Fàilte gu làrach-lìn oifigeil Chlann Nèill Ghiogha is Cholbhasa
Welcome to the Clan MacNeill of Gigha & Colonsay official website

 

We’re always delighted to receive new visitors, especially those looking to research their family trees. However there is one very important fact to be aware of:

We are NOT the Clan MacNeil of Barra

The Lyon Court presently acknowledges the MacNeil of Barra as the chief of both clans, but this is something we are hopeful will change in the near future. There is actually little to no evidence to support any formal ties between ourselves and the Barra MacNeils, other than for the name itself. It would appear to be a matter of convenience to have us all under one chiefship.

Sadly the internet is awash with confusing and misleading information regarding our clan, with a great many websites merging both clans or creating some form of Frankenstein hybrid clan with slightly different limbs.

The Barra MacNeils are a fine and noble clan, but they hail from the island of Barra in the Western Isles. The MacNeills of Gigha & Colonsay  hail from the islands of the Inner Hebrides, as well as lands in Kintyre and Knapdale. Indeed it is argued in some historical circles that we predate or cousins in Barra by some time.

So are you a MacNeill or a MacNeil?

An old rule of thumb used to be 2 Ls meant Gigha & Colonsay, and 1 L meant Barra. That applied more in Scotland, but for the diaspora around the world this is not quite so simple. Administrative misspellings and the evolution of the name away from the motherland has lead to a variety of different versions of the name spreading across the globe.

Genealogy and DNA are likely the best routes to answering the question, with Barra MacNeils tending to have a larger proportion of Norse DNA than ourselves.

But wherever you hail from, we extend the famous Highland hospitality your way and hope you find the content of this website useful and interesting. We have a very active Facebook group where members are happy to assist with genealogical queries and family tree research. You can find it HERE.