Clan MacNeil

Common card · No. 465125

Clan MacNeil, also known in Scotland as Clan Niall, is a highland Scottish clan. According to their early genealogies and some sources they are descended from Eógan mac Néill and Niall of the Nine Hostages. Despite the long-held belief that the MacNeil (McNeil, McNeill, MacNeill) clan are descended from an Irish king or prince, DNA tests have shown that they are descended from Vikings and have no Irish blood at all. The clan is particularly associated with the Outer Hebridean island of Barra. The early history of Clan MacNeil is obscure. The clan claims to descend from the legendary Irish King Niall of the Nine Hostages, who is counted as its first chief. The clan takes its name from a Niall who lived in the 13th or early 14th century and who belonged to the same dynastic family of Cowal and Knapdale as the ancestors of the Lamonts, MacEwens of Otter, Maclachlans, and the MacSweens. While the clan is centred in Barra in the Outer Hebrides, there are (McNeill/MacNeill)s in Argyll that some...

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