both sought to succeed their kinsman in the Isles. In fact, Dubhghall's father may well be identical to Mac Somhairle. Certainly, Dubhghall's presence in Norway suggests that Ruaidhrí was indeed dead by this date.

An alliance with a ruler of the Isles would have certainly benefited Henry's ongoing military operations in Ireland, and it is possible that it was Haraldr's pact with him that had prompted Mac Somhairle's involvement against the English in Ireland. In fact, Clann Somhairle may have faced immediate repercussions for their alignment with the Norwegian Crown. For example, English financial records for 1248 reveal that Walter Bisset (died 1251) was tasked to fortify a castle along the Scottish coast. This castle appears to have been that of Dunaverty, seated upon the southern coast of Kintyre, which could indicate that Walter's Ulster-based actions in Kintyre were undertaken as a means to divide the Isles, isolating Mann from the Hebrides.

Repercussions from the Scottish Crown

Whilst Dubhghall and Eóghan were in Norway, Hákon appears to have attempted to bring Haraldr back onside; and in so doing, Hákon gave away his widowed daughter in marriage to Haraldr. Unfortunately for Hákon and his designs in the Isles, the newly-wedded couple were lost at sea whilst sailing from Norway to the Isles. Not only did this calamity deprive the Islesmen of a capable king, but it cost the Norwegian Crown a closely connected advocate in the region. Upon learning of the catastrophe, Hákon immediately sent Eóghan west over sea to temporarily take up the kingship of the Isles on his behalf. Eóghan, however, was not only a Norwegian dependant in the Isles, but an eminent Scottish magnate on the mainland. Although the Scottish Crown appears to have attempted to purchase the Isles earlier that decade, Eóghan's acceptance of Hákon's commission led Alexander II to unleash an invasion of Argyll in the summer of 1249, directed at the very heart of the Clann Dubhghaill lordship. The apparent cooling of relations between Eóghan and Alexander II, along with Haraldr's later demise, the resulting kin-strife concerning his succession, and Eóghan's subsequent acceptance of royal powers on Hákon's behalf, could all have contributed to the invasion of Argyll that year. In the course of this offensive, Alexander II demanded that Eóghan renounce his allegiance to Hákon, and ordered him to hand over certain mainland and island fortresses. The latter stubbornly refused, and the unfolding crisis only ended with the Scottish king's untimely death in July 1249.

Eóghan dearly suffered as a result of conflicting obligations the Norwegians and Scots. In fact, it is probable that he had been utterly dispossessed by the Scots a result of their invasion. Although the reasons why Hákon originally awarded him the kingship over Dubhghall are unknown; for whatever reason, the latter appears to have been regarded as a less preferable candidate at the time. Eóghan's apparent displacement at the hands of Alexander II, however, could well have upended the hierarchy of Clann Somhairle. For instance, a particular entry preserved by the Icelandic annals states that, within the very year that Eóghan was forced from Argyll by the Scots, Dubhghall himself "took kingship" in the Isles. This record could reveal that Dubhghall assumed the kingship from a severely weakened Eóghan. In fact, Eóghan's actions of the following year—when he and Magnús Óláfsson (died 1265), a member of the Crovan dynasty, unsuccessfully attempted to seized control of Mann—could further indicate he was in dire straits.

Whatever the case, Magnús Óláfsson, Dubhghall, and Eóghan were back in Scandinavia in 1253, as Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar reveals that the latter two took part in the Norwegians' royal campaign against the Danish Crown. By 1255, however, Eóghan was reconciled with the Scottish Crown. The fact that Dubhghall was later regarded as king in Scandinavian sources could indicate that Hákon's original award of the title to Eóghan in 1248 was reversed upon the restoration of Eóghan's Scottish lordship.

Involvement in Ireland

In 1258, the fifteenth–sixteenth-century Annals of Connacht, the sixteenth-century Annals of Loch Cé, and the seventeenth-century Annals of the Four Masters indicate that Dubhghall, at the command of a formidable fleet, sailed to Connemara on the western Irish coast, where he is stated to have robbed a merchant ship. No doubt as a result of this spoliation, the sources further reveal that Jordan d'Exeter, the English Sheriff of Connacht, pursued Dubhghall's fleet and was slain along with many of his men in the culminating clash. Enriched with plunder, Dubhghall is then stated to have returned home from this piratical cruise. The next entry preserved by the Annals of Connacht concerns an extraordinary assembly of Aodh na nGall Ó Conchobhair (died 1274), Tadhg Ó Briain (died 1259), and Brian Ó Néill, King of Tír Eoghain (died 1260), within the year. It was at this convention, at Caol Uisce on the River Erne, that Aodh—son of the King of Connacht—and Tadhg—son of the King of Thomond—relinquished their claims to the high-kingship of Ireland in favour of Brian, who was then proclaimed high king. The latter was then in midst of campaigning against a temporarily weakened English Earldom of Ulster, and closely allied with Aodh in his cause.

The following year, Dubhghall again appears on record in Irish affairs, as the Annals of Connacht, the Annals of Loch Cé, and the Annals of the Four Masters reveal that Aodh travelled to Derry and married a daughter of Dubhghall, and thereby received a tocher that included one hundred and sixty gallowglass warriors commanded by Dubhghall's brother, Ailéan (died ×1296). The marital alliance between Aodh and Dubhghall was conducted at the main port within Brian's realm, a site indicating that the union—along with the aforesaid assembly and naval operations of the previous year—was part of a carefully coordinated plan to tackle English power in the north west of Ireland.

Unfortunately for these confederates, Tadhg was dead by 1259, and the combined forces of Aodh and Brian were utterly crushed in battle at Downpatrick in 1260, with Brian amongst the slain. Despite this catastrophe, the phenomenon of eminent Irish lords importing heavily-armed mercenaries from the Isles and western Scotland became more prevalent in the later part of the century, and helped to even the military superiority enjoyed by English forces over native Irish troops. The association of Aodh with Dubhghall appears to have earned Aodh the epithet na nGall (literally "of the Foreigners", but perhaps meaning "of the Hebrideans"). In fact, there may be evidence to suggest that Brian had also been married to a member of Clann Somhairle, perhaps a daughter of Eóghan himself.

Collapse of Norwegian sovereignty

With the aforesaid death of Alexander II in 1249 the Scottish invasion of the Argyll and the Isles came to an abrupt end. About a decade later, the latter's son and royal successor, Alexander III (died 1286), came of age and took steps to continue his father's westward expansion. In 1261, the Scottish Crown sent envoys to Norway offering to purchase the Hebrides from Hákon. Once the Norwegians rejected the offer, the Scots are recorded to have lashed out against the Islesmen in a particularly savage assault upon the inhabitants of Skye. Thus provoked, Hákon assembled an enormous fleet—described by the Icelandic annals as the largest force to have ever set sail from Norway—to reassert Norwegian sovereignty along the north and west coasts of Scotland. Amongst the distinguished men stated to have manned Hákon's own vessel was Dubhghall's own son, Eiríkr (died 1287). In July 1263, this armada disembarked from Norway, and by mid August, Hákon reaffirmed his overlordship in Shetland and Orkney, forced the submission of Caithness, and arrived in the Hebrides.

According to the saga, Hákon was met in the region by the aforesaid Magnús Óláfsson (the reigning King of Mann and the Isles) and Dubhghall himself. In early September, the reinforced fleet of Norwegians and Islesmen entered the Firth of Clyde. When negotiations between the Scottish and Norwegian administrations broke down, the saga reveals that Hákon sent a detachment of ships up into Loch Long, under the command of Magnús Óláfsson, Dubhghall, Ailéan, Aonghus Mór Mac Domhnaill (died c. 1293), and Murchadh Mac Suibhne (died 1267). According various versions of the saga, this contingent consisted of either forty or sixty ships—a considerable portion of Hákon's fleet. From Loch Long, the saga reveals that this detachment portaged the approximately a 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) distance between Arrochar to Tarbet, launched into Loch Lomond, and ravaged the surrounding region of the Lennox. Meanwhile, at the beginning of October, Hákon's main force clashed with the Scots at Largs, and withdrew into the Hebrides. Once regrouped with the detachment of Islesmen, the saga records that Hákon rewarded his overseas supporters. Since Eóghan had refused to aid the Norwegians cause, Dubhghall and Ailéan were awarded his forfeited island territories. A certain Ruðri (fl. 1263) is stated to have received Bute, whilst Murchadh got Arran. Aonghus Mór—who is not identified as one of the beneficiaries—already enjoyed possession of Islay.

A commonality amongst some of Hákon's most prominent supporters from the Isles was their close connections with Ireland. In fact, the saga reveals that Hákon had previously received overtures from the Irish, requesting the Norwegians combat the English in exchange for overlordship of Ireland. Although the saga reports that the king was eventually dissuaded from such Irish offers, and died in Orkney that December, the Annals of Loch Cé and the Annals of Connacht report his death in context of coming to Ireland. There is reason to suspect that Magnús Óláfsson had once been aligned with Brian; and the fact that the latter's ally Aodh was aligned with Dubhghall and Ailéan strongly suggests that it was Aodh himself who had requested assistance from the Norwegian Crown. In fact, the invitation itself may be one of the most innovative ideas in the history of thirteenth-century Gaelic Ireland. Certainly, Aodh's relationship with Clann Ruaidhrí illustrates the radical measures that certain Irish lords were prepared to take in order to overcome English dominance in Ireland.

Although Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar declares that the operation was an overwhelming triumph, it seems to have been an utter failure instead. Not only had Hákon failed to break Scottish power, but Alexander III seized the initiative in the following year, and oversaw a series of invasions into the Isles and northern Scotland. Recognising this dramatic shift in royal authority, Magnús Óláfsson submitted to Alexander III within the year, and in so doing, symbolised the complete collapse of Norwegian sovereignty in the Isles. Dubhghall, on the other hand, contrasted many of his compatriots from the Isles, and stubbornly refused to submit to the Scottish Crown. In fact, the thirteenth-century Magnúss saga lagabœtis reveals that he continued to resist, and conducted military operations against the Scots in Caithness. This source states that Dubhghall attacked the Scots whilst they were extracting a fine from the Caithnessmen, and in so doing seized much of this treasure and slew many of the Scots. In fact, this amercement may correspond to one noted by the Scottish exchequer rolls in which two hundred head of cattle were extracted from the Caithnessmen. Whatever the case, in 1266, almost three years after Hákon's abortive campaign, terms of peace were finally agreed upon between the Scottish and Norwegian administrations. Specifically, with the conclusion of the Treaty of Perth in July, Hákon's son and successor, Magnús Hákonarson, King of Norway (died 1280), formally resigned all rights to Mann and the islands on the western coast of Scotland. In so doing, the territorial dispute over Scotland's western maritime region was finally settled.

Dubhghall died in 1268. His death is recorded by the Icelandic annals, and various Irish annals, such as the Annals of Loch Cé, the Annals of the Four Masters, and the Annals of Connacht. The latter source styles him "King of Argyll", a title that may add weight to the possibility that Mac Somhairle was indeed his father. Whatever the case, Dubhghall's demise is not noticed by existing Scottish sources, and it is possible that he died in Norway. Certainly, Eiríkr remained loyal to the Norwegian cause, and was himself a prominent baron of this northern realm. From the 1260s, Clann Ruaidhrí disappears from the Scottish historical record. When the kindred finally reemerges in 1275, it is in the person of Dubhghall's aforesaid brother, Ailéan, a man who was by then a prominent Scottish magnate. Unlike Dubhghall, Ailéan is not accorded any title in contemporary sources. It was during Ailéan's tenure the kindred assimilated into the Scottish realm, and his descendants continued to be factors in Scottish history well into the fourteenth century. Another son of Dubhghall, Donnchadh (died 1292×), appears on record in the late thirteenth century.