Cause of death Killed in action Title 14th Clan Chief | Name Lachlan Maclean Died 1598 | |
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Other names Sir Lachlan Mor Maclean of Duart
Big Lachlan
Lachlan the Great Predecessor Hector Og Maclean, 13th Chief, father Successor Hector Og Maclean, 15th Clan Chief, son Spouse(s) Margaret, daughter of William Cunningham, 6th Earl of Glencairn Parents Hector Og Maclean, 13th Chief Children Sir Hector Og Maclean, 15th Chief, Lachlan Og Maclean, 1st Laird of Torloisk Grandchildren Sir Lachlan Maclean, 1st Baronet Grandparents Hector Mor Maclean, 16th Chief, Hector Mor Maclean, 12th Chief Great-grandparents Sir Hector Og Maclean, 15th Chief, Lachlan Cattanach Maclean, 11th Chief | ||
Sir Lachlan Mór Maclean (1558 – 5 August 1598) or Big Lachlan Maclean, was the 14th Clan Chief of Clan MacLean from late 1573 or early 1574 until 1598. Mór or Mor translates as big in English, or magnus in Latin, when added to a name in Scottish Gaelic.
Contents
Birth
He was born in 1558 to Eachuinn Og Maclean. Sir Lachlan became the 14th Maclean Clan Chief at the death of his father in 1573 or 1574.
"He was called 'Big Lachlan,' both on account of his stature and the greatness of his mind. He was the most accomplished and warlike chief that ever held sway in Duart. His military talents were of a very high order; his chivalrous character commanded the respect of his most inveterate foes, and his personal interest for and kindness toward his followers endeared him to his clansmen. So great were his qualities that historians have been forced to pay tribute to his memory."
Marriage and children
He married Lady Margaret Cunningham of Glencairn, daughter of William Cunningham, 6th Earl of Glencairn. They had the following children:
Death
He died on 5 August 1598 in the Battle of Traigh Ghruinneart on the Island of Islay. He was killed by the forces of Sir James MacDonald, 9th of Dunnyveg.
His remains were left on the battlefield. A day or two after the battle, it is said that two women, of whom different accounts are given — some calling them strangers, some clanswomen, some relations of the dead — grieving to think that the body of so notable a chief as Sir Lachlan Mor should be unburied and uncared for on the moorland, came from a distance in search of it. They hired a vehicle, the only one to be had in the neighborhood, and having found the corpse, proceeded to carry it to the nearest burying-grounds, about six miles distant. The way was rough, and the driver looking behind him saw the head of the great chief, which extended beyond the car, nodding to him at every jolt, as if it had life, and were giving him directions. At the next heavy rut he looked again to please his savage soul with ferocious enjoyment. But this time the elder female, who had watched him, acted as described in the ballad, and killed the brutal driver with the chieftain's dagger. Then, along with her companion, she brought the mortal remains of Sir Lachlan to the place where they still lie buried.
Sir Lachlan Mor MacLean was buried in the churchyard of Kilchoman on Islay, near the south wall of the church, and over his grave is laid a great stone. There is a churchyard, Kilnave, near the battle-field; but the body was taken to Kilchoman that it might be more honored, for he was buried inside the church, and when a new church was built there, around 1829, the wall was so constructed that the grave was left outside the church.
Legacy
The plaque that marks the spot where he died says: "This cairn indicates the spot where, on the 5th August, 1598, Sir Lachlan Mor Maclean of Duart fell in a desperate encounter with his nephew Sir James Macdonald of Knockrinsay. The battle of Traigh Ghruinneart is the best known incident in the feud between the Macleans and the Macdonalds for the Rinns "