The Clan Iain Abrach
A History of the MacDonalds of Glencoe

The MacDonalds of Glencoe are the smallest of the branches of Clan Donald. They are mostly remembered for the infamous massacre of 1692, but this was only a small part of their long and turbulent history.
Glencoe in northern Argyll runs from Loch Leven in the west to Rannoch Moor in the east, about 8 miles in length. Historical documents refer to the glen variously as Glencoan, Glencon, Glenco or Glencoe.
The glen was long in the possession of the MacDougall, Lords of Lorn. They however chose the wrong side during the Wars of Independence and were forfeited by King Robert I, who granted Glencoe and other MacDougall property to Angus Og MacDonald, Lord of Islay. Angus Og had been one of the King’s main supporters and played a leading role in the victory at Bannockburn in 1314. Angus Og died in 1330, having granted Glencoe to his natural son John Abrach.
John Abrach’s descendants as chiefs of the MacDonalds of Glencoe lived at Polvig and are often described in State Documents as MacDonald or MacIain of Polvig. By the start of the seventeenth century there were a number of small townships in Glencoe at Achnacon, Achtriachtan, Carnoch, Coalasnacon, Inverigan, Laroch, Leacantuim and Strone.
The population of Glencoe never reached above 500 people and usually only appeared in official documents recounting their misdeeds. As a result they now have a reputation, perhaps sometimes justified, as murderers and thieves. It is true that their livelihood was mainly from cattle, and raids on their neighbours to the east and beyond supplemented their income.
The family in the male line ended with the death of Alexander MacDonald, 19th of Glencoe in 1889, although recently a retired farmer from Christchurch, New Zealand, has formally asked the Lord Lyon to investigate his claim to the chiefship.