Clan MacNeil Crest badge Motto: Buaidh no bas Profile Region Highland and Islands District Western Isles Plant badge Dryas

Chief Roderick Wilson Macneil of Barra The Macneil of Barra, Chief of Clan Niall and 27th of Barra, Baron of Barra Historic seat Kisimul Castle Clan branches MacNeil of Barra MacNeill of Gigha/Colonsay

Clan MacNeil, also known in Scotland as Clan Niall, is a highland Scottish clan, particularly associated with the Outer Hebridean island of Barra. The early history of Clan MacNeil is obscure, however despite this the clan claims to descend from the legendary Niall of the nine hostages. The clan itself takes its name from a Niall who lived in the 13th or early 14th century, and who belonged to the same dynastic family of Cowal and Knapdale as the ancestors of the Lamonts, MacEwens of Otter, Maclachlans, and the MacSweens. While the clan is centred in Barra in the Outer Hebrides, there is a branch of the clan in Argyll that some historians have speculated was more senior in line, or possibly even unrelated. However, according to Scots law the current chief of Clan Macneil is the chief of all MacNeil(l)s.^[1][2]

History[link]

Origins[link]

MacNeils of Barra[link]

The MacNeils of Barra claim descent from a prince of the O'Neill dynasty, Ánrothán Ua Néill, son of Áed, son of Flaithbertach Ua Néill, King of Ailech and Cenél nEógain, died 1036. Anrothan emigrated to Scotland in the 11th century. Through him the MacNeils of Barra also naturally claim descent from the legendary Niall of the Nine Hostages. Anrothan is claimed as ancestor of several clans in the Argyll vicinity: Clan Lamont, Clan Maclachlan, Clan MacEwen of Otter, and also the Irish Sweeneys (MacSween). If the MacNeils are indeed connected to Anrothan, then they appear to have been a junior branch of the family and were certainly overshadowed in the 13th century by the MacSweens, Lamonts and descendants of Gilchrist.^[3] An opposing theory, proposed by Nicholas Maclean Bristol, is that there is reason to believe that they descend from Neill Maclean who appears on Exchequer Rolls at a time when Tarbert Castle was being rebuilt by Robert the Bruce.^[4] The earliest contemporary record of the Macneils of Barra is only in 1427, when Gilleonan Macneil received a charter of Barra and Boisdale.^[1]

McNeills of Argyll (in Taynish, Gigha and Colonsay)[link]

The origins of the Argyll MacNeills is also obscure. In the late 15th century, one MacNeill is recorded as the keeper of Castle Sween. In the mid 16th century, a certain Torquil MacNeill was known as the "chief and principal of the clan and surname of Maknelis". The 19th century scholar W.F. Skene considered Torquil to be the last of the hereditary MacNeill keepers of the castle. Skene believed that after Torquil's demise, the hereditary office passed to the MacMillans. During the time of Torquil, there are records of separate clans on Barra and Gigha. Skene did not consider Torquil to be a member of either of these clans, since both clans had chiefs of their own.^[5]

The chief of the Gigha MacNeills at this time was Neill MacNeill, who was killed in about 1530. His only daughter inherited his lands and handed them over to her illegitimate brother, Neill. According to historian John Bannerman, while the lands of the chief passed to his daughter, the chiefship passed over to Torquil who was her second cousin. Bannerman considered it likely that when Torquil died, the chiefship passed to the illegitimate Neill.^[6]

In 1553, this Neill sold the island to James MacDonald of Islay. Neill died without issue, and the next in line to the chiefship was another Neil, who obtained the lands of Taynish. His descendant Hector Macneill of Taynish purchased Gigha in 1590. With the power of the Campbells growing and spreading out into the Inner Hebrides, the influence of the McNeills of Gigha decreased.^[7] At about this time the MacNeils on more remote island of Barra, far removed of Campbell power, began to grow in prominence and for a long time since have been regarded as Chief of the Clan and Name.^[8] Descending from this branch were the MacNeils of Colonsay who obtained Colonsay in 1700 and owned it until 1904 when it was sold by John Carstairs McNeill.^[8] According to Moncreiffe, there is reason to believe that historically this branch were superior to the current chiefs of the Clan Macneil.^[8] There is even a school of thought that there is no relation at all between this branch of McNeills to that of Barra.^[1] However, according to a 1962 decree by the Lord Lyon, the chiefs of MacNeil of Barra are chiefs of the whole name of MacNeil by Scots law.^[1]

Kisimul Castle located in Castlebay, Barra is the current seat of the Chief of Clan MacNeil.

Modern Clan Macneil[link]

The 18th and 19th century saw severe hardship to Clan Macneil clansfolk. During this era there was mass emigration from Barra to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. During the chiefship of Colonel Roderick (c.1755–1822) Barra suffered its first mass emigrations, ironically the chief described himself as a melieuratier (an "improver").^[9] One mass exodus of Barra folk was led by Gilleonan, elder son of the chief. This consisted of 370 Catholic Barra folk (about 75 families in total) who emigrated in August to Pictou, Nova Scotia.^[9] In 1838 after going broke, Colonel Roderick's son and heir, Lieutenant General Roderick Macneil of Barra, sold Barra to Colonel Gordon of Cluny.^[8][9] When Roderick died in 1863 the chiefship passed to a cousin (descendant of Gilleonan) who had emigrated during the mass emigrations to Canada in 1802.

Robert Lister Macneil, was born in 1889. An American citizen and a trained architect, he succeeded the chiefship of Clan Macneil in 1915. In 1937 he was able to purchase Barra and the ruinous Kisimul Castle largely using the money from his second wife. Immediately he began work restoring the castle, aided in part by funds from a British Government grant. By his death in 1970 he had completed the restoration of the castle – ancient seat of the chiefs of the clan.^[10] In 2001 the castle was leased to Historic Scotland for one thousand years at the rent of £1 per year and a bottle of Talisker whisky.^[11] In October 2004 the chief handed over 3,600 hectares, comprising almost all of his estate on Barra to Scottish Ministers.^[12] The current chief of Clan MacNeil is Ian Roderick Macneil of Barra, The Macneil of Barra, Chief of Clan Niall and 26th of Barra, also Baron of Barra.^[13] The chief is a member of the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs.^[14] The current chief, while an United States citizen, lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.^[15]

Regarding the ascent of the 45th chief (Robert Lister Macneil), The Arms of the Scottish Bishoprics (1917) states:

"In 1914 Roderick Ambrose Macneil, Chief of the Macneils of Barra, died in the United States of America, being still a British citizen, leaving two sons. Paul Humphrey Macneil, the elder son, in his father's lifetime renounced his allegiance to the British Crown and became an American citizen ; in consequence of this his father in 1913 nominated his second son, Robert Lister Macneil, the petitioner, to succeed him as Chief of the Clan, and assigned to him the arms pertaining to the Chief. Robert Lister Macneil therefore petitioned the Lyon King to grant him the arms recorded by General Roderick Macneil in 1824, which were borne by his (the petitioner's father), Roderick Ambrose Macneil."^[16]

Clan Symbols[link]

Crest Badges[link]

Clan members, who wish to show their allegiance to a particular clan and chief can wear a crest badge. Scottish crest badges usually contain the heraldic crest and heraldic motto of the chief of the clan. While clan members may wear the badge, the crest and motto within it are the heraldic property of the chief alone. A crest badge suitable for a clan member of Clan MacNeil contains the crest: on a chapeau gules furred ermine, a rock proper.^[17] The motto upon the badge is: buaidh no bas, which translates from Scottish Gaelic as "to conquer or die", or "victory or death").^[18]

Though not a clan in its own right, MacNeil(l)s who consider themselves of the Colonsay "branch" have used the following crest badge to distinguish themselves from the Barra "branch". This crest badge contains the crest: an armoured dexter arm with dagger; and the motto: vincere aut mori, which translates from Latin as "conquer or die".^[18]

the clan badge attributed to Clan MacNeil is dryas

Clan Badge[link]

Another symbol used by clan members is a clan badge, or sometimes called a plant badge. The original clan badges were merely plants worn in bonnets or hung from a pole or spear. Today, the clan badge attributed to Clan MacNeil is dryas.^[19] Trefoil has also been attributed to the clan,^[20] however this clan badge may actually be attributed to the McNeills of Gigha, a branch of Clan MacNeil. Trefoil has also been attributed to the Lamonts, another clan in Argyl. The Lamonts and MacNeils/McNeills both claim descent from the same O'Neill who settled in Scotland in the Middle Ages.

Tartan[link]

There have been several tartans associated with the name MacNeil / MacNeill. However, in 1997 the chief of Clan Macneil directed members of the clan that there were only two tartans that he recognised as "clan tartans".^[21] These were: Macneil of Barra and Macneil of Colonsay. The Macneil of Barra tartan has been the standard Macneil of Barra tartan for over a century.^[21]

• 

  Macneil of Barra tartan. Has been the standard Macneil tartan for over a century.^[21]

• 

  Macneil of Colonsay tartan. One of the two official clan tartans of Clan Macneil.^[21]

• 

  MacNeil tartan, as published in the Vestiarium Scoticum in 1842.^[22] The tartan is not recognised as a "clan tartan" by the current chief.^{[citation needed]}

Coat of arms[link]

In Scotland, all coats of arms belong to a single person. The coat of arms typically attributed to clan MacNeil belongs solely to the current chief of the clan. A depiction of the coat of arms is painted in the Great Hall of Kisimul Castle in Castlebay, Barra, Scotland.

This coat of arms is divided into quarters:

• Upper Left: Lion Rampant (mimicking the Royal Standard of the King of Scotland)
• Upper Right: Castle in the water (symbolizing Kisimul Castle in Castlebay)
• Lower Left: 3-masted ship (Representing either the sea-faring nature of the clan or the migration of the clan from the Ulster, Ireland to Barra, Scotland
• Lower Right: Red Hand of Ulster surrounded by nine shackles representing Niall of the Nine Hostages

Surrounding the Coat of Arms [1]:

• Crest: a Rock (same as on the clan badge)
• Chapeau: Red velvet cap lined with ermine, symbolic of a Baron
• Helm: Height of the Helmet is determined by rank
• Mantle: Fabric surrounding the Arms
• Supporters: Two lions rampant
• Compartment: The base of the Arms, made of Dryas flowers (the clan badge)

Distribution[link]

Mac Neil – a romanticized Victorian era plate illustrated by R. R. McIan.

The topic of who is a MacNeil can be a complicated one. By convention, anyone descended from a member of Clan MacNeil can claim membership. Because of the history of slavery in the United States and the Caribbean, however, many African Americans may bear a MacNeil surname. Because it was not uncommon for a female slave to bear her slave-master's child, several African American MacNeils may have legitimate descent from a MacNeil, however such descent can rarely be proven, and most African American MacNeils remain uninvolved with clan activities and do not claim descent from the clan. Generally speaking, Caucasians with MacNeil surnames number between 40,000 and 80,000 worldwide.

In England, Wales, and the Isle of Mann[link]

source: UK National Statistics Database 2002^[23]

• McNeil: 3,522 (rank:2262)
• McNeill: 4,212 (rank:1909)
• MacNeil: 314 (rank:15845)
• MacNeill: 286 (rank:16904)

Sizable populations also exist in Scotland, Ireland, Canada, France, Australia, and New Zealand

In the United States[link]

• McNeil: 33,239 (rank:961) (source: 2000 US Census^[24])
• McNeill: 22,383 (rank:1387) (source: 1990 US Census^[25])
• MacNeil: 2,487 (rank:8716) (source: 1990 US Census^[25])
• McNeilly: (rank:16430) (source: 1990 US Census^[26])
• MacNeill: (rank:28690) (source: 1990 US Census^[26])

Chiefs of Clan MacNeil[link]

Current chief: Roderick "Rory" Wilson Macneil of Barra, The Macneil of Barra, Chief of Clan Niall and 27th of Barra, Baron of Barra.

The chiefs of Clan MacNeil,^[27] are reckoned from Niall Noigíallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages), from whom all the MacNeil chiefs claim descent. The clan claims Niall Noigíallach as its first chief, while the current chief is reckoned as the 46th chief.

See also[link]

• McNeil
• McNeill
• MacNeil
• MacNeill
• McNeal
• MacNeal
• MacNeille
• Victory or Death
• McNeil (surname)

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Clan MacNeil in Canada
• Clan MacNeil Net
• Iain MacNeil – Daily Telegraph obituary

William Millin
Bill Millin plays his pipes for fellow soldiers in 1944.
Nickname	Piper Bill
Born	(1922-07-14)14 July 1922 Glasgow, Scotland
Died	17 August 2010(2010-08-17) (aged 88) Torbay, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	Private
Unit	Highland Light Infantry Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders No. 4 Commando
World War II	Normandy landings at Sword Beach
Other work	Psychiatric nurse

William "Bill" Millin (14 July 1922 – 17 August 2010^[1]), commonly known as Piper Bill, was personal piper to Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat, commander of 1 Special Service Brigade at D-Day.

Early life[link]

Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada on 14 July 1922 to a father of Scottish origin who returned to Glasgow as a policeman when William was three. He grew up and went to school in the Shettleston area of the city. He joined the Territorial Army in Fort William, where his family had moved, and played in the pipe bands of the Highland Light Infantry and the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders before volunteering as a commando and training with Lovat at Achnacarry along with French, Dutch, Belgian, Polish, Norwegian, and Czechoslovakian troops.^[2]

World War II[link]

Landing on Sword Beach; Millin is in the foreground.

Millin is best remembered for playing the pipes whilst under fire during the D-Day landing in Normandy.^[3] Pipers had traditionally been used in battle by Scottish and Irish soldiers.^[4] However, the use of bagpipes was restricted to rear areas by the time of the Second World War by the British Army. Lovat, however, ignored these orders and ordered Millin, then aged 21, to play. When Private Millin demurred, citing the regulations, he recalled later, Lord Lovat replied: “Ah, but that’s the English War Office. You and I are both Scottish, and that doesn’t apply.” He played "Hielan' Laddie" and "The Road to the Isles" as his comrades fell around him on Sword Beach.^[1] Millin states that he later talked to captured German snipers who claimed they did not shoot him because they thought he was crazy.^[5]

Millin, whom Lovat had appointed his personal piper during commando training at Achnacarry, near Fort William in Scotland, was the only man during the landing who wore a kilt – it was the same Cameron tartan kilt his father had worn in Flanders during World War I – and he was armed only with his pipes and the sgian-dubh, or "black knife", sheathed inside his kilt-hose on the right side.^[6]

Lovat and Millin advanced from Sword Beach to Pegasus Bridge, which had been defiantly defended by men of the 2nd Bn the Ox & Bucks Light Infantry (6th Airborne Division) who had landed in the early hours by glider. Lovat's commandos arrived at a little past one p.m. at Pegasus Bridge though the rendezvous time the plan was noon. To the sound of Millin's bagpipes, the commandos marched across Pegasus Bridge as a result of which twelve men died, shot through their berets. Later detachments of the commandos rushed across in small groups with helmets on.

Later life[link]

Millin saw further action with 1 SSB in the Netherlands and Germany before being demobbed in 1946 and going to work on Lord Lovat's highland estate. In the 1950s he became a registered psychiatric nurse in Glasgow, moving south to a hospital in Devon in the late '60s until he retired in the Devon town of Dawlish in 1988.^[5] He made regular trips back to Normandy for commemoration ceremonies. France awarded him the Croix d'Honneur for gallantry. In 2006, a Devon folk singer, Sheelagh Allen, wrote a song about him, "The Highland Piper"^[7].

Millin, who suffered a stroke in 2003, died in hospital in Torbay on 17 August 2010, aged 88.^[1][3]. His wife Margaret (née Dowdel, from Edinburgh) died in 2000. He was survived by their son John. ^[8]

Popular culture and legacy[link]

Millin's action on D-Day was portrayed in the 1962 film The Longest Day.^[3] Millin was portrayed by Pipe Major Leslie de Laspee, the official piper to the Queen Mother in 1961.^[9]

One set of Millin's bagpipes are exhibited at the Memorial Museum of Pegasus Bridge in Ranville, France.

French fundraisers have been trying to raise £80,000 to erect a statue of Piper Millin at Colleville-Montgomery, a town on Sword Beach, but have been disappointed by only six of the 87 donations having come from the UK.^[10]

Another set of his bagpipes are now displayed at Dawlish Museum.^[11] Millin presented his pipes to Dawlish Museum prior to the 60th anniversary of the D-Day Landings in 2004, along with his kilt, beret and dirk. These items are still on display at the museum library with photographic archives and looped video telling of Millin’s exploits.^[12]

Piper Bill Millins bagpipes played on Sword Beach during the D-Day landings on display at Dawlish Museum along with his beret, 100 year old kilt and dirk.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bill Millin talks about the landing on Sword Beach
• BBC News, Accessed 19 November 2009
• Pegasus Archive's page on Bill Millin
• The tribute to Bill Millin on the BBC's obituary programme, Last Word (2010 8 27), with excerpts from interviews with Millin, his son, and others who knew him