William Cleireach MacLeod

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William Cleireach MacLeod
Born1365 (1365)
Diedc. 1402 (aged 36–37)
Chief of Clan MacLeod
PredecessorIain Ciar (father)
SuccessorIain Borb (son)
Children3 sons & many illegitimate children

William Cleireach MacLeod (Scottish Gaelic: Uilleam Cléireach MacLeòid; 1365 – c. 1402) is considered to be 5th Chief of Clan MacLeod. He was a younger son of chief Iain Ciar and was originally intended to enter the church, as his nickname shows; however, on the death of his elder brother, William Cleireach became the heir to the chiefship. As chief of the clan, he led his followers in attacks against the Frasers and defended his lands against the MacDonalds. He did not live a long life and was said to have been buried on the isle of Iona with his predecessors.

Life

The

Aird. The MacLeods were successful in this particular venture and carried off much loot from their invasion.[1]

According to the early 20th-century clan historian R.C. MacLeod, the first record of conflict between the MacLeods and

Harris and Skye.[1]

Castle Camus
.

The MacDonalds, under Alasdair, brother of the Lord of the Isles (and ancestor of the MacDonalds of Keppoch), landed at Eynort. The MacLeods, under William Cleireach, met the invading MacDonald force at the head of Loch Sligachan. The manuscript states that during the bloody encounter, the MacDonalds were defeated and their leader was slain by Tormod Coil, cousin of William Cleireach (and the son of Murdo, William Cleireach's uncle). Following the battle, William Cleireach divided the loot amongst his followers.[1]

The Bannatyne manuscript relates how William Cleireach did not live very long and died relatively young at

Castle Camus, in Sleat. It states that he was buried on the sacred island of Iona, probably in about the year 1402.[1]

Issue

The Bannatyne manuscript describes William Cleireach as being much beloved by his followers. He was said to have had many

Lorraine. An account of the George's descendants was sent to a MacLeod in Britain in the year 1758. The manuscript states that this account professed that descendants of George were known on the continent as "de Leod" and "Von Leod"; that some of them were landowners before the French Revolution.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g MacLeod, Roderick Charles (1927). The MacLeods of Dunvegan. Edinburgh: Privately printed for the Clan MacLeod Society. pp. 51–59.
  2. ^ "Norman Macleod". www.macleodgenealogy.org. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
  3. ^ Mackenzie, Alexander (1886). The Celtic Magazine. Vol. 11. Inverness: A. & W. Mackenzie. pp. 51–52.
  4. ^ Sinclair, Alexander Maclean (1899). The Clan Gillean. Charlottetown: Haszard and Moore. p. 21.
  5. ^ "William Cleireach Macleod (V Chief)". www.macleodgenealogy.org. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
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