Dubhghall mac Suibhne

Dubhghall mac Suibhne (fl. 1232×1241 – 1262) was a Scottish landholder in Argyll, and a leading member of Clann Suibhne.

In the 1230s, Alexander II interfered with the ecclesiastical affairs of Argyll. In 1236—presumably as a result of royal petition —the pope instructed the Bishop of Moray to secure a canonical election to select a new Bishop of Argyll, and by 1239 a Moravian dignitary named William served as Bishop of Argyll. After the drowning of this ecclesiast, authority over the see was given to Clement, Bishop of Dunblane. By 1248, the bishop —possibly at the behest of the king—seems to have sought to move the cathedral from Lismore onto the mainland. Further extension of royal authority is evidenced by the king's grant of a swathe of territory around Loch Awe and Loch Fyne to Giolla Easbuig Mac Giolla Chríost. #tag:ref|The charter stipulates that Giolla Easbuig Mac Giolla Chríost owed his grant for the service of half a knight in the king's army, one knight in aid, as well as "Scottish service as the barons and knights on the north side of the Sea of Scotland do it for their lands".

Coat of arms of Alexander II as it appears on folio 146v of British Library Royal 14 C VII (Historia Anglorum). The inverted shield represents the king's death in 1249.

In 1248, Haraldr Óláfsson, King of Mann and the Isles, and his newly-wedded wife, Cecilía Hákonardóttir, were lost at sea whilst sailing from Norway to the Isles. Upon learning of the catastrophe, Cecilía's father, Hákon Hákonarson, King of Norway, immediately sent Eóghan Mac Dubhghaill to temporarily take up the kingship of the Isles on his behalf. In the summer of 1249, Alexander launched an invasion of Argyll, directed at the very heart of the Clann Dubhghaill lordship. There is reason to suspect that a cooling in relations between Eóghan and Alexander II, along with Haraldr's unexpected demise and the resultant kin-strife over this man's succession, along with Eóghan's acceptance of royal powers on Hákon's behalf, could all have spurred the Scots' offensive. In the course of the campaign, Alexander II demanded that Eóghan renounce his allegiance to Hákon, and ordered him to hand over certain mainland and island fortresses. Eóghan stubbornly refused, and the unfolding crisis only ended with the Scottish king's sudden death in July 1249.

Stewart overlordship in Argyll

The effigy of Walter Stewart, Earl of Menteith and his wife, Mary I, Countess of Menteith. It is the earliest effigy of a married couple, side by side on the same tomb, in the British Isles.

About a decade after Alexander II's death, his son and royal successor, Alexander III, came of age and took steps to continue his father's expansion into Argyll and the Isles. Once again it was the Stewarts, this time in the person of Walter fitz Alan's son, Walter Stewart, Earl of Menteith, who spearheaded the westward campaign. Evidence of this push is preserved by the record of Clann Suibhne possessions granted away in the early 1260s.

For example, on 17 April 1261, Dubhghall, with the consent of his heir Eóin, granted the church of St Colmán Ela to Paisley Abbey, along with the chapel of St Columba near Skipness Castle. Dubhghall's grant is stated to have been made for the welfare of his soul, those of his ancestors, and those of his wives, Juliana and Johanna, and a condition of his grant is that he was to have been buried at Paisley.

Furthermore, a charter of Walter Stewart to Paisley Abbey, dating to 19 January 1262, confirms Dubhghall's grant to the abbey, and states that Dubhghall had earlier granted the lands of Skipness to Walter Stewart himself. Dubhghall is elsewhere stated to have granted Walter Stewart his lands to be held as a "free barony" for two-thirds of a knight's service in the king's army. One of these transferred territories is recorded as "duabus Ungyns MacCrunnel", a place name that corresponds to Dubghall's title "lord of the land of Macherummel", used by the papal protection granted to Dubhghall in 1247. Additional evidence of the Stewarts' takeover of the Clann Suibhne heartland includes the record of grants made by Walter Stewart of several Knapdale churches—the churches of St Abbán moccu Corbmaic (Keills Chapel), St Michael (Kilmichael of Inverlussa), and St Mary/St Máel Ruba (Kilmory Chapel)—to Kilwinning Abbey.

The chapel of St Brendan (Kilbrannan Chapel), next to Skipness Castle, dates to the thirteenth- or fourteenth century, and appears to have replaced the castle's chapel of St Columba after the Stewarts seized control of the Clann Suibhne lordship. Although Clann Suibhne were clearly patrons of Columba's cult at Skipness, the incoming Stewarts appear to have superseded the saint's chapel with one devoted to St Brendan. The chapel of St Brendan (Kilbrannan Chapel) sits about four hundred metres away from the castle, and appears to date to the thirteenth- or fourteenth century. This is about the time that the chapel of St Columba was secularised and incorporated into the remodelled castle structure. By the fourteenth century, devotion to St Brendan was closely associated with the Stewarts and their centre of power on Bute. St Columba, on the other hand, was the most important saint to the Islesmen. For example, Raghnall's grant to Paisley includes and oath to the saint. Furthermore, according to the thirteenth-century Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar, as Alexander II lay on his death bed in Argyll, he had a dream-vision of St Óláfr Haraldsson, St Magnús Erlendsson, and St Columba, exhorting him not to invade the Isles. The thirteenth-century Chronica majora also relates that the dying king "incurred the displeasure of God and St Columba".

The circumstances surrounding of Dubhghall's contract with Walter Stewart are unclear. There are no other records regarding the allotment of Clann Suibhne lands during this period, and it is not known if the Stewarts or their allies had already established themselves in Knapdale.

The transactions involving Clann Suibhne reveal that the family was progressively deprived of its territories. Whether the charters are evidence of a military invasion is unknown. The creation of a Stewart lordship in the region may have been undertaken in the context of extending Scottish royal authority into Argyll and the Isles. From the perspective of both the Stewarts and the Scottish Crown, Clann Suibhne seems to have represented a significant threat to regional stability. The removal or destruction of such families appears to represent part of a strategy to not only dislodge unpalatable kindreds (like Clann Suibhne), but to also forge new partnerships with more loyal kindreds (like Clann Dubhghaill and Clann Domhnaill), and extend the power of committed agents of the Scottish Crown (like the Stewarts). with the family being replaced by the Stewarts. The transition of power certainly seems to have marked an increase in Scottish authority in Argyll, and may have been a factor in Eóghan's remarkable refusal to assist Hákon against the Scottish Crown later that decade. The fact that members of Clann Suibhne were unwilling to subject themselves to Stewart domination is evinced by the subsequent record of Dubhghall's nephew, Murchadh Mac Suibhne, supporting the Norwegian cause.