The Siol Murdoch were an ancient Scottish family and a

sept A sept is a division of a family, especially of a Scottish or Irish family. The term is used in both Scotland and Ireland, where it may be translated as ''sliocht'', meaning "progeny" or "seed", which may indicate the descendants of a person ( ...

of the

Clan Donald Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald ( gd, Clann Dòmhnaill; Mac Dòmhnaill ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry i ...

or MacDonald, a

Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from Goidelic languages, Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official ...

of the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

. Siol Murdoch in

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

means ''seed of Murdoch'' with the full Gaelic being Siol Mhurchaidh and may also be known by the Anglicised Gaelic surname of MacMurchie. They inhabited

North Uist North Uist ( gd, Uibhist a Tuath; sco, North Uise) is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Etymology In Donald Munro's ''A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland Called Hybrides'' of 1549, North Uist, Benbecula and ...

History

The Siol Murdoch are noted for their feud during the 14th and 15th centuries with the

Siol Gorrie Siol Gorrie (Siolach Ghoirridh) is a Scottish Clan and a branch of Clan Donald. The progenitor of Siol Gorrie is Gorrie (Godfrey), a son of John of Islay and Amy of Garmoran.Gregory, p.34.Gregory, p.64. Godfrey was titled Lord of Uist. The Si ...

(surname MacGorrie) who were another sept of the Clan Donald. The Siol Gorrie were apparently the legitimate possessors of

but this was disputed by the Siol Murdoch and a struggle began between the two factions. The Siol Murdoch inhabited the valley of Hosta and the Siol Gorrie apparently dug away the soil embankment of a nearby loch, which in turn formed a new loch, the present Loch Hosta, and in the resulting deluge many people of Siol Murdoch were killed. The survivors however attacked the Siol Gorrie near the township of Udal and there was only one survivor who found refuge in

Lochboisdale Lochboisdale ( gd, Loch Baghasdail) is the main village and port on the island of South Uist, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Lochboisdale is within the parish of South Uist, and is situated on the shore of Loch Baghasdail at the southern end of the A ...

. According to tradition there are those in Uist who pride themselves as being descended from the ''legitimate and honourable'' Siol Gorrie and not from the ''deceitful and illegitimate'' Siol Murdoch. A short Gaelic verse about the Siol Murdoch is as follows: This translates in English as: Angus MacDonald who was a member of the Siol Murdoch family (Sio Mhurchaidh in Gaelic) from North Uist was named as the last piper of the

Great Highland bagpipe The Great Highland bagpipe ( gd, a' phìob mhòr "the great pipe") is a type of bagpipe native to Scotland, and the Scottish analogue to the Great Irish Warpipes. It has acquired widespread recognition through its usage in the British milit ...

s who could play the ''Lament for the Laird of Valley'' all the way through. This Angus MacDonald was a veteran of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

References

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Murdoch Murdoch ( , ) is an Irish/Scottish given name, as well as a surname. The name is derived from old Gaelic words ''mur'', meaning "sea" and ''murchadh'', meaning "sea warrior". The following is a list of notable people or entities with the name. ...

North Uist 14th century in Scotland 15th century in Scotland Gaels