Coll Ciotach Mac Domhnaill () (1570–1647) was a Scottish adventurer and mercenary of the

Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg, also known as Clan Donald South, ''Clan Iain Mor, Clan MacDonald of Islay and Kintyre, MacDonalds of the Glens (Antrim)'' and sometimes referred to as ''MacDonnells'', is a Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald. T ...

branch of

Clan Donald Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald or Clan McDonald ( ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. Historically the chiefs of the Clan Donald held the title of Lord of the Isles until 1493 and two of those chiefs a ...

, who became Laird of

Colonsay Colonsay (; ; ) is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, located north of Islay and south of Isle of Mull, Mull. The ancestral home of Clan Macfie and the Colonsay branch of Clan MacNeil, it is in the council area of Argyll and Bute and ...

in 1623, by treachery. His name, which means "Coll the left-handed" or "the crafty", was anglicised as Colkitto. However he only used the nickname ''Ciotach'' late in his life in 1629 when it appeared in a Latin translation of a Gaelic letter where Coll refers to himself as "''Ego Collatius Kiotach Macdonnell''". In Gaelic he was referred to as ''Coll Mac Gilleasbuig'' ("Coll the son of Archibald"). However in English he was normally known as "Coll Macgilespik" or a variant of this, or as "Coll MacDonald".''Highland Warrior, Alasdair MacColla and the Civil Wars'', David Stevenson. Prologue, ''What's in a Name?'', page 2. Some English speakers concluded that "Coll" must be his military rank and that "Ciotach" was a surname. So he was also referred to as: Colonell Kittoghie, Col. Kittack, Collonell McGillespick, Colonel Coill McDonnell alias McGillespick, Col. Killa and Colonel Macdonald. Others took "Coll" or "Coll Ciotach" as places, and so they introduced "MacDonald of Coll" and "MacDonald of Kolkitto". Coll died aged 77 at Dunyvaig Castle, being executed after he was captured by

Clan Campbell Clan Campbell ( ) is a Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The chief of the clan be ...

opponents.

Family

The Colonsay branch of Clan Macdonald of Dunnyveg was descended from Colla Maol Dubh (d.1558),Macdonald, D. J. ''Clan Donald'', 1978, p.262 a notable cavalryman who was the fourth son of Alexander, 5th chief of the Macdonalds of Dunnyveg. Coll was a posthumous son of Colla Maol Dubh's eldest son, Archibald. He was born in Ireland; his birthplace is given as Loughlynch, which is in the parish of Billy,

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

, and his mother's name as a local O'Quinn or O'Cahan (O'Kane). Coll is sometimes stated to be a convert from Protestantism to the Catholic church, but seems to have joined it long before the first Catholic mission arrived in 1623, and was noted for his encouragement and support of Catholic interests in the region.Stevenson, ''Alasdair MacColla and the highland problem in the seventeenth century'', 1980, p.43 The Colonsay branch of the family, although based in the Hebrides, were particularly closely involved with their kinsmen's interests in Antrim. He married Mary MacDonald of Sanda; those MacDonalds, another cadet branch of the Macdonalds of Dunnyveg, were also caught up in the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities in a personal union un ...

, and lost their position as a result of the Dunaverty Massacre. His son,

Alasdair Mac Colla Alasdair Mac Colla Chiotaich MacDhòmhnaill ( – 13 November 1647), also known by the English variant of his name Sir Alexander MacDonald, was a military officer best known for his participation in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, notably the I ...

, was heavily involved in the wars, fighting both in Ireland and in Scotland. From his marriage with Mary MacDonald of Sanda, they had issue: *Gilleasbuig (Archibald), killed at Dunaverty Castle in 1647. *Aonghus (Angus), killed at Dunaverty Castle in 1647. *

Alasdair Alasdair () is a Scottish Gaelic given name. The name is a Gaelic form of ''Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

(Alexander), married Elizabeth MacAlister, died at Battle of Knocknanauss in 1647. *Seamus (James) This family is alluded to in a

sonnet A sonnet is a fixed poetic form with a structure traditionally consisting of fourteen lines adhering to a set Rhyme scheme, rhyming scheme. The term derives from the Italian word ''sonetto'' (, from the Latin word ''sonus'', ). Originating in ...

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

(Sonnet XI) which has a line referring to three generations: :'' ..olkitto or Macdonnel or Galasp.'' Galasp stands in for Gillespie (anglicised name).

Family

References

Further reading