It is the most photographed castle in Scotland, and has been featured in blockbuster films from Highlander to James Bond.
But for many years Eilean Donan castle did not look as it does now, and this year marks 300 years since the fateful battle which left the castle in ruins after destruction by the British during the Jacobite rising.
Two hundred years later work began on restoring Eilean Donan to its former glory by John MacRae-Gilstrap of Clan MacRae.
Sitting between the three sea lochs of Loch Long, Loch Alsh, and Loch Duich, the castle was used as a stronghold by Spanish invaders during the uprising in a bid to restore James Stuart, son of James IV of Scotland, to the throne.
The castle was under heavy bombardment from British naval ships for several days and, eventually, after barrels of gunpowder were set alight, the Eilean Donan was demolished and would not be lived in for over 200 years.
Dr Iain MacInnes is an expert in medieval Scotland from the University of the Highlands and Islands. He spoke about how the castle has had a long history of importance to Scotland:
“It is perhaps its location that makes it 'special', on the road to Skye, and regularly voted as one of Scotland’s most picturesque castles. There is little doubting its 'romantic' location and its general setting.
“The fact that a castle appears to have existed in some form on this site from the very early middle ages suggests that it was situated at an important strategic location.
“Its access to the sea meant it would likely have acted not just as a castle, but also as a harbour for ships connected to the ruling families in the area, from which they could project their sea power over the region.
“This was an important part of lordship in this region, where travel by water was probably more important than travel by land. It's likely 13th-century origins also relate to providing defence in depth against Scandinavian raids and incursions in a period when Scoto-Norse relations were not good.
Dr MacInnes also says that, as with many of Scotland’s Castles, Robert the Bruce may have paid a visit as part of his conquest of Scotland.
“Clan history suggests that Robert the Bruce stayed at Eilean Donan in 1306-7 on his flight westwards following his defeat at the battle of Methven,” he said.
“There is no corroborative evidence for this, however, and the temptation to be associated with the 'warrior king' is quite a strong one in many clan histories, so this might well come under the heading of 'myth'.
“And, as with many Scottish castles, there is the ghost of a mysterious lady also associated with it. Scottish folklore has a lot to answer for.
"There is even a suggestion of a Matheson (who were constables of the castle for a time) being able to speak to birds. Make of that what you will.
“Its last hurrah in the Jacobite uprising of 1719 is a pretty spectacular way to go out!”
Between 1919 and 1932, work began on the rebuilding of Eilean Donan by Lieutenant-Colonel John MacRae-Gilstrap. As well as adding the famous footbridge to connect the island to the mainland, the castle itself was restored to stand just as it had done for hundreds of years before its destruction.
Now, visitors from all over Scotland and the world come to visit it, take pictures and even marry there, cementing its status as a Scottish cultural icon.
Clan Mackenzie, along with Clan Macrae, has a special affinity with the castle, as it was the stronghold of the Clan for many years. A committee member of the Clan Mackenzie Society spoke about the clan's long association with the fortress: “It seems reasonably clear that the Mackenzies had lost control of Eilean Donan in the first half of the 14th century,” they said.
“Then, following a long exile on the part of the chief, Murdoch Dubh, he finally seems likely to have recovered the family’s power base in a purported Royal Charter of 1362 – which was purported to have been further confirmed in 1414 to his son in a grant from the Exchequer.
“Because of the Mackenzies' power-base in this region it was chosen as the landing place for the Jacobite invasion, which was aided by Spanish troops but defeated in the glen near the castle by the English General Wightman.
“The Mackenzie chief, William Dubh (or “Black William”), the 5th Earl and 2nd Jacobite Marquis of Seaforth, played a heroic role in this rising before being wounded and carried across the mountains (the ridge of the Five Sisters of Kintail) to exile and safety.
“The MacRaes also played an important role in the history of the castle, since they are a local clan who were the traditional bodyguards of the Mackenzie chief and their own chiefs had been the hereditary constables of Eilean Donan and were consequently dubbed ‘Mackenzie’s Shirt-of-Mail’.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel