Alasdair Mac Colla Alasdair Mac Colla ( c . 1610 – 1647 ) was a Scottish soldier . His full name in Scottish Gaelic was " Alasdair Mac Colla Chiotaich Mac Domhnuill " ( ) . He is sometimes mistakenly referred to in English as " Collkitto " , a nickname that properly belongs to his father . He fought in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms , most notably in Scotland , where he became a knight . He died at the Battle of Knocknanauss in 1647 . Biography . Early life . Mac Colla was born on the Inner Hebridean Isle of Colonsay in the early seventeenth century into Clan Donald . His early life encompassed both Gaelic Ireland and the Gaelic western Highlands of Scotland - as the MacDonalds had a presence in both countries . Like his father , Colla , Alasdair made his name as a soldier , being particularly noted for his use of a Scots broadsword called the claymore . In his young days , he saw fighting against the Campbell clan , with whom the MacDonalds had a long running feud over territory and power . This enmity was deepened by religious factors . The Campbells were Presbyterians , whereas the MacDonalds , among whom a Franciscan mission had settled , were Catholics . Civil War in Ireland and Scotland . However , Mac Colla really came to prominence with the onset of the conflict known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms . The MacDonald clan , which was spread over northwestern Scotland and northeastern Ireland , sided with the Royalists and Irish Confederates . Their deadly enemies , the Clan Campbell , sided with the Scottish Covenanters . Early in the war , Mac Colla was forced to flee the Western Isles , which were attacked by a Covenanter / Campbell force . Colla , his father was taken prisoner by the Campbells . On the outbreak of the Irish Rebellion of 1641 , Mac Colla found himself in Antrim , under the command of Randal MacDonald , the chief of the Irish MacDonalds . Mac Colla , who was a Catholic , quickly became involved in fighting the Protestant settlers in east Ulster . He was implicated in some massacres of Protestant civilians , but also scored some notable military victories . However he was defeated and wounded in an attack on Lurgan . He was rescued by Dónall Geimhleach Ó Catháin . The Scottish Covenanters landed an army in Ulster and drove the Irish Catholic forces out of the greater part of the province . In 1644 , he was selected by the Supreme Council of Confederate Ireland to lead an expedition to Scotland to aid the Royalists there against the Covenanters . He was given a command of 1500 - 2000 men , mostly from Ulster . When in Scotland , Mac Colla linked up with the Royalist James Graham , 1st Marquess of Montrose . He was also able to raise men among his MacDonald clansmen and other anti - Campbell Scottish clans . In the subsequent Scottish Civil War , Mac Colla and Montrose won a series of victories at the battles of Tippermuir , Aberdeen , Inverlochy , Auldearn , Alford and Kilsyth . After Kilsyth , Montrose conferred knighthood on Mac Colla . Mac Colla also took the opportunity to pillage the Campbell lands , killing all the men he could find there . In an incident in Argyllshire after the Royalists were ordered to lay down arms , Mac Colla burned down a building full of Campbell women and children becoming known as the " Barn of Bones " . However , he and Montrose parted company because Mac Colla ' s priorities lay in the western Highlands , whereas Montrose wanted to secure the Lowlands and ultimately England for the Royalist cause . As a result , both of them were defeated separately by the Covenanters in 1646 . Mac Colla has been credited with inventing the tactic of the Highland charge in the Civil Wars - where his men ran at enemy infantry , fired a volley at close range and then closed hand to hand . This proved remarkably effective in both Ireland and Scotland , due to the musket ' s slow reloading time and the poor discipline and training of many of the troops Mac Colla ' s men faced . Defeat and death . Mac Colla ' s father , who was a prisoner of the Campbells , was killed in retaliation for his son ' s atrocities in the Campbell country . Mac Colla himself retreated to Kintyre and then to Ireland with his family , where he re - joined the Irish Confederates in 1647 . His troops , ( both Irish survivors of the 1644 expedition and Scottish Highlanders ) were split up and assigned to the Leinster and Munster armies , with Mac Colla attached to the latter . Mac Colla ' s men were mostly killed in the Confederate defeats at the Battle of Dungan ' s Hill in County Meath and then at the Battle of Knocknanauss in County Cork . Alasdair Mac Colla himself was killed by English Parliamentarian soldiers at Knocknanauss after he had been taken prisoner . Family . He married Elizabeth MacAlister , daughter of Hector MacAlister and Margaret Campbell and they had two sons : Commemoration . After his death , Mac Colla became a figure of minor folklore in Gaelic Ireland and Scotland , with songs and melodies written in his honour in both countries . He is commemorated in the Scottish Gaelic poetry of Iain Lom MacDonald and in Ireland by a piece of traditional music named " Mac Colla ' s March " or " Alasdair Mac Colla " that dates from the mid seventeenth century and is still performed . Alasdair Mac Colla . Sometimes known as ' Alasdair Mhic Colla Ghasda ' , this Scots Gaelic waulking song has been recorded numerous times . It appears on the following notable albums : Gol na mBan san Ár . Gol na mBan san Ár ( ) was composed in memory of MacColla and his female followers . The song has been recorded under many names .