death_date children other_names title birth_date spouse article_title name
c. mid-1200s aonghas mór donald , son of ranald unclear , perhaps lord of islay c. late 1100s unknown domhnall mac raghnaill
 domhnall mac raghnaill
domhnall mac raghnaill

domhnall mac raghnaill was a hebridean noble in the late 12th - and early 13th-century .
he is the eponymous progenitor of clan donald -lrb- `` clann dhòmhnaill '' , `` children of donald '' -rrb- .
for this reason some traditions accumulated around him in the later middle ages and early modern period .
despite his role as the historical figurehead of one of the world 's most famous kindreds and surnames , there is almost no contemporary evidence yielding certain information about his life .
his place in the genealogical tradition of the macdonalds is the only reason for believing in his existence , a genealogical tradition that not all historians have accepted .
beyond his actual existence , there is little that is certain .
three entries in irish annals may discuss him , though he is never named ; a praise poem surviving from the early modern period may be descended from a poem originally written for him ; a miracle in a manx chronicle may or may not have domhnall as its subject ; and a doubtful charter surviving from a similarly late era was allegedly issued by him .
