Our Norse-Gaelic DNA from Somerled Mac Gillebride, King of the Isles — and Two Remarkable Grandmothers

 

For years I chased paper trails through Scottish parish records and old clan books. Then DNA testing lit up the map. Those little shared segments didn’t just confirm cousins—they handed me a direct genetic thread back to Somerled Mac Gillebride, the 12th-century sea-king who forged the Lordship of the Isles. That same Norse-Gaelic blood flows through both of my grandmothers: Annie Margaret McNeil (paternal) and Lydia Corinna Brown (maternal). Two separate Highland lines, converging like twin galley prows on the same ancient legacy.

Our Direct Lineage from Somerled Mac Gillebride (c. 1113–1164)

23rd great-grandfather

• King Ranald (Ragnall) MacSorley (mac Somhairle) of the Isles (1164–1207) — Son of Somerled
• Donald “Eponymous” MacRanald of the Isles (c. 1190–1269) — Son of Ranald
• Lord Angus Mor MacDonald of Islay (1249–1293) — Son of Donald
• Lord Angus Og MacDonald of the Isles (1272–1324, supporter of Robert the Bruce) — Son of Angus Mor
• Lord John MacDonald of Islay, 1st Lord of the Isles (c. 1310–1386) — Son of Angus Og

The Two Half-Brothers Who Split the Empire

From Lord John sprang two sons whose lines reached both of my grandmothers:

Ranald MacDonald, 1st of Clanranald & Glengarry (c. 1352–1386, Moidart)

— Mom’s 19th great-grandfather & Dad’s 17th great-grandfather

Allan MacDonald of Clanranald, 2nd Chief (1378–after 1419)

— Dad’s 16th great-grandfather & Mom’s 18th great-grandfather

Dad’s Line to Paternal Grandmother Annie Margaret McNeil

Roderick MacDonald of Clanranald, 3rd Chief (1400–1481) → Allan mac Ruari (1437–1509) → Alexander MacAllan, 7th Chief (1470–1529) → Iain “John” Moidartach (1502–1584) → Allan of Clanranald & Moidart (1524–1593) → Ranald “Raonull mac Ailean ’ic Iain” of Benbecula (1556–1636) → Ranald Og, 2nd of Benbecula (1635–1679) → Donald, 16th of Clanranald (1672–1730) → Alexander, 1st of Boisdale (1698–1768) → Capt. Donald (1720–1757) → Findlay MacDonald (DNA Match, 1750–1844) → Mary MacDonald (DNA Match, 1769–1845) → Mary Bell (DNA Match, 1791–1878) → Duncan McNeill (1821–1882) → Allan McNeil (aka Wm Allen after 1908, 1865–1927) → Annie Margaret McNeil (1892–1964) — my paternal grandmother.

Mom’s Line to Maternal Grandmother Lydia Corinna Brown

Donald MacDonald, 2nd of Glengarry (1386–1420) — Mom’s 18th great-grandfather & Dad’s 16th great-granduncle

→ Alasdair Na Coille MacDonald, 4th of Glengarry (c. 1406–1460)

→ John Ranaldsoune, 5th of Glengarry (1454–1501)

→ Alexander Ranaldson, 6th (1502–1560)

→ Angus Aluinn, 7th (1500–1574)

→ Donald MacAngus, 8th (1543–1644)

→ Margaret MacDonald (1550–1580) → Margaret McCleod (1577–1624) → Isobel MacKenzie of Kilcoy (1609–1714) → Colin MacKenzie, 4th of Redcastle (1630–1704) → Jean Mackenzie (1658–1679) → Margaret Urquhart (1675–1720) → Elizabeth Wright (1703–1782) → Jacob Weeks (DNA proved, 1736–1791) → Simon Weeks (1768–1840) → Maria (Mariah) Weeks (1810–1890) → John Galloway Brown (1833–1915) → Abraham Lincoln Brown (1864–1948) → Lydia Corinna Brown (1891–1971) — my maternal grandmother.

The Lords of the Isles: Our Gaelic Sea-Kings of the Western Ocean

Here the two royal Highland lines of my parents converge. While the Bruce-Stewart side gave us kings who fought at Bannockburn, the Macdonald Lords of the Isles gave us something wilder: a maritime empire that ruled the Hebrides and western mainland like independent princes for more than two centuries. They called themselves Dominus Insularum (“Lord of the Isles”), held court on the sacred crannog of Finlaggan, sailed fleets of birlinns, and answered only to Gaelic law and the sea.

Finlaggan on Islay — the ceremonial heart of the Lordship, where our ancestors were crowned, feasted, and judged.

John of Islay (c. 1310–1386), the visionary 1st Lord, welded the MacDonald and MacRuari lordships together. Around 1350 he married Margaret Stewart, daughter of King Robert II, injecting fresh royal Stewart-Bruce blood and gaining Kintyre, Knapdale, and more as dowry. He ruled a de facto independent kingdom from Finlaggan.

The Hebridean Empire at its height — a sea-realm stretching from the Outer Isles through Skye, Islay, and the western mainland.

His sons carried the legacy forward:

• Donald MacDonald, 2nd Lord of the Isles (“Donald of Harlaw”) — our 17th great-grandfather on Dad’s line. He led 10,000 clansmen at the bloody Battle of Harlaw in 1411 and secured the Isles’ power for another generation.
• Ranald MacDonald, 1st of Clanranald & Glengarry — our 19th great-grandfather on Mom’s line. He received the MacRuari inheritance and founded the branches that still bear his name.

Both brothers carried the same potent mix: ancient Norse-Gaelic sea-lord blood from Somerled plus the royal infusion through their mother. That dual ancestry is why my family tree proudly shows Macdonald royalty on both paternal and maternal sides.

Dad’s line flowed through the Clanranald chiefs down to Grandma Annie McNeil.

Mom’s line followed the Glengarry branch down to Grandma Lydia Brown.

The Lordship was eventually forfeited to the Scottish crown in the late 15th century (it had grown too powerful to ignore), but the clan spirit never died. Our ancestors traded galleys for claymores, carried the fire through the Jacobite risings and the Clearances, and eventually crossed the Atlantic—bringing that indomitable Norse-Gaelic heart with them.

And now, thanks to DNA testing, I can look at those shared segments on my match list and say with certainty: this blood still runs in me. Two grandmothers, one magnificent legacy. Somerled would be proud.

Thank you to Grok xAI for verifying the genealogy and correcting my course. -- Drifting Cowboy