Smerby Castle, also known as Island Muller Castle, is a ruined

fortified house A fortified house or fortified mansion is a type of building which developed in Europe during the Middle Ages, generally with significant fortifications added. United States In the United States, historically a fortified house was often calle ...

on a promontory known as Isla Muller,

Kintyre Kintyre ( gd, Cinn Tìre, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East and West Loch Tarbert in the north. The region immediately north ...

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, north of

Campbeltown Campbeltown (; gd, Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing ...

. The site is protected as a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

History

16th century

Ranald MacDonald Ranald MacDonald (February 3, 1824 – August 24, 1894) was the first native English-speaker to teach the English language in Japan, including educating Einosuke Moriyama, one of the chief interpreters to handle the negotiations between Co ...

was granted Smerby Castle from his father

James MacDonald, 6th of Dunnyveg James MacDonald (Scottish Gaelic: ''Séamus Mac Dhòmhnaill''), alias McDonnell, 6th Chief of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg, Scottish-Gaelic lord, died 1565. Biography MacDonald was the son of Alexander MacDonald, lord of Islay and Kintyre (''Can ...

Angus MacDonald, 8th of Dunnyveg Angus MacDonald, 8th of Dunnyveg (Scottish Gaelic: ''Aonghus Mac Dòmhnuill'', died 21 October 1614) was the Chief of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg. Life MacDonald was the son of James MacDonald, 6th of Dunnyveg (died 1565) and Agnes Campbell, da ...

was kept as a prisoner in chains at Smerby Castle in 1598 after James MacDonald was sent to seek his fathers submission to King

James V of Scotland James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of James IV of Sco ...

. Angus suffered burns after his Kintyre house Askomull was burnt down by his son James and was subsequently captured. The MacDonalds of Smerby were known as "MacConnell" due to the Gaelic pronunciation of Macdonald as such. In a 1594 Bond by James "Macdonald" of Smerby, signed as M'Connall and a 1597 Bond by Sir James "MacDonald" of Knockrinsay also signed as M'Connall

Notes

References

*{{cite book, first1=Angus, last1=Macdonald, first2=Archibald, last2=Macdonald, title=The Clan Donald, year=1900, publisher=The Northern Counties Publishing Company, Ltd, location=Inverness, volume=2, url=https://archive.org/details/clandonald20macd, ref=Macd2 Clan Donald Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Argyll and Bute Ruined castles in Argyll and Bute Kintyre