page_title: Dubhghall mac Suibhne
section_title: Family
hierarchical_section_title: Dubhghall mac Suibhne / Family
caption_attribution_description: English: Map for the Wikipedia article concerning Dubhghall mac Suibhne.
context_page_description: Dubhghall mac Suibhne was a prominent thirteenth-century landholder in Argyll, and a leading member of Clann Suibhne. He was a son of Suibhne mac Duinn Shléibhe, and appears to have held lordship of Knapdale from at least the 1240s to the 1260s, and may have initiated the construction of Skipness Castle and Lochranza Castle.
  During Dubhghall's career, Clann Suibhne fell prey to the Stewarts, one of Scotland's most powerful and families. By the 1240s, the Stewarts appear to have gained lordship in the Firth of Clyde and Cowal, whilst Alexander II, King of Scotland attempted to extend royal authority into Argyll and the Isles. It is in the context of this Scottish encroachment into Argyll that Dubhghall first appears on record, in an appeal to Pope Innocent IV for papal protection in 1247.
  Although Alexander II's campaign to annex Argyll and the Isles came to an immediate halt on his death in 1249, his son and successor, Alexander III, renewed hostilities in the 1260s. By this time, it was Walter Stewart, Earl of Menteith who spearheaded the Stewarts' westward advance.
context_section_description: Dubhghall was a son of Suibhne mac Duinn Shléibhe, eponymous ancestor of Clann Suibhne. According to the eighteenth-century Craignish History, a daughter of Dubhghall married a member of the Craignish branch of the Caimbéalaigh kindred (the Campbells). Dubhghall's son-in-law, a man also named Dubhghall, is identified by the Craignish History as the third of the name to represent the Craignish Caimbéalaigh. The succeeding son of this couple is further stated by this source to have been named Dubhghall, and is elsewhere attested as an historical landholder in Argyll.
  The Clann Suibhne lordship appears to have stretched across Knapdale, from the Sound of Jura to Loch Fyne, and further extended across the Kilbrannan Sound, from Skipness to Arran.
  Dubhghall's father may have built Castle Sween in Knapdale. The fortress appears to date to the late twelfth century. As such, it is one of the oldest standing stone castles in Scotland.
  Dubhghall's family appears to have constructed Skipness Castle as well. The original site seems to have consisted of two free-standing buildings: a two-storey residence with a lord's hall, and a single-storey chapel. This complex appears to have been surrounded by an earth and timber wall. The hall house and adjutant chapel may date to the first half of the thirteenth century. Skipness Castle is first recorded by a charter of Dubhghall dating to 1261. The site may have been a secondary residence to their main residence at Castle Sween, which could well have served as the power centre of the Clann Suibhne lordship.
  In fact, it may have been Dubhghall who initiated construction of Skipness Castle. Clann Suibhne, and specifically Dubhghall himself, may have built Lochranza Castle on Arran as well. Although the visible ruins of the latter structure are those of a late mediaeval tower house, the original hall house appears to date to the thirteenth or fourteenth century. If the castle was indeed constructed by Clann Suibhe it would mean that the family possessed firm control over the Kilbrannan Sound.
caption: Locations relating to the life and times of Dubhghall.
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