Sealladh Àrd
A Towering Outlook
The superb strategic location of the castle within a network of coastal strongholds, gave it panoramic views in all directions. No vessel — or marching army — could approach Dunstaffnage without being seen.
Royal Arrivals
Dunstaffnage attracted the attention of Scottish kings keen to establish their authority. Alexander II came to capture the castle but died on the way. Alexander III, his son, won the support of its lord, Ewen MacDougall, without firing an arrow.
Under Attack
During the Wars of Independence, John, Ewen's grandson, sided with supporters of the exiled king, John Balliol, against Robert the Bruce. Bruce defeated the MacDougall army near here at the Pass of Brander in 1308 and laid siege to Dunstaffnage. The ancestral home of the MacDougalls passed into royal hands for the next 150 years.
The Jacobite Heroine
Fionnaghal NicDhòmhnaill (Flora MacDonald) saved the life of Bonnie Prince Charlie after the Battle of Culloden by disguising him as her maid when they sailed 'over the sea to Skye'. She was captured and held prisoner here in 1746 but transported to London and later released.
'The king yat stout wes stark and bauld
Till Dunstaffynch rycht sturdely
A
sege set and besyly [busily]
Assaylit [attacked] ye castell it to get'
John Barbour describes Bruce's attack on Dunstaffnage in the 1300s.
( photo caption )
Right: Dunstaffnage was at the heart of the 'kingdom of the isles' that included Argyll. It was a key part of a network of strongholds controlled by powerful Gaelic-speaking families.
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