Clan McQuillan ( ga, Mac Uighilín) is an Irish clan that descends from the north coast of
County Antrim
County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...
in
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
in the north-east of
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. Still a popular name throughout County Antrim, the McQuillans are known mostly for their association with
Dunluce Castle and for their battles with the Scottish McDonnell clan.
Origin of name
The name McQuillan is of disputed origin, with two prevailing theories:
*They descend from Hugelin de Mandeville, with McQuillan claiming to be from ''Mac Uighilín'' meaning son of Hugelin. This idea has been challenged with historical sources clearly showing that the McQuillans and de Mandevilles were two different families.
*They descend from Fiacha MacUillin, youngest son of
Niall of the Nine Hostages
Niall ''Noígíallach'' (; Old Irish "having nine hostages"), or Niall of the Nine Hostages, was a legendary, semi-historical Irish king who was the ancestor of the Uí Néill dynasties that dominated Ireland from the 6th to the 10th centuries. ...
. This idea has proved problematic as the full ancient genealogy of the McQuillan was lost in the 1760s by Ephraim MacQuillan.
Spelling variations for the name McKellen include: McQuillan, McQuillen, McQuillian, McQuillin, McQuillon, McCailin, McAilin, MacQuillian, MacQuillon, MacCaillion, MacQuillin, MacQuillan, McKillan, McQuilland, McAiland, McAylin, McCaillion, McKillion, McKillin, McKillon, MacKillan, MacQuilland, MacAyland, MacAilan, Quillan and many more.
History
In 1442, according to the Annals of Ulster, the MacQuillan-O'Cahan feud started.
By the 1460s, with the earldom of Ulster near its end, the surviving de Mandevilles of north Antrim deserted their manors in Twescard and sold their interests to the MacQuillans who were already established there.
The MacQuillans would rename Twescard, the Route, after their "rout", a common term then for a private army.
Their principal residence in the Route was at
Dunluce Castle, near the mouth of the River Bush.
The end of the MacQuillan-O'Cahan feud came in 1559, when their allies, the MacDonnells of the Glens turned upon them.
, with the aid of levies from Scotland, launched a mass assault on the Route against the MacQuillans. The final battle of this assault was at
Aura
Aura most commonly refers to:
* Aura (paranormal), a field of luminous multicolored radiation around a person or object
* Aura (symptom), a symptom experienced before a migraine or seizure
Aura may also refer to:
Places Extraterrestrial
* 1488 ...
, and saw the end of the MacQuillans and the conquest of the Route by the MacDonnells.
See also
*
Twescard
Twescard () is a former county of the Earldom of Ulster in medieval Ireland. Taking its name from the native Irish territory of '' in Tuaiscirt'', it spanned the northern coastland of County Antrim and County Londonderry. At its height it stretche ...
*
Earldom of Ulster
The Earldom of Ulster was an Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman lordship in northern medieval Ireland, established by John de Courcy from the conquest of the province of Ulaid in eastern Ulster. It was the most important Anglo-Norman lordship in the no ...
External links
McQuillan Clan Association
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clan McQuillan
15th century in Ireland
Irish families
16th century in Ireland