Clan MacNeil

Clan MacNeil
Motto	Buaidh no bas (Victory or death) also translated as "Conquer or Die"
Profile
Region	Highland and Islands
District	Western Isles
Plant badge	Dryas
Chief
Roderick Wilson Macneil of Barra
The Macneil of Barra, Chief of Clan Niall and 27th of Barra, Baron of Barra
Historic seat	Kisimul Castle
Clan branches MacNeil of Barra MacNeill of Gigha/Colonsay
Allied clans Clan MacDonald

Clan MacNeil, also known in Scotland as Clan Niall, is a highland Scottish clan of Irish origin. According to their early genealogies and some sources they're descended from Eógan mac Néill and Niall of the Nine Hostages. The clan is particularly associated with the Outer Hebridean island of Barra. The early history of Clan MacNeil is obscure. However, despite this the clan claims to descend from the legendary Irish King Niall of the Nine Hostages, who is counted as the 1st Clan Chief, the current Clan Chief being the 47th. The clan itself takes its name from a Niall who lived in the 13th or early 14th century and who belonged to the same dynastic family of Cowal and Knapdale as the ancestors of the Lamonts, MacEwens of Otter, Maclachlans, and the MacSweens. 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. However, according to Scots law, the current chief of Clan MacNeil is the chief of all MacNeil(l)s.^[1][2]