Eóghan of Argyll

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Eóghan MacDubhghaill (Anglicized: Ewen MacDougall, Ewen of Argyll or Ewen of Lorne) was a 13th century Scottish nobleman and warrior who was styled "King of the Isles", "Lord of Argyll". He was the son of Donnchadh, son of Dubhghall, son of Somhairle mac Gille Brighde.

According to Scandinavian sources, after the death of Harald Olafsson in 1248, King Haakon IV of Norway appointed Eóghan as King of the Isles, though within a year that title went to Dubhghall mac Ruaidhri.[1]

In response Eóghan's assumption of this title perhaps, in 1249 King Alexander II of Scotland launched an expedition against Eóghan after the latter refused to renounce his homage to King Haakon IV of Norway. Alexander II fell ill and died on this expedition, but Eóghan seems to have been temporarily deprived of his Argyll possessions.

In 1250, Eóghan tried to obtain rulership of the Isle of Man, but was expelled by the inhabitants. He then travelled to Norway, hoping for recognition as King of the Isles. This attempt was unsuccessful. By 1255, King Henry III of England had secured a deal for Eóghan whereby the Eóghan regained Lorne and came into full Scottish allegiance.

When Haakon campaigned against the Scots in 1263, Eóghan refused the Norwegian king service and remained a Scottish loyalist. After Haakon's defeat, Eóghan regained formal recognition as ruler of the Isles. His last recorded appearance is in 1268.

Eóghan's son Alexander followed him as Lord of Argyll. His daughter Mary married Magnus Olafsson, King of Mann, and secondly Maol Íosa II, Earl of Strathearn.

He may have been the Mac Somurli responsible for the death of Jordan de Exeter during a pirate raid in Connemara in 1258.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Woolf, "Dead Man", p. 84.

[edit] References

  • Sellar, W. D. H., "MacDougall, Ewen, lord of Argyll (d. in or after 1268)", in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 , accessed 5 Dec 2006
  • Woolf, Alex (2007), “A Dead Man at Ballyshannon: War and Society in the North Sea Region, 1150-1600”, in Duffy, Seán, The World of the Galloglass, Dublin: Four Courts Press, pp. 77-85, ISBN 1-85182-946-6 
Preceded by
Donnchadh		 Lord of Argyll
1244 x 1248-c. 1268		 Succeeded by
Alasdair
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