Dubhghall mac Suibhne (fl. 1232×1241 – 1262) was a Scottish landholder in Argyll, and a leading member of Clann Suibhne. He was a son of Suibhne mac Duinn Shléibhe, and appears to have held lordship of Knapdale from at least the 1240s to the 1260s, and may have initiated the construction of Skipness Castle and Lochranza Castle.
During Dubhghall's career, Clann Suibhne fell prey to the Stewarts, one of Scotland's most powerful families. By the 1240s, the Stewarts appear to have gained lordship in the Firth of Clyde and Cowal, whilst Alexander II, King of Scotland attempted to extend royal authority into Argyll and the Isles. It is in the context of this Scottish encroachment into Argyll that Dubhghall first appears on record, in an appeal to Pope Innocent IV for papal protection in 1247.
Although Alexander II's campaign to annex Argyll and the Isles came to an immediate halt on his death in 1249, his son and successor, Alexander III, renewed hostilities in the 1260s. By this time, it was Walter Stewart, Earl of Menteith who spearheaded the Stewarts' westward advance. Charter evidence dating to 1261 and 1262 reveals that Dubhghall resigned the Clann Suibhne lordship into Walter Stewart's hands. Whether this transfer was the result of a military operation against Clann Suibhne is unknown. The fact that some members of the kindred were unwilling to subject themselves to Stewart domination is evinced by the ensuing career of Dubhghall's nephew, Murchadh Mac Suibhne.
Family
Dubhghall was a son of Suibhne mac Duinn Shléibhe,Campbell of Airds (2000) p. 32; Sellar (1971); Duncan; Brown (1956–1957) p. 205; Argyll: An Inventory of the Monuments (1992) p. 258 § 119; Simpson (1960) p. 12. eponymousCoira (2012) p. 191; Woolf (2005); Dawson (1995) p. 90; Sellar (1971) p. 27. ancestor of Clann Suibhne.McGettigan (2005); Tabraham (2005) pp. 28, 110; Campbell of Airds (2004a) p. 183; Roberts (1997) p. 101; Ewart; Triscott; Holmes et al. (1996) p. 518; Argyll: An Inventory of the Monuments (1992) pp. 19, 249 § 119, 258 § 119. According to the eighteenth-century Craignish History, a daughter of Dubhghall married a member of the Craignish branch of the Caimbéalaigh kindred (the Campbells).Campbell of Airds (2000) pp. 47–49; Argyll: An Inventory of the Monuments (1992) p. 258 § 119; Simpson (1960) pp. 12–13; Miscellany (1926) p. 207; Campbell (1911) p. 278. Dubhghall's son-in-law, a man also named Dubhghall, is identified by the Craignish History as the third of the name to represent the Craignish Caimbéalaigh.Campbell of Airds (2000) pp. 47–49; Miscellany (1926) pp. 200–207. The succeeding son of this couple is further stated by this source to have been named Dubhghall, and is elsewhere attested as an historical landholder in Argyll.Campbell of Airds (2000) p. 49; Miscellany (1926) p. 209.
The Clann Suibhne lordship appears to have stretched across Knapdale, from the Sound of Jura to Loch Fyne, and further extended across the Kilbrannan Sound, from Skipness to Arran.Campbell of Airds (2000) p. 32; Barrow (1981) p. 112.
Dubhghall's father may have built Castle Sween in Knapdale.Tabraham (2012) p. 709; Tabraham (2005) pp. 28, 110; MacInnes (2004) pp. 191–192; Campbell of Airds (2000) p. 31; McDonald (1997) p. 242; Roberts (1997) p. 101; Ewart; Triscott; Holmes et al. (1996) p. 518; Dawson (1995) p. 90; Argyll: An Inventory of the Monuments (1992) pp. 19, 249 § 119; Sellar (1971) p. 27; Simpson (1960) p. 12. The fortress appears to date to the late twelfth century.Caldwell; Stell; Turner (2015) p. 365; Tabraham (2012) p. 709; Oram, RD (2008) pp. 181–182; Tabraham (2005) pp. 28, 110; Campbell of Airds (2004b) pp. 146–147 pl. 35; MacInnes (2004) pp. 191–192; Roberts (1997) p. 101; Ewart; Triscott; Holmes et al. (1996) p. 517; Argyll: An Inventory of the Monuments (1992) pp. 19, 249 § 119, 258 § 119; Dunbar; Duncan (1971) p. 6. As such, it is one of the oldest standing stone castles in Scotland.Raven (2017) § 9.3; Everett; Gillespie; Tracey (2015) p. 16; Oram, R (2008); Oram, RD (2008) p. 182; Tabraham (2005) pp. 28, 110; Campbell of Airds (2004a) p. 183; Campbell of Airds (2004b) pp. 146–147 pl. 35; MacInnes (2004) p. 191; McDonald (1997) p. 242; Roberts (1997) p. 101; Argyll: An Inventory of the Monuments (1992) p. 19.
Dubhghall's family appears to have constructed Skipness Castle as well.Tabraham (2005) p. 31; MacInnes (2004) p. 192; McNeill (2002) p. 154. The original site seems to have consisted of two free-standing buildings: a two-storey residence with a lord's hall, and a single-storey chapel. This complex appears to have been surrounded by an earth and timber wall.Tabraham (2005) p. 31. The hall house and adjutant chapel may date to the first half of the thirteenth century.Tabraham (2005) p. 113; Argyll: An Inventory of the Monuments (1971) pp. 165 § 314, 178 § 314. Skipness Castle is first recorded by a charter of Dubhghall dating to 1261.Argyll: An Inventory of the Monuments (1971) p. 178 § 314; Registrum Monasterii de Passelet (1832) pp. 120–121; Document 3/381/1 (n.d.). The site may have been a secondary residence to their main residence at Castle Sween, which could well have served as the power centre of the Clann Suibhne lordship.Ewart; Triscott; Holmes et al. (1996) p. 556.
In fact, it may have been Dubhghall who initiated construction of Skipness Castle.Campbell of Airds (2000) pp. 31–32; Roberts (1997) p. 101; Argyll: An Inventory of the Monuments (1971) p. 178 § 314; Dunbar; Duncan (1971) p. 6. Clann Suibhne,Tabraham (2005) p. 112. and specifically Dubhghall himself, may have built Lochranza Castle on Arran as well.Campbell of Airds (2000) pp. 31–32; McDonald (1997) p. 241; Roberts (1997) p. 101. Although the visible ruins of the latter structure are those of a late mediaeval tower house, the original hall house appears to date to the thirteenth or fourteenth century.Tabraham (2005) pp. 44, 112. If the castle was indeed constructed by Clann Suibhe it would mean that the family possessed firm control over the Kilbrannan Sound.McDonald (1997) p. 241.
Scottish encroachment in Argyll
One of the most powerful Scottish magnates of the reign of Alexander II, King of Scotland, was Walter fitz Alan II, Steward of Scotland,Murray (2005) pp. 298–299; Barrow (2004). head of the Stewart kindred.Barrow (2004). The original power centre of Walter's familial ancestors was the lordship of Renfrew.Barrow (1981) p. 112. By about 1200,Hammond (2010) p. 12; Boardman (2007) pp. 85–86; McAndrew (2006) p. 62; Tabraham (2005) p. 32; McDonald (1997) pp. 111, 242; McGrail (1995) pp. 41–42; Barrow; Royan (2004) p. 167; Barrow (1981) p. 112; Barrow (1980) p. 68. during the career of Walter fitz Alan's father, Alan fitz Walter, Steward of Scotland, the Stewarts appear to have expanded into the Firth of Clyde and gained control of Bute.Oram, RD (2011a) p. 157; Hammond (2010) p. 12; Boardman (2007) pp. 85–86; McAndrew (2006) p. 62; Tabraham (2005) p. 32; Barrow (2004); McDonald (1997) p. 111; McGrail (1995) pp. 41–42; Barrow; Royan (2004) p. 167; Barrow (1981) p. 112; Barrow (1980) p. 68. The family's authority over the island is specifically evidenced by a charter of Alan of the church of Kingarth and the entire parish on Bute to Paisley Abbey.Hammond, M (2010) p. 12; Boardman (2007) pp. 85–86, 86 n. 6; Barrow; Royan (2004) p. 167; Pringle (2000) p. 131; Barrow (1980) p. 68, 68 n. 39; Duncan; Brown (1956–1957) p. 203; Registrum Monasterii de Passelet (1832) p. 15; Document 3/547/20 (n.d.). The island's citadel, Rothesay Castle, may have been built by either Walter fitz Alan or his fatherTabraham (2005) p. 32. in about 1200.Tabraham (2005) pp. 33, 112. As such, this Stewart fortress is contemporary to the Clann Suibhne stronghold Castle Sween.Tabraham (2005) p. 32; Argyll: An Inventory of the Monuments (1992) p. 20. The westward expansion of Stewart power can be traced not only by the kindred's grants to Paisley AbbeyBoardman (2007) p. 86 n. 6.—a religious house founded by the family's founder in the twelfth centuryDitchburn (2010) p. 183 n. 34; Young; Stead (2010) p. 26; Hammond, MH (2010) p. 79, 79 tab. 2; Hammond, M (2010) p. 4; Barrow; Royan (2004) p. 167; Lewis, J (2003) p. 28; Barrow (1999) p. 35; McDonald (1997) p. 222; Duncan (1996) p. 180; McDonald (1995) pp. 211–212; McWilliams (1995) p. 43; Stringer, KJ (1985) p. 298 n. 53; Barrow (1980) p. 67; Anderson; Anderson (1938) pp. 162–164 n. 2; Eyton (1856) pp. 338, 348.—but also by grants to the abbey by native clans absorbed into the Stewart lordship.
Whilst it is possible that Alan expanded into Cowal as well,Oram, RD (2011a) p. 157. another possibility is that it was during the tenure of Walter fitz Alan that the family received a grant of Cowal.Barrow (1981) p. 114. Charter evidence reveals that by about the time of the latter's death in 1241, Cowal had been brought under Stewart overlordship, and Scottish royal authority was further expanding into Argyll.Murray (2005) p. 300. Specific early evidence of this encroachment is preserved by a grant of Laghmann mac Maoil Choluim of the church of St Finan (Kilfinan) to Paisley Abbey in 1232×1241.Boardman (2006) p. 15; Murray (2005) p. 300; McDonald (1997) pp. 227–228; Barrow (1980) p. 68, 68 n. 41; Lamont (1914) pp. 1–2 § 2; Howson (1841) pp. 87–88; Registrum Monasterii de Passelet (1832) pp. 132–133; Document 3/333/2 (n.d.). Laghmann was evidently a close kinsman of Dubhghall, and Dubhghall himself is recorded as one of witnesses of the transaction.Sellar (1971) p. 27; Lamont (1914) pp. 1–2 § 2; Campbell (1911) p. 278; Howson (1841) pp. 87–88; Registrum Monasterii de Passelet (1832) pp. 132–133; Document 3/333/2 (n.d.).
In the 1230s, Alexander II interfered with the ecclesiastical affairs of Argyll.Murray (2005) p. 302; Duncan (1996) p. 549. In 1236—presumably as a result of royal petitionDuncan (1996) p. 549.—the pope instructed the Bishop of Moray to secure a canonical election to select a new Bishop of Argyll, and by 1239 a Moravian dignitary named William served as Bishop of Argyll.Murray (2005) p. 302; Duncan (1996) p. 549; Dowden (1912) p. 378. After the drowning of this ecclesiast, authority over the see was given to Clement, Bishop of Dunblane.MacDonald, IG (2013) p. 45; Murray (2005) p. 302; Duncan (2004); Turner (1998) p. 648; Duncan (1996) p. 549; Dowden (1912) pp. 377–378; Lindsay; Dowden; Thomson (1908) pp. lxxxiii–lxxxiv, 65 § 74; Document 3/380/2 (n.d.). By 1248, the bishopDuncan (2004); Duncan (1996) p. 549.—possibly at the behest of the king—seems to have sought to move the cathedral from Lismore onto the mainland.Turner (1998) p. 648; Duncan (1996) p. 549. Further extension of royal authority is evidenced by the king's grant of a swathe of territory around Loch Awe and Loch Fyne to Giolla Easbuig Mac Giolla Chríost.Murray (2005) p. 300; McDonald (2004) p. 189, 189 n. 33; Campbell of Airds (2000) p. 33; Duncan (1996) p. 549; Lynch (1991) p. 66; Barrow (1980) p. 138; Macphail (1916) pp. 121–125; Document 1/7/279 (n.d.). This grant dates to 1 August 1240, and is the earliest infeftment of knight' service in the west Highlands.Butter (2010) p. 18; McDonald (2004) p. 189, 189 n. 33; Campbell of Airds (2000) p. 33; Argyll: An Inventory of the Monuments (1992) pp. 21, 285 § 130; Lynch (1991) p. 66; Barrow (1980) p. 138; Macphail (1916) pp. 114–115, 121 n. 1, 121–125, 227; Document 1/7/279 (n.d.).