Despite being a direct descendant of Irish King Niall of the Nine Hostages, he was granted a Norman knighthood and, a few years later, the Earldom of Ross (1234). For the next two centuries it appears as though these two great houses were developing independently of one another. While the clan is centred in Barra in the Outer Hebrides, there is a branch of the clan in Argyll (McNeill/MacNeill) that some historians have speculated was more senior in line, or possibly even unrelated. The surname McNeil was first found in on the islands of Barra, Gigha, Colonsay, and Oronsay. Another variation of this story On a hunting trip, the five boys go looking for water and come across a hideous hag who is guarding a well and refuses to give up the water unless she receives a kiss. It was here in the 5th century that the Cenl Eghain and Cenl Conaill began to establish themselves as overlords in northwestern Ulster. Clan MacNeil - Wikipedia Ireland's History in Maps - the Northern U Neill - Niall of the Nine Every ethnic group of people has its own story about their origin, a legend connecting them with their ancestors. Descendants of Niall of the Nine Hostages | Facebook Irish Mythology https://bit.ly/irish_myth_online_courseBrehon Law https://bit.ly/brehon_law_online_courseEarly Irish Culture and Society https://bit.ly/cultu. The Argyll MacNeils belong to a third Viking-derived group defined by Y-DNA marker L22., Some McNeills from Argyll, but mostly from the Glasgow region, do have Irish Y-DNA, however I think we will find that it is no more common among McNeills that it is among any other group of Scotsmen from the west of Scotland. These Norwegians had been settled in Ireland sufficiently long to become partly Celticized and they have left their mark on the modern map of Cumberland and North Yorkshire in a series of place-names containing Irish loan-words. These factors caused an enormous number of spelling variations in Dalriadan names. Baron of Barra. Niall fought in Britain and Gaul (modern day France), he came up against Roman legions and frequently defeated them in battle.
