Alasdair Óg Mac Domhnaill (died probably 1299) was Lord of Islay and chief of Clann Domhnaill. He was the eldest son of Aonghus Mór mac Domhnaill, Lord of Islay. Alasdair Óg seems to first appear on record in 1264, when he was held as a hostage of the Scottish Crown for his father's good behaviour. During Alasdair Óg's career, the Scottish realm endured a succession crisis as a result of the unexpected death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, heir to the Scottish throne, in 1290. One of several factions that staked a claim to the throne was the Bruce kindred. Both Alasdair Óg and his father were cosignatories of the Turnberry Band, a pact that may have partly concerned the Bruces' royal aspirations.

Aonghus Mór last appears on record in 1293, which seems to have been about the time that Alasdair Óg succeeded him as chief of Clann Domhnaill. Alasdair Óg's wife was apparently a member of Clann Dubhghaill. This marital alliance evidently brought Clann Domhnaill and Clann Dubhghaill into a territorial conflict. The chief of the latter kindred, Alasdair Mac Dubhghaill, was a close adherent to the successful claimant to the kingship, John Balliol. Following the latter's defeat and overthrow by Edward I, King of England, Alasdair Óg aligned his kindred with the English in an attempt to contend with Clann Dubhghaill. As such, Alasdair Óg was employed as the agent of English authority in the west, and Clann Domhnaill appears on record throughout the 1290s campaigning against Clann Dubhghaill, Clann Ruaidhrí, and the Comyn kindred.

Alasdair Óg's rivalry with Alasdair Mac Dubhghaill apparently brought about his own demise, as Alasdair Óg appears to be identical to the like-named man slain by Alasdair Mac Dubhghaill of Clann Dubhghaill in 1299. The Clann Domhnaill succession is uncertain following this date, as several men appear on record accorded the territorial designation "of Islay", a style that corresponded to the lordship of the Isles. Alasdair Óg is known to have had at least six sons. He was the brother of the Clann Domhnaill chief (Aonghus Óg) who was slain campaigning in Ireland in 1318. Over the succeeding decades, the Clann Domhnaill chiefship came to be permanently occupied by the descendants of Aonghus Óg. As a result, Alasdair Óg's reputation suffered within early modern Clann Domhnaill tradition, and the history of his descendants—Clann Alasdair—was largely ignored. Nevertheless, the most prominent Clann Domhnaill gallowglass families in Ireland descended from him. Members of Clann Alasdair claimed the Clann Domhnaill chiefship into the last half of the fourteenth century. Alasdair Óg may also be the eponymous ancestor of Clann Alasdair of Loup.

Parentage

Alasdair Óg was an elderPetre, J (2015) p. 606; Penman, M (2014) p. 25; Murray (2002) p. 221. son of Aonghus Mór mac Domhnaill, Lord of Islay.Holton (2017) p. viii fig. 2; Petre, J (2015) p. 602 fig. 1; Petre, JS (2014) p. 268 tab.; McNamee (2012a) ch. Genealogical tables § 6; Fisher (2005) p. 86 fig. 5.2; Brown, M (2004) p. 77 tab. 4.1; Murray (2002) pp. 222–223 tab.; Sellar (2000) p. 194 tab. ii; Roberts (1999) p. 99 fig. 5.2; McDonald (1997) p. 257 genealogical tree i; Munro; Munro (1986) p. 279 tab. 1. The latter was a son of Domhnall mac Raghnaill,Petre, JS (2014) p. 268 tab.; Fisher (2005) p. 86 fig. 5.2; Raven (2005) fig. 13; Brown, M (2004) p. 77 tab. 4.1; Sellar (2000) p. 194 tab. ii; Roberts (1999) p. 99 fig. 5.2. eponym of Clann Domhnaill.Holton (2017) p. 126; Coira (2012) p. 58; Duffy (2007) p. 16; Raven (2005) fig. 13; Duffy (2002) p. 56. As such, Aonghus Mór can be regarded as the first .Coira (2012) pp. 10, 58; Sellar (2000) p. 207. Clann Domhnaill was the junior-most of three main branches of Clann Somhairle. The other two branches were Clann Dubhghaill and Clann Ruaidhrí—families respectively descended from (Domhnall's uncle) Dubhghall mac Somhairle and (Domhnall's elder brother) Ruaidhrí mac Raghnaill.Holton (2017) pp. 126–127; Beuermann (2010) p. 108 n. 28; McDonald (2006) p. 77; McDonald (2004) pp. 180–181. Alasdair Óg had a sister who married Domhnall Óg Ó Domhnaill, King of Tír Chonaill;Duffy (2007) p. 16; Sellar (2000) p. 194 tab. ii; Walsh (1938) p. 377. a younger brother, Aonghus Óg;Petre, J (2015) p. 602 fig. 1; McNamee (2012a) ch. Genealogical tables § 6; Brown, M (2004) p. 77 tab. 4.1; Sellar (2000) p. 194 tab. ii; Roberts (1999) p. 99 fig. 5.2. another brother, Eóin Sprangach, ancestor of the Ardnamurchan branch of Clann Domhnaill;Petre, JS (2014) p. 268 tab.; Addyman; Oram (2012) § 2.4; Coira (2012) pp. 76 tab. 3.3, 334 n. 71; Caldwell, D (2008) pp. 49, 52, 70; Roberts (1999) p. 99 fig. 5.2. and a sister who married Hugh Bisset.Murray (2002) pp. 222–223 tab., 226; Bain (1887) pp. 232 § 1272, 233 § 1276.

The personal name is a Gaelic equivalent of Alexander.Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) pp. 8, 399. Aonghus Mór, and his Clann Somhairle kinsman Eóghan Mac Dubhghaill, evidently named their eldest sons after the kings of Scotland. Both Eóghan's son, Alasdair Mac Dubhghaill, and Alasdair Óg himself, appear to have been named after Alexander III, King of Scotland as both are unlikely to have been born during the reign of the latter's father, Alexander II, King of Scotland.Stringer (2005) p. 55; McDonald (2004) p. 186; McDonald (1997) p. 140. Before Alexander II, virtually no Scots are known to have borne the name Alexander. Very quickly, however, leading families within the Scottish realm began to emulate the royal family.Hammond (2007) p. 89. The use of the name by leading members of Clann Somhairle appears to reflect the spread of Scottish influence into its own orbit,Holton (2017) p. 140; McDonald (2004) pp. 186–187; McDonald (1997) pp. 109, 140–141. and could be evidence of the kindred's attempt to align itself closer to the Scottish Crown.McDonald (2004) p. 186; McDonald (1997) pp. 109, 140–141; Cowan (1990) p. 119.

Clann Domhnaill under Aonghus Mór Hostage of the Scottish Crown

In the midpoint of the thirteenth century, Alexander II, and his son and successor Alexander III, made several attempts to incorporate the Hebrides into the Scottish realm.Oram (2011) chs. 13–14; Reid (2011). Forming a part of the Kingdom of the Isles, these islands were a component of the far-flung Norwegian commonwealth.Beuermann (2010); Brown, M (2004) p. 68. The independence of the Islesmen, and the lurking threat of their nominal overlord, the formidable Hákon Hákonarson, King of Norway, constituted a constant source of concern for the Scottish Crown. In 1261, Alexander III sent an embassy to Norway attempting to negotiate the purchase of the Isles from the Norwegian Crown. When mediation came to nought, Alexander III evidently orchestrated an invasion into the Isles as means to openly challenge his Norwegian counterpart's authority.Crawford (2013); Wærdahl (2011) p. 49; Brown, M (2004) p. 56; McDonald (2003a) p. 43; Alexander; Neighbour; Oram (2002) p. 18; McDonald (1997) pp. 105–106; Cowan (1990) pp. 117–118; Reid, NH (1984) pp. 18–19; Crawford or Hall (1971) p. 106; Duncan; Brown (1956–1957) p. 212.

Thus provoked, Hákon assembled an enormous fleet to reassert Norwegian sovereignty along the north and west coasts of Scotland.Reid, NH (2011); Reid, NH (1984) p. 19. Having rendezvoused with his vassals in the Isles—one of whom was Aonghus Mór himself—Hákon secured several castles, oversaw raids into the surrounding mainland.Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) pp. 257–258. A series of inconclusive skirmishes upon the Ayrshire coast, coupled with ever-worsening weather, discouraged the Norwegians and convinced them to turn for home. Hákon died that December.Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) pp. 258–261. As a result of his failure to break Scottish power, Alexander III seized the initiative the following year, and oversaw a series of invasions into the Isles and northern Scotland. Recognising this dramatic shift in royal authority, Magnús Óláfsson, King of Mann and the Isles submitted to the Scots within the year,Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) pp. 261–262; McDonald (1997) pp. 115–116; Duncan; Brown (1956–1957) pp. 213–214. and in so doing, symbolised the complete collapse of Norwegian sovereignty in the Isles.Brown, M (2004) p. 84.

In the wake of the Norwegian withdrawal, and the violent extension of Scottish royal authority into the Isles, Aonghus Mór had no choice but to submit to the Scots. He was forced to hand over his sonPenman, MA (2014) pp. 63–64 n. 3, 84 n. 85; Roberts (1999) pp. 112–113; McDonald (1997) pp. 109–110, 159, 159 n. 5; Duncan (1996) p. 581; Duffy (1991) p. 312; Cowan (1990) p. 120; Munro; Munro (1986) pp. 280–281 nn. 4–5; Duncan; Brown (1956–1957) pp. 214–215.—seemingly Alasdair Óg—who was consequently held at Ayr as a hostage of the Scottish Crown for Aonghus Mór's good behaviour.Penman, MA (2014) pp. 63–64 n. 3, 84 n. 85; Murray (2002) p. 221; Roberts (1999) pp. 112–113; McDonald (1997) pp. 109–110, 159, 159 n. 5; Duffy (1991) p. 312; Munro; Munro (1986) pp. 280–281 nn. 4–5; Duncan; Brown (1956–1957) p. 214; Bremner (1912) p. 247 n. 3; Munch; Goss (1874) p. 211; Thomson, T (1836) p. *9; Dillon (1822) p. 367. The fact that his son was accompanied by a nurse suggests that he was merely a young child at the time.McDonald (1997) p. 159 n. 5.

The Turnberry Band

Alasdair Óg next appears on record in about 1284/1285/1286, when he confirmed his father's grant of the church of St Ciarán to the Cistercian monastery of Paisley.Penman, M (2014) p. 19; Penman, MA (2014) p. 63 n. 12; McNamee (2012a) ch. 2; Barrow (2008); Murray (2002) pp. 221–222, 227 n. 10; McDonald (1997) pp. 149, 162; Duffy (1993) p. 206; MacDonald; MacDonald (1896) pp. 488–489; Howson (1841) p. 81; Registrum Monasterii (1832) pp. 128–129; Document 3/31/4 (n.d.). The witness lists of Clann Somhairle charters spanning the thirteenth century reveal that, as time wore on, the kindred increasingly surrounded itself with men drawn from a Scottish background as opposed to that of men mainly of a Hebridean milieu.McDonald (1997) p. 149. In fact, Alasdair Óg's transaction with the Cistercians marks the first record of Robert Bruce VII, a future King of Scotland.Penman, M (2014) p. 19; Penman, MA (2014) p. 63 n. 12; McNamee (2012a) ch. 2; Barrow (2008); Barrow (2005) p. 35; Duffy (1993) p. 206.

Other evidence of the kindred's incorporation within Scotland concerns the formation of alliances with various factions within the realm.McDonald (1997) pp. 141–142. Whilst Clann Dubhghall forged ties with the dominant Comyn kindred, Clann Domhnaill evidently aligned itself to the Bruce kindred.Duffy (2013). The latter partnership appears to owe itself to the unsettled period immediately after Alexander III's unexpected demise in March 1286. Although the leading magnates of the realm had previously recognised Alexander III's granddaughter, Margaret, as his legitimate heir, there were two major factions in the realm that possessed competing claims to the kingship. At the beginning of April, Robert Bruce V, Lord of Annandale announced his claim to the throne, whilst John Balliol—a magnate backed by the Comyns—seems to have declared a claim of his own before the end of the month.McNamee (2012a) ch. 2; Duncan (1966) pp. 185–186.