The Origin of Clan Macdoguall

The Macdougalls are generally regarded as belonging to the
same stock as the Macdonalds of the Isles. They are said to be
descended from Dougall, the eldest son of Somerled. '
The first appearance of this family in history is in the year
1284, at which time they are said to have held their lands by
a Crown charter.
It has attained historical notoriety from the fact that some of
the ancestors of the clan took a prominent part in the wars
against Robert the Bruce. One in particular named Alister
became his mortal enemy, from his having married a daughter
of the Red Comyn, whom Bruce slew at the altar in the Domini
can Church at Dumfries. Another named M'Dougall of Lorn
distinguished himself in an expedition, which he led at the head
of a thousand men, on which occasion the King was defeated
and had to flee. In his retreat one of the followers of the
M'Dougalls overtook him, and in his encounter with the King
was slain. He had seized hold of the King by his cloak, which
was fastened across his breast by a large brooch ; this the King
in his flight left behind him, and the mantle and brooch were
afterwards found firmly fixed in the grasp of the dead man. The
trophy was long preserved as a relic by the family in Dunolly.