Caisteal Maol (

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

: ''Caisteal'', 'Castle', ''Maol'', 'bare') is a ruined

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

located near the harbour of the village of

Kyleakin Kyleakin (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Caol Àcain'') is a village situated on the east coast of the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland. The village is along the strait of Kyle Akin, opposite the northwest Scottish mainland town of Kyle of L ...

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of ...

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 ...

. It is also known as Castle Moil, Castle Maol, Dun Akyn, Dunakin Castle, Dun Haakon and Castle Dunakin.

History

The castle, an ancient seat of the Mackinnon clan, was a fortress commanding the

strait A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...

of Kyle Akin between Skye and the mainland, through which all ships had to pass or else attempt the stormy passage of

The Minch The Minch () is a strait in north-west Scotland that separates the mainland from Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides. It was known as ("Scotland's firth") in Old Norse. The Minch's southern extension, which separates Skye from the midd ...

. The present building dates back to the 15th century, but is traditionally reputed to be of much earlier origin. According to that tradition,

Alpín mac Echdach Alpín mac Echdach was a supposed king of Dál Riata, an ancient kingdom that included parts of Ireland and Scotland. Alpín was included in a pedigree chart created in the 10th century to connect the kings of Alba (Scotland) to legendary Dál R ...

's great-grandson Findanus, the 4th MacKinnon chief, brought Dunakin into the clan around the year 900 by marrying a Norse princess nicknamed 'Saucy Mary'. Findanus and his bride ran a heavy chain across the sound and levied a toll on all shipping vessels. The Princess lies buried on Beinn na Caillich on Skye, her face reputedly turned towards

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. Whatever the veracity of the castle's traditional history, there is good reason for supposing the existence of a connection of some kind with Norway.

King Haakon IV Haakon IV Haakonsson ( – 16 December 1263; ; ), sometimes called Haakon the Old in contrast to his namesake son, was King of Norway from 1217 to 1263. His reign lasted for 46 years, longer than any Norwegian king since Harald Fairhair. Haako ...

is thought to have assembled his fleet of longships there before the

Battle of Largs The Battle of Largs (2 October 1263) was a battle between the kingdoms of Kingdom of Norway (872–1397), Norway and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, on the Firth of Clyde near Largs, Scotland. The conflict formed part of the Scottish–Norwegian ...

in 1263 (hence the name

– Haakon's kyle). Haakon's defeat at Largs effectively ended Norse domination of the Scottish islands. Medieval and early modern documents also refer to the castle itself as Dunakin (Dun-Haakon), which is again strongly suggestive of a Norse connection. left, Interior view of the large window on the first level – the thickness of the walls is apparent The present structure is of late 15th or early 16th century construction. This is supported by historical documents and carbon dating. In 1513, a meeting of chiefs was held here and they agreed to support Donald MacDonald as

Lord of the Isles Lord of the Isles or King of the Isles ( or ; ) is a title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It began with Somerled in the 12th century and thereafter the title was ...

. The last occupant of the castle was Neill MacKinnon, nephew of the 26th chief of the clan (c. 1601).On site informational sign from the Skye & Lochalsh District Council's Museums Service

Description

The castle occupies a headland above the village of

facing the village of

Kyle of Lochalsh Kyle of Lochalsh ( , "strait of the foaming loch") is a village in the historic county of Ross & Cromarty on the northwest coast of Scotland, located around west-southwest of Inverness. It is located on the Lochalsh peninsula, at the entranc ...

across the strait. It is a simple rectangular keep of three stories. The unexplored basement level is filled with rubble and other debris and is believed to have contained the kitchen. The visitor today enters on the main level where the public dining space would have been. Stairs would have led up to the private apartments above. The castle is almost completely ruined. In 1949 and 1989 parts of the ruins broke away in storms. The remaining ruins have been secured to prevent further deterioration. No excavation of the ruins has been carried out, nor are planned. On 14 February 2018, a

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

strike destroyed part of the ruins; they have subsequently been stabilised.

References

Sources

Miket and Roberts, ''The Mediaeval Castles of Skye and Lochalsh'' (2nd edition, Birlinn Ltd, 2007)

External links

Information on Castle Moil
{{Skye Castles in the Isle of Skye Category A listed buildings in Highland (council area) Clan Mackinnon Tower houses in Scotland