| Notes |
- Niall "of the Castle", 1st of Barra, 21st Chief of MacNeil
Male - Aft 1094
http://www.clanmacfarlanegenealogy.info/genealogy/TNGWebsite/getperson.php?personID=I25630&tree=CC
Name Niall "of the Castle" [1, 2]
Suffix 1st of Barra, 21st Chief of MacNeil
Nickname of the Castle
Gender Male
Alt. Death Aft 1040 [2]
Name of the Castle
Residence Castle Bay, Barra, Outer Hebrides, Scotland
Kisimul Castle
Died Aft 1094
Person ID I25630 Clan current
Last Modified 11 Mar 2018
Children
+ 1. Aodh (Hugh), 2nd of Barra, 22nd Chief, d. Aft 1090
Last Modified 24 Aug 2015 14:03:00
Family ID F15085 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Notes ?1 - Niall, a descendent of Aodh O'Neill, a king of Northern Ireland at the beginning of the eleventh century. Niall came to the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides around 1094. Barra itself is thought to take its name either from St. Fionnbharr, the founder of Cork, or from St. Barr, the great-grandson of Niall of the Nine Hostages - a famous king of Ireland.
2 - The 21st Chief, Niall of the Castle, came to Barra around 1030, and began construction of Kisimul Castle in Castlebay. Kisimul Castle is the ancestral seat of the MacNeils.
Skene says "Tradition unquestionably points to Barra as now chief of the clan, and in this family the right to the chiefship probably exists, although the extreme distance of his possessions, which he appears from the first charter of Barra to have obtained in consequence of a marriage with an heiress of the Macleans from the rest, led many of them to follow the Macneills of Gigha, and made the latter family almost independent."
3 - Said to be 21st in descent from 'Neil of the Nine Hostages' who died about 405.
4 - Recent DNA samples show that the Barra MacNeil / McNeil / MacNeill Clan does not have/never had a genetic link to Neil of the Nine Hostages or the O'Neill's of Ireland. It is important that all reputed Barra men wherever they are living in the world....have their DNA tested and be prepared for the results. All previous generations until now had been led to believe that ancient connection to the past is through Ireland.....and DNA shows otherwise.
It was a stunning revelation when my MacNeill DNA test came back. Every Barra MacNeil descended from the old line of chiefs who has taken the test as prescribed by the clan has been the same. We are Viking Scots...not Celtic Scots. Any Clansmen wishing to know more about DNA testing can contact Vince MacNeil of the Canadian Clan MacNeil assoc. in Cape Breton, Canada.
[E-mail from Iain Mcneill, Canada rec: 7 Jan 2017]
5 - For centuries the MacNeil clan based on the Hebridean island of Barra have proudly claimed to be descendants of Ireland's "greatest" King, Niall of the Nine Hostages.
But a check on hundreds of modern day MacNeils has revealed their roots actually lie with the Vikings and not the Irish.
DNA swabs taken from Barra MacNeils as far away as Canada and Australia have proved that the blood of fierce Norse raiders runs through their veins.
The finding comes from the MacNeil Surname Y-DNA project run by genealogists Vincent MacNeil and Alex Buchanan.
Clansmen from all over the world including Scotland, the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia have provided DNA samples.
MacNeil remains the main surname on Barra on the southern tip of the Outer Hebrides with a population of just 1,000.
Clansmen believed they descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages through an 11th century Irish prince who emigrated to Scotland.
But the DNA project has not found a single match to Ireland.
"We can say we can re-write the history of the Clan MacNeil," said genealogist Vincent MacNeil, from Nova Scotia, Canada.
"We don't have one participant from Barra that matches the O'Neills of Ireland.
"If you look at the history of the Clan MacNeils we are probably of Norse descent. We have legends and myths that have been passed through generations.
"But mother nature knows who we are. Oral history is wonderful and often there is truth in it. But everybody's family history is in their DNA."
The clan was infamous throughout Scotland and beyond for its Viking-style pirating and great seamanship.
MacNeils raided the seas from their base at Kisimul Castle in Birlinn vessels - boats similar to the Viking longships.
Western Isles MP, Angus MacNeil, who also lives on Barra, said: "The MacNeils were a notoriously pirating clan. It's no surprise we have Norse DNA.
"Maybe we are the last Vikings."
The MP added: "'Conquer or die' is the clan motto. Given the size of the island we ended up on we must have been better at the dying then the conquering."
Paul McNeil, a 70-year-old clansman, from Washington state, said he was devastated when he got his DNA results.
He said: "I nervously awaited the results, and was emotionally devastated when we received them."
The college teacher added: "A heavy workload and a bottle of whiskey after work, helped me to get over it in a matter of weeks."
"I found solace in the fact that, if not a Celt, I am nevertheless a Gael.
Michael MacNeil, 62, from Nova Scotia, Canada, said: "It wasn't what I expected."
The Aerospace engineer, whose family emigrated from Barra seven generations ago, continued: "I'm pretty good with being of Viking descent. I have no problems at all. You are what you are."
Calum MacNeil, a retired fisherman who lives near Castlebay on the Isle of Barra, said: "I knew that anyway but I didn't want to tell anybody."
Niall of the Nine Hostages, whose dynasty dominated Ireland between the 5th and 10th Centuries, got his name from taking hostages as a strategy against his opponent chieftains.
The King, who died in 405AD, was the founder of the longest and most powerful Irish royal dynasty and known by some as the greatest king that Ireland ever knew.
[http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13197315.Macneil_clan_shocked_as_DNA_checks_force_rewrite_of_history/] [3]
Sources
1.[S578] Clan MacNeil, Charles R. Kaiser, (http://www.clanmacneil.ca/home.html), history4.htm.
2.[S6] Stirnet Genealogy, Peter Barns-Graham, MacNeil01.
3.[S6] Stirnet Genealogy, Peter Barns-Graham, 3 - MacNeil01.
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Ancestorium Family Tree Collaboration
Bef 1030 - UNKNOWN