Ruaidhrí mac Raghnaill (died 1247?) was a leading figure in the Kingdom of the Isles and a member of Clann Somhairle. He was a son of Raghnall mac Somhairle and was the eponymous ancestor of Clann Ruaidhrí. Ruaidhrí may have become the principal member of Clann Somhairle following the annihilation of Aonghus mac Somhairle in 1210. At about this time, Ruaidhrí seems to have overseen a marital alliance with the reigning representative of the Crovan dynasty, Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles, and to have contributed to a reunification of the Kingdom of the Isles between Clann Somhairle and the Crovan dynasty.
In the first third of thirteenth century, the Scottish Crown faced a series of uprisings from the Meic Uilleim, a discontented branch of the Scottish royal family. Ruaidhrí is recorded to have campaigned with Thomas fitz Roland, Earl of Atholl against the Irish in the second decade of the century. One possibility is that these maritime attacks were conducted in the context of suppressing Irish supporters of Scottish malcontents. In 1221/1222, Alexander II, King of Scotland oversaw a series of invasions into Argyll in which Scottish royal authority penetrated into Kintyre. As a result, Ruaidhrí appears to have been ejected from the peninsula and replaced by his younger brother, Domhnall. Whilst Alexander's campaign appears to have been directed at Ruaidhrí, the precise reasons behind it are uncertain. On one hand, the threat of a unified Kingdom of the Isles may have triggered the invasion. On the other hand, if Ruaidhrí had indeed supported the Meic Uilleim, such support to Alexander's rivals could account for royal retaliation directed at Ruaidhrí.
According to several mediaeval chronicles, a certain Roderick took part in the last Meic Uilleim revolt against Alexander. One possibility is that Ruaidhrí and this Roderick are identical. If correct, Ruaidhrí's alliance with the Meic Uilleim may have originated as a consequence of his expulsion from Kintyre by the Scottish Crown. Whilst Ruaidhrí's later descendants certainly held power in the Hebrides and Garmoran, it is uncertain how and when these territories passed into their possession. In 1230, following Scottish interference in the Isles, Hákon Hákonarson, King of Norway sent Óspakr-Hákon to restore authority in the region as King of the Isles. The fact that Ruaidhrí is not recorded in the subsequent Norwegian campaign could be evidence that he had occupied himself in supporting the near-concurrent Meic Uilleim rebellion, or that he resented the prospect of Óspakr-Hákon's overlordship.
Ruaidhrí seems to be identical to a certain Mac Somhairle who was slain in battle assisting Maol Seachlainn Ó Domhnaill, King of Tír Chonaill resist an English invasion. The following year, Ruaidhrí's son, Dubhghall, and another Clann Somhairle dynast sought the kingship of the Isles from Hákon. There is reason to suspect that Mac Somhairle had previously been recognised by Hákon as King of the Isles, and that the two Clann Somhairle kinsmen sought to succeed Mac Somhairle as king after his death. Whatever the case, Ruaidhrí's sons were certainly active in Ireland afterwards, with his younger son, Ailéan, being one of the earliest gallowglass commanders on record.
Familial background
Ruaidhrí seems to have been the seniorWoolf (2007) p. 79; Barrow (1988). son of Raghnall mac Somhairle.McDonald (2007b) p. 27 tab. 2; Raven (2005b) fig. 13; Brown (2004) p. 77 tab. 4.1; Sellar (2000) p. 194 tab. ii; McDonald (1997) pp. 257 genealogical tree i, 258 genealogical tree ii. Raghnall was in turn a son of Somhairle mac Giolla Brighde, King of the Isles,McDonald (2007b) p. 27 tab. 2; Raven (2005b) fig. 13; Brown (2004) p. 77 tab. 4.1; McDonald (1997) p. 258 genealogical tree ii. the common ancestor of Clann Somhairle.McDonald (2007b) p. 111; Broun (2005b) p. 95; Woolf (2005); Dalglish (2003) p. 158. Another son of Somhairle was Dubhghall,McDonald (2007b) p. 27 tab. 2; Raven (2005b) fig. 13; Brown (2004) p. 77 tab. 4.1; Sellar (2004a); Sellar (2000) p. 194 tab. ii; McDonald (1997) p. 257 genealogical tree i. eponymous ancestor of Clann Dubhghaill.Holton (2017) p. 126; Sellar (2011) p. 92; Raven (2005b) fig. 13; Sellar (2004a); Dalglish (2003) p. 158; Sellar (2000) p. 195. Ruaidhrí was in turn the eponymous ancestor of Clann Ruaidhrí,Holton (2017) pp. 126–127; Sellar (2011) p. 92; Duffy (2007) p. 10; McDonald (2007b) p. 110; Murray, N (2005) p. 291; Raven (2005b) fig. 13; Duffy (2004c) p. 47; Dalglish (2003) p. 158; Oram (2000) p. 117; Sellar (2000) p. 195; Murray, A (1998) p. 5; Duffy (1993) p. 77. whilst his brother, Domhnall, was the eponym of Clann Domhnaill.Holton (2017) p. 126; Sellar (2011) p. 92; Duffy (2007) p. 10; McDonald (2007b) p. 110; Woolf (2007) p. 77; Raven (2005b) fig. 13; Dalglish (2003) p. 158; Duffy (2002) p. 56; Sellar (2000) p. 195; Duffy (1993) p. 77.
There is uncertainty regarding the succession of the Clann Somhairle leadership following Somhairle's death in 1164. Although the thirteenth- to fourteenth-century Chronicle of Mann reports that Dubhghall was the senior dynast in the 1150s, this man's next and last attestation, preserved by the Durham Liber vitae, fails to accord him a royal title.Woolf (2007) p. 80; Woolf (2004) p. 105; Sellar (2000) p. 195; Lawrie (1910) p. 204 § 51; Anderson (1908) p. 264; Stevenson (1841) pp. 4, 135. One possibility is that Dubhghall had been succeeded or supplanted by Raghnall,Woolf (2007) p. 80; Woolf (2004) p. 105. whose recorded title of ("king of the Isles, lord of Argyll and Kintyre")McLeod (2002) pp. 29, 31; Sellar (2000) p. 195; Duncan; Brown (1956–1957) p. 198; Paul (1882) p. 678 § 3170; Document 3/30/1 (n.d.). could indicate that Raghnall claimed control over the Clann Somhairle territories.Sellar (2000) p. 195. Like Dubhghall, the year and circumstances of Raghnall's death are uncertain as surviving contemporary sources fail to mark his demise.McDonald (1997) p. 79.
Clann Somhairle and the Crovan dynasty
The first specific record of Ruaidhrí dates to 1213/1214.Woolf (2007) p. 80. About five years beforehand, however, the sons of Raghnall are recorded by the fifteenth- to sixteenth-century Annals of Ulster to have attacked the men of Skye,Oram (2011) p. 168; McDonald (2007b) p. 110; Annala Uladh (2005) § 1209.2; Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) p. 248; Oram (2005) p. 7; Brown (2004) p. 71; McDonald (1997) p. 80; Annala Uladh (2003) § 1209.2; Anderson (1922) p. 378. in an entry that may be evidence that Raghnall's sons were attempting to extend their authority over the island.Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) p. 248. The following year, the Chronicle of Mann reports that the three sons of Aonghus mac Somhairle, as well as Aonghus himself, were slain in battle on Skye.Oram (2011) pp. 168–169; Woolf (2007) p. 80; Brown (2004) p. 71; Sellar (2000) p. 195; McDonald (1997) p. 80; Anderson (1922) p. 387; Munch; Goss (1874) pp. 82–83. The record of this bloody encounter seems to indicate that Aonghus had succeeded Raghnall as the representative of Clann Somhairle by this date, and that Raghnall's sons responded by eliminating their uncle and his line. If so, it is possible that Ruaidhrí seized the succession of Clann Somhairle after the annihilation of Aonghus' branch of the kindred. These accounts of Hebridean warfare may, therefore, signify a radical redistribution of the Clann Somhairle imperium.Oram (2013) ch. 4; Power (2005) p. 39.
Although the context of the conflict of 1209 is uncertain, one possibility is that it was connected to the clash of 1210.Power (2005) p. 39. Another possibility is that it related to friction between Clann Somhairle and the Crovan dynasty.Oram (2011) p. 168; McDonald (2007b) p. 112; Brown (2004) p. 71; McDonald (1997) p. 80. The Clann Somhairle claim to the kingship of the Isles seems to have stemmed from its descent from Somhairle's wife, Ragnhildr Óláfsdóttir,Beuermann (2012) p. 5; Beuermann (2010) p. 102; Williams, G (2007) p. 145; Woolf (2005); Brown (2004) p. 70; Rixson (2001) p. 85. granddaughterMcDonald (2007b) p. 27 tab. 1. of the Crovan dynasty's common ancestor.McDonald (2012) p. 150; McDonald (2007a) p. 50; Duffy (2004a). In the mid twelfth century, Somhairle confronted Ragnhildr's brother, Guðrøðr Óláfsson, King of the Isles, and wrested the kingship from him. Somhairle's coup resulted in the division of the Kingdom of the Isles between his descendants and Guðrøðr's.Duffy (2004a); Sellar (2004b).
In the second decade of the century, the Chronicle of Mann reveals that the wife of the reigning representative of the Crovan dynasty, Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles, was the sister of the bride of Rǫgnvaldr's rival half-brother, Óláfr Guðrøðarson.Cochran-Yu (2015) p. 36; McDonald (2007b) p. 116; Woolf (2007) p. 81; Pollock (2005) p. 27, 27 n. 138; Woolf (2003) p. 178; McDonald (1997) p. 85; Anderson (1922) p. 457; Munch; Goss (1874) pp. 84–85. Although the precise identity of the half-brothers' shared father-in-law is uncertain,McDonald (2019) pp. 60–61; Oram (2013) ch. 4; McDonald (2007b) pp. 116–117. the chronicle describes him as a nobleman from Kintyre,McDonald (2019) pp. 60, 66; McDonald (2016) p. 339; Cochran-Yu (2015) p. 36; Oram (2013) ch. 4; McDonald (2007a) p. 73 n. 35; McDonald (2007b) pp. 78, 116; Woolf (2007) p. 81; Pollock (2005) p. 27 n. 138; Duffy (2004b); Woolf (2003) p. 178; McDonald (1997) p. 85; Anderson (1922) p. 457; Munch; Goss (1874) pp. 84–85. which suggests that he was a member of Clann Somhairle,McDonald (2019) pp. 60–61; McDonald (2007a) p. 73 n. 35; McDonald (2007b) p. 117; Woolf (2007) p. 81. as sources concerning this kindred associate it with Kintyre more than any other region. The half-brother's father-in-law, therefore, may well have been either Raghnall,Cochran-Yu (2015) p. 36; Oram (2013) ch. 4; McDonald (2007b) pp. 117, 152; Woolf (2007) p. 81. or Ruaidhrí—both of whom appear to have been styled "Lord of Kintyre" in contemporary sourcesMcDonald (2007b) p. 117; Duncan; Brown (1956–1957) p. 219 § 3; MacDonald; MacDonald (1896) pp. 565–565; Paul (1882) pp. 670 § 3136, 678 § 3170; Document 3/30/1 (n.d.); Document 3/32/1 (n.d.); Document 3/32/2 (n.d.).—or possibly even Domhnall.Woolf (2007) p. 82.
It is conceivable that Rǫgnvaldr's union dates before 1210,Woolf (2007) p. 81. perhaps not long after 1200 considering the age of his son, Guðrøðr Dond, who was active in about 1223.Oram (2013) ch. 4. The marital alliance appears to have been orchestrated in an effort to patch up relations between Clann Somhairle and the Crovan dynasty.Oram (2013) ch. 4; McDonald (2007b) p. 117; Woolf (2007) p. 81. It is possible that Rǫgnvaldr's kingship was formally recognised by Ruaidhrí as the principal member of Clann Somhairle, and that Ruaidhrí thereby established himself as a leading magnate within a reunified Kingdom of the Isles.Oram (2013) ch. 4; Woolf (2007) p. 81. Such a development may have taken place at about the time of Aonghus' elimination.