Lochranza Castle (3)
Going back to the MacSweens - the Scottish Wars of Independence in the late 13th and early 14th centuries, was a time of great internal upheaval in Scotland, during which the Scots probably spent as much time fighting one another as they did the English, with much changing of sides as it suited them.  In 1301 John MacSween approached Edward I of England, asserting that one of the king's enemies, Sir John Menteith, had deprived MacSween of his inheritance.  In 1310, Edward II of England granted John MacSween and his brothers, their family's ancestral lands of Knapdale - provided they could recover it from Sir John Menteith!!  The subsequent rebellion ended in failure, and the MacSweens were forced to permanently leave for Ireland.  A contingent settled in Donegal and became the progenitors of Clan Sweeney.
dji084850stitch2 lochranza isleofarran scotland ruinedcastle towerhouse stewart macsween montgomery earlofeglinton