Clan Darroch is a

Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from 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 structure recognised ...

. The current Chief of the Name and Arms of Darroch as recognized by the

Lord Lyon King of Arms The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grant ...

is descended from the Darrochs of Jura.

History

Origins of the name

The name Darroch is said to derive from ''Macdara'' which is

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 ...

for ''son of oak''. The Darrochs settled around

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

and the name appears to have been derived from the lands of Darroch, near Falkirk, where there may have once been an oak grove. In accordance with this legend the chief's arms bear three oak trees. There is a tradition in the West Highlands that the surname borne there is derived from the

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

''Dath riabhach'', which is said to be a short form of ''Mac 'Ille riabhach''; although etymologist George Fraser Black thought such a derivation doubtful. The present line of chiefs, recognised as such by the

since the late 18th century, claimed to descend from a "McIlliriech" from Jura.''Burke's landed gentry of Great Britain'', page=278.

Darrochs of Stirling

In 1406 John Darroch was ballie of

. Later, in 1445, John Darach de Cruce is mentioned and is maybe the same person who was Commissioner to Parliament for the burgh of Stirling by the name of John Darraugh. In 1462 the nurse of Lady Margaret Stewart, daughter of James II of Scotland was Mariote Darrauch. Marion Darroch of Stirling protested in 1471 that she had not given consent to the alienation of an annual rent owed to her. In 1477 Jacobus Darroch appears as a witness to a charter to the lands of the Stirlings of Keir.

Darrochs of the Inner Hebrides

The Darrochs were most numerous on the islands of Islay and Jura. Here they were part of the larger Clan Donald. These Darrochs were known as the ''Clann Domhnuill Riabhaich'' which is a corruption of ''dath riabhach'', which is Gaelic for ''brindled colour''. This was to distinguish them from the fair headed inhabitants of Jura, who were known as ''dath buidhe'' – from which the name 'Bowie' is derived. The Mic ille Riabhaich appear in 1623 on a bond acknowledging as their overlord, Sir Donald MacDonald, 1st Baronet of Sleat. In the bond MacDonald promises in return due protection. The Gaelic patronymic of the Darroch chief became ''McIllreich''.

18th century

Darroch Mausoleum, Gourock Park, Inverclyde

The Barons of Gourock were descended from the McIllreich of Jura. Duncan Darroch who had been born on Jura, probably in the early 18th century, settled in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. There he amassed a considerable estate and prospered. However he was determined to return to his native soil and in 1784 acquired the lands and barony of Gourock from the Stewarts of Castlemilk. He was designated ''Chief of that ancient name the patronymic of which is McIllreich'' by the

. Image:Darroch-chief-arms.jpg, The Arms of DARROCH OF GOUROCK – Argent a three masted ship under full sail in a sea all proper between three oak trees eradicated proper fructed Or. Lyon Office Public Register, vol 46, page 25, 15 October 1962, Way of Plean and Squire, p116

References

External links

https://web.archive.org/web/20070314000745/http://www.myclan.com/clans/Darroch_26/default.phpClan Darroch at ScotClans
{{Scottish clans Darroch