page_title: Alasdair Óg of Islay
section_title: The Turnberry Band
hierarchical_section_title: Alasdair Óg of Islay / Clann Domhnaill under Aonghus Mór / The Turnberry Band
caption_attribution_description: English: Seal of Robert Bruce VI, Earl of Carrick, 1285.
context_page_description: Alasdair Óg Mac Domhnaill was Lord of Islay and chief of Clann Domhnaill. He was the eldest son of Aonghus Mór mac Domhnaill, Lord of Islay. Alasdair Óg seems to first appear on record in 1264, when he was held as a hostage of the Scottish Crown for his father's good behaviour. During Alasdair Óg's career, the Scottish realm endured a succession crisis as a result of the unexpected death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, heir to the Scottish throne, in 1290. One of several factions that staked a claim to the throne was the Bruce kindred. Both Alasdair Óg and his father were cosignatories of the Turnberry Band, a pact that may have partly concerned the Bruces' royal aspirations.
  Aonghus Mór last appears on record in 1293, which seems to have been about the time that Alasdair Óg succeeded him as chief of Clann Domhnaill. Alasdair Óg's wife was apparently a member of Clann Dubhghaill. This marital alliance evidently brought Clann Domhnaill and Clann Dubhghaill into a territorial conflict. The chief of the latter kindred, Alasdair Mac Dubhghaill, was a close adherent to the successful claimant to the kingship, John Balliol.
context_section_description: Alasdair Óg next appears on record in about 1284/1285/1286, when he confirmed his father's grant of the church of St Ciarán to the Cistercian monastery of Paisley. The witness lists of Clann Somhairle charters spanning the thirteenth century reveal that, as time wore on, the kindred increasingly surrounded itself with men drawn from a Scottish background as opposed to that of men mainly of a Hebridean milieu. In fact, Alasdair Óg's transaction with the Cistercians marks the first record of Robert Bruce VII, a future King of Scotland.
  Other evidence of the kindred's incorporation within Scotland concerns the formation of alliances with various factions within the realm. Whilst Clann Dubhghall forged ties with the dominant Comyn kindred, Clann Domhnaill evidently aligned itself to the Bruce kindred. The latter partnership appears to owe itself to the unsettled period immediately after Alexander III's unexpected demise in March 1286. Although the leading magnates of the realm had previously recognised Alexander III's granddaughter, Margaret, as his legitimate heir, there were two major factions in the realm that possessed competing claims to the kingship. At the beginning of April, Robert Bruce V, Lord of Annandale announced his claim to the throne, whilst John Balliol—a magnate backed by the Comyns—seems to have declared a claim of his own before the end of the month.
  It is possible that the Bruce faction regarded its claim to be weaker to that of Comyn-Balliol faction. In September, members of the faction concluded a pact, known as the Turnberry Band, in which certain Scottish and Anglo-Irish magnates—including Alasdair Óg and his father—pledged to support one another. One possibility is that Alasdair Óg's confirmation charter was granted immediately before or after the conclusion of the Turnberry pact. Certainly, two of the men who witnessed the grant to Paisley were members of monastery of Crossraguel, a religious house within the Bruce lordship of Carrick. This could be evidence that the charter was issued within the earldom as well. In any event, although the precise purpose of the Turnberry pact is uncertain, it is conceivable that it was somehow connected to the Bruce faction's claim to the throne. One possibility is that that involvement of Clann Domhnaill may have been intended to counter the threat of Clann Dubhghaill whilst the Bruces and their allies contended with the Balliols in Galloway.
  In accordance to the pact, the participating Scottish magnates swore to support two prominent Anglo-Irish magnates: Richard de Burgh, Earl of Ulster and Thomas de Clare, Lord of Thomond. Thomas' father-in-law died the same year leaving him with claims in Connacht and Ulster. This could indicate that one of the purposes of the bond was to further the ambitions of Richard and Thomas in north-west Ireland, and enable the latter to secure possession of his northern inheritance from the clutches of his chief competitor, John fitz Thomas, and the numerous native kindreds of the region. One aspect of the pact, therefore, could have concerned the curtailment of overseas connections between Clann Domhnaill and Irish kindreds opposed to the earl, such as the Uí Domhnaill and the Uí Néill. In fact, the bond coincided with an immense show of force by Richard in Connacht and Ulster. This campaign saw the earl's exaction of hostages from Cineál Chonaill and Cineál Eoghain, the deposition of Domhnall Ó Néill from the kingship of Tír Chonaill, and the subsequent replacement of the latter with a more palatable candidate. The bond's Anglo-Irish cosignatories may have sought maritime support from Clann Domhnaill, and it is possible that Aonghus Mór contributed to the earl's operation.
  Other cosignatories included members of the Stewart/Menteith kindred. The Bruces and Stewarts also had a stake in north-west Ireland, with the latter kindred eventually possessing claims to territories that had formerly been held by predecessors of John Balliol. The participation of the Stewart/Menteith kindred in the band could have also concerned its part in th
caption: The seal of Robert Bruce VI.[47] The Turnberry Band was concluded at this man's principal residence, Turnberry Castle.[48]
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