Colla MacDonnell was a son of Alexander MacDonnell, Lord of
Islay
Islay ( ; , ) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll and Bute just south west of Jura, Scotland, Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The island's cap ...
and
Kintyre
Kintyre (, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East Loch Tarbert, Argyll, East and West Loch Tarbert, Argyll, West Loch Tarbert in t ...
(Cantire), and Catherine, daughter of the Lord of Ardnamurchan. He died at
Kinbane Castle in
1558
__NOTOC__
Year 1558 ( MDLVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–March
* January 7 – French troops, led by Francis, Duke of Guise, take Calais, the last continental possession o ...
.
Biography
After the death of his father Alexander MacDonnell in 1539, his older brother
James MacDonnell, inherited the title of ''Lord of Dunnyveg and Antrim Glynns'', however James decided to return to
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, accompanied by his wife Agnus Campbell. Colla was appointed ''Captain of
the Route'' to rule
the Glynns in his absence.
Colla's marriage to Evelyn MacQuillan, brought a tentative peace between the previous opposing clans.
Attempts were made by
Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd
Earl of Sussex
Earl of Sussex is a title that has been created several times in the Peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. The early Earls of Arundel (up to 1243) were often also called Earls of Sussex.
The fifth creation came in the Pee ...
,
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...
, to expel the MacDonnells back to Scotland. Colla built a two storey castle, known as Kinbane Castle in 1547, with a large courtyard with traces of other buildings, probably constructed out of wood.
In 1551 the castle was besieged by English forces under the command of the
Lord Deputy of Ireland
The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...
,
Sir James Croft, in the course of an expedition against the MacDonnell's. Another siege in 1555 was by English forces; the castle was partly destroyed by cannon fire and rebuilt afterwards by Colla.
Colla MacDonnell died at Kinbane Castle in 1558. James MacDonnell then offered the ''Captain of the Route'' to his brothers Alasdair MacDonnell and Angus MacDonnell in turn, with both refusing. This was a difficult frontier posting, subject to hostility from the
English and risings from the displaced MacQuillin's, and upon offering to the youngest brother
Sorley Boy MacDonnell
Somhairle Buíodh MacDonnell (Scottish Gaelic: ''Somhairle Buidhe Mac Domhnaill''), known as Sorley Boy MacDonnell, whose last name was also given as MacDonald (c. 1505 – 1590), was a Gaelic chief, the son of Alexander Carragh MacDonnell, ...
, he accepted.
Family
By his wife, Evelyn MacQuillan, they had:
*
Gillaspick, died in 1571 at Ballycastle.
*Randal
References
Bibliography
*Hill, G., An Historical Account of the MacDonnells of Antrim, 1873.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonnell, Colla
1558 deaths
Colla
Year of birth unknown