page_title: Alasdair Óg of Islay
section_title: Aligned with the English regime
hierarchical_section_title: Alasdair Óg of Islay / Clann Domhnaill under Alasdair Óg / Aligned with the English regime
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Die Ruine der Burg Skipness an der Ostküste von Kintyre, Schottland English: The ruins of Skipness Castle at the east coast of Kintyre, Scotland
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: Aonghus Mór is last attested in 1293, and appears to have died at about this date. Alasdair Óg's undated renewal of his father's grant of St Ciarán seems to be evidence that Aonghus Mór had been succeeded by the date of its issue. Certainly, Alasdair Óg appears to have succeeded Aonghus Mór by the mid 1290s. The record of Alasdair Óg serving as a young hostage in 1264 suggests that he would have been in his thirties at the time of his succession.
  In an effort to curb the principal representative of the Comyn-Balliol faction in the north-west, Alasdair Mac Dubhghaill, Edward turned to Alasdair Óg. The latter was evidently serving the English Crown by March, and is attested in April as an English-aligned bailiff in Kintyre, tasked to seize control of Kintyre and hand it over to a certain Malcolm le fitz l'Engleys. As such, Alasdair Óg was given jurisdiction over an area formerly under the authority of the steward, a man who had briefly taken up arms against the English in 1296 but quickly capitulated when resistance proved futile.
  By 10 September, however, Edward turned to Alexander Stewart, Earl of Menteith, who was appointed authority over an expansive territory stretching from Ross to Rutherglen. The earl was ordered to take into custody the property of Alasdair Mac Dubhghaill and Eóin Mac Dubhghaill; his was given authority over specific magnates such as the steward, (the keeper of Ross) William Hay, John Comyn II, and Niall Caimbéal; as well as the burghs of Ayr, Renfrew, Dumbarton; and given authority over the men of Argyll and Ross. It is unknown what prompted the king to turn towards the earl. The latter had been captured following the Scottish defeat at Dunbar in April, and had been released from custody in June. One possibility is that the English Crown sought to rely upon a power that was less personally involved in the politics of the region. It is also possible that the English orchestrated this delegation of authority in the context of adopting a divide-and-rule policy in the region as a way to offset Alasdair Óg's influence.
  In an undated letter that appears to date to about the summer of 1296, Alasdair Óg reported to the English king that he had secured possession of the steward's lands in Kintyre, and was on verge of taking control of a particular castle. Although this fortress is unnamed, it may have been either Dunaverty Castle of Skipness Castle—either of which could have been the steward's principal stronghold in Kintyre. Alasdair Óg also advanced the opinion that, under the Scottish and English law, no tenant-in-chief should lose his heritage without first being impleaded by writ in their name. However, the fact that Malcolm is on record in possession of Dunaverty Castle a decade later suggests that Alasdair Óg's letter was an insincere—and unsuccessful—attempt to prevent Malcolm from gaining a foothold in Kintyre. By early May, the steward duly submitted to the English Crown. Whether Alasdair Óg was aware of the steward's submition is unknown. As a result, his castle could have been seized by Alasdair Óg or merely handed over to him. In September 1296, Edward ordered that Alasdair Óg be granted £100 of lands and rent for his services to the English Crown.
caption: Either Skipness Castle (pictured) or Dunaverty Castle could have been the principal seat of the steward in Kintyre.[122] Either may have been the fortress that Alasdair Óg was on verge of storming in September 1296 when he informed the English Crown of his progress in securing control of Kintyre.
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