Failte Gu Tir Chlainn Dhòmhnaill Oighreachd (Eiraght)

Welcome to the lands of Clan Donald Heritage.  The purpose of this web site is to provide information of interest to those with ancestors named Macdonald, McDonald, McDonough, MacDonell, McConnell, McDaniel or any of the other English spellings of the Gaelic name mhic dhòmhnaill (usually pronounced 'ic hoonell  in Gaelic,  and  pronounced and spelled many different ways  in English.  There are also hundreds of family names associated with Clan Donald and its branches that together make us the largest of the Highland clans.  This is our heritage. 

This web site is based upon Donald J. Macdonald's authoritative history of Clan Donald.   Alongside the text this site provides original online maps, photographs, and the Armadale video of ancient Clan Donald lands so those who have never seen their ancestral lands may virtually experience them, and those who have experienced them may relive their experience here.  This web site is not affiliated with any Clan Donald organization and its content does not necessarily convey the official policies of any official Clan Donald society, but we encourage active involvement in your local Clan Donald organization.   We have provided links to the official Clan Donald, USA,  Canada,  New Zealand, Australia, and UK web sites.   All these organizations are under the direction of the High Council of Clan Donald Chiefs.   Regional Clan Donald web sites on the official Clan Donald, USA site and the official Clan Donald Australia web site include calendars of local Clan Donald events.  Becoming involved in activities in your area is the best way to keep your heritage alive.   The object of this web site is to provide information on Clan Donald traditions in an entertaining, multimedia format that will stimulate discussion to not only preserve those traditions, but help them live through our generation and many generations to come. 

We have a proud heritage.   The Gaelic word oighreachd (pronounced & sometimes spelled eiraght) means "heritage" in the sense of expectation, responsibility, or inheritance more than just one's ancestry.   By learning about our ancestors' culture we learn something significant about ourselves.  In the Celtic sense heritage is not just a past history to be proud of.  Heritage includes a responsibility that it be passed on to our posterity.   It is hoped that this web site will help those with Clan Donald Heritage pass the traditions on to their Clan Donald posterity.   

We gain an understanding of our ancestors by learning about their culture (Celtic or Gaelic), their language (Gaelic words' meanings are provided in parenthesis), and where they lived (meanings of place-names are given and shown on the maps).   We will learn much about our ancestors by looking at the land which was so much a part of them, the  legends they taught their youth and the stories told by ancient seanchaidh (pronounced shawn-a-eh, Gaelic meaning oral historians).   In the introduction to his history of Clan Donald, the author, Donald J. Macdonald gave  considerable attention to the legend of   Cú chulainn,  its relationship to Clan Donald, and why it is important to study these legends.  They provide a window into our ancestors' Celtic crofts where genealogy, cultural values, and their life's ambitions were planted in the fertile minds of the young. 

An underlined, brown word indicates a link to additional information concerning that word at another web site or another page of this web site (i.e. clicking on the word tartan will take you to the "Tartan Gallery" within this web site .   Then you just click on the back arrow at the top of your screen to return to the page you were reading.