McDonells of Antrim, Ireland 

The crest of the MacDonnells of Antrim is a clentched fist rising out of the crown. The crown represents the Earldom of Antrim granted Randal McDonell in 1620.  The slogan is Old Latin meaning "Perhaps there is Worth in Unity".  Perhaps a reference to a clentched fist proving more valuable than an open hand.  Certainly it is representative of the fight in this branch of Clan Donald who struggled to retain their place in Ireland just as the clan has struggled in Scotland. Clan Donald is usually thought of as a Scottish clan like the hundreds of others that gather along "clan row" at Highland Games all over the world.  It is a Scottish clan, but Clan Donald also has an Irish history that predates the 17th century Ulster Scots plantation that brought other Scots to Ireland.

Sòmhairlidh (Somerled), the grandfather of Donald of Islay (from whom the clan takes its name) was actually born in County Down, Ireland. Sòmhairlidh's father returned to his ancestral Ireland seeking help from his relatives to drive out Viking raiders of Dalriada.  Dalriada is also thought of as part of Scotland, but Dalriada was actually an Irish kingdom that began in what is now Antrim, Ireland and included what is now Argyll, Lorne, Morvern, and the islands between. Six generations and almost 250 years after Sòmhairlidh (or Somerled) was born in Ireland, his descendant John (or Iain) Mhòir (Gaelic =senior) established his own kingdom back in Northern Ireland (1386 AD). His brother, Dhòmnaill, was Lord of the Isles and granted Iain Mhòir lands including the southern isles and Amtrim Ireland. Antrim is the current spelling of what was originally aon troim in Gaelic meaning "one farm".   Iain Mhòir  took as his wife Margery Bisset of the Glens of Antrim, Ireland. Throughout most of Clan Donald history the Antrim branch of Clan Donald actually maintained the largest land holdings of any of the Clan Donald branches.

Sòmhairlidh (Somerled) established a traditional Celtic Kingdom as had been done in Ireland for the previous millennia. He expanded his Kingdom of Argyll to include the Western Isles. For over 200 years the Kingdom of the Isles was an autonomous kingdom forming alliances with Norway, England, Ireland or Scotland to suit its own purposes.  Angus Og formed such an alliance with Robert the Bruce that ensured Scottish independence from England. The Bruce acknowledged the Kingdom of the Isles right to govern and granted additional Scottish lands to what the Scottish Kings called the Lordship of the Isles (rather than Kingdom). By accepting the land grants from the Bruce and the title "Lord of the Isles" the independence of the Kingdom of the Isles began to erode. For the next 200 years the Lordship of the Isles continued to act as an independent Kingdom that stretched from Antrim Ireland to the Isle of Lewis in what is now northern Scotland. For hundreds of years the efforts of the Scottish crown to confirm their rule of the Highlands and Islands were mostly unsuccessful. In 1493 the Scottish crown forced the Lord of the Isles to forfeit his right to rule the Lordship.  Even after the forfeiture of the Lordship Clan Donald still thought of Antrim as a part of Clan Donald rather than another country. The men of Clan Donald rallied to support the interests of their Celtic cousins whether it be in Scotland or Ireland. British histories that refer to Irish who fought in Scotland and Scots who fought in Ireland are usually referring to Clan Donald men who responded to aid their kin without regard to country. The Ulster Irish saw Clan Donald's power came from it's ties with it's Scottish kin just as the Scottish crown knew it had to contend with the Irish Clan Donald joining forces with the Highland clan.  The Irish clan warrior chief Sorley Buy stands out as the primary example of Clan Donald bridging the Irish sea.