Hi Jackie, Interestingly a parallel story about the McKerrells of Islay is that they were hereditary minstrels to the Lords of the Isles (McDonalds). The story has come down through the family but was also included by Domhnall Mac Eacharna, an Islay historian, writing as Domhnall Gruamach (Grumpy Donald) in his book "The House of Islay" "When the great blind Harper, Mulrony MacCarrol or MacKerrol (MacChairell = Son of Melody) who was described in the Annals of the Four Masters as the "chieftest minstrel of all Ireland and Scotland," visited Angus Og as a most honoured guest in his Castle of Dunaverty (around the year 1310) the Lord of the Isles invited him to send over one or two of his sons to become the hereditary Minstrels to the Lordship - and this is how the MacKerrels and MacKerrals came to Kintyre and to Islay. They are happily with us still - and much of their hereditary gift of music too." MacEacharna also wrote in the same book, "There were also the MacArthurs. hereditary Pipers of the Lordship, who came to Islay from Skye, where the MacArthur School of Piping was older and even more famous in its day than that of the great MacCrimmon. For their piping the MacArthurs held the lands of Proaig (until evicted by the usurpers) and descendants of those MacArthurs are still among us The great headland known as MacArthur's Head was named in honour of the Pipers of nearby Proaig." His writings on the MacIndeors said, "Another highly important hereditary post was that of Almoner (An Deor) whose duty it was to look after the welfare of the old folk and to act as guardian of the widows and the orphans. Mac an Deoir meant Son of the Almoner and it is a pleasing thought to realise that several families of Maclndeoir (as now spelt) are with us still at the present day." Having introduced this little bit of apparent conroversy, I think it is prudent for me now to slip quietly into the background! <grin> All the best Jim ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Tue, 3 May 2016 08:37:49 +0100 From: Jackie <jackie@huntleyhouse.eu> Subject: Re: [SCT-ISLAY] SCT-ISLAY Digest, Vol 11, Issue 18 To: sct-islay@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <FE9A9904-B09D-4E3E-8596-1A89A6CC0AA8@huntleyhouse.eu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Hi Fay ......................................... One story is that the McIndeors were the pipers to the MacDonalds of Islay and the pipes were being played when the church was burnt down at Kilnave...................... Best wishes. Jackie Holmes. > > > ------------------------------- > > Quoting the entire text of a previous message in a reply is poor netiquette. Please don't do it. > > -------------------------------