Strong, gusty winds and a mix of clouds and sun have set the tone for today as I revisited Dun Ollie Castle in Oban, which remains to this day the seat and ancestral home of the Clan MacDougall, to whom it belonged for over 800 years.  It was an easy walk from my hotel and I managed to avoid the squalls that kept popping up. The castle ruins are impressive and command a magnificent view of Oban Bay and out to the Sound of Mull.  The MacDougalls have been resolute in their efforts to not only maintain the castle but promote the history of the clan and its place in Scottish history.  There is a small museum which documents life in the 1700’s at the castle but sadly no exhibits relating to the middle ages when the clan dominated much of the Western Isles, or their relationship to the MacDonald Lords of the Isles. The woodlands surrounding the castle are well maintained and there are several walking paths including one that leads back toward the town of Oban, a distance of about a mile.

Clan MacDougall is arguably one of the oldest clans of the Scottish Highlands.  The MacDougalls come directly from the line of Somerled through Dugald, his eldest son. Dugald inherited the heartland of Somerled’s empire in 1164 upon his death at Renfrew.  Dugald’s share included all of modern Argyll, except Kintyre and the southern parts of Knapdale, plus Mull, Jura, Lismore, Kerrera and the other small islands. The MacDougalls maintained their control of the sea for one and a half centuries before being defeated by the combined fleets of King Robert and Angus Og MacDonald of Islay – another descendant of Somerled.   Angus Og MacDonald and his nephew, Alexander of Islay, were given all the island territories of the MacDougalls except Kerrera. The MacDonalds thus became the dominant clan and the Lords of the Isles.