Scottish Clans - Clan MacMillan

SCOTTISH CLANS - MACMILLAN


MOTTO I LEARN TO SUCCOUR THE DISTRESSED	CLAN TARTAN MACMILLAN HUNTING TARTAN

The MacMillans are believed to be of Celtic origin. The progenitor of the clan was Gillie Chriosd, who was the son of Cormac, Bishop of Dunkeld. As a priest he was required to have his head shaved in a particular fashion and the name MacMillan comes from the celtic for “son of one who bore this tonsure”.

In the thirteenth century the clan held lands on Tayside, which was given them by Malcolm IV. It was here that Robert the Bruce was sheltered after the murder of the Red Comyn and the clan later fought at Bannockburn. In the Middle Ages they established themselves in Knapdale by marriage to a McNeill heiress and MacMillan of Knap became Chief of the Clan. A rock at Knap Point in Loch Suibhne bore the inscription “MacMillans right holds good to Knap, so long as wave beats on the rock.” However in 1615 Campbell of Cawdor, pushed the rock into the sea, and the old MacMillan lands have long since been lost.

Although not renowned for being Jacobites, Prince Charlie made his last stand from the MacMillan home in Arkaig. In the second half of the 18th century the line became extinct and the possession of the clan’s lands were contested by the MacNeills and the Campbells. The Campbell clan won and the estates were purchased by Sir Archibald Campbell of Inverneil.

There are two significant monuments to the clan. One of these is a round tower which is part of Castle Sween, the oldest stone built castle in Scotland. The other is a celtic cross in the churchyard at Kilmory which is only a few miles along the coast from Castle Sween.