Clan McQuillan (Irish: Mac Uibhilín) is an Irish clan that descend from south-western Scotland, who originally come over to Ulster to serve as galloglass mercenaries for the earls of Ulster and originally held lands in Dufferin in modern County Down before taken possession of the Route.[1][2]
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The name MacQuillan is of disputed origin with two prevailing ideas:
In 1442, according to the Annals of Ulster, the MacQuillan-O'Cahan feud started.[1]
By the 1460s, with the earldom of Ulster near its end, the surviving de Mandevilles of north Antrim deserted their manors in Twescard and sold their interests to the MacQuillans who were already established there.[2] The MacQuillans would rename Twescard, the Route, after their "rout", a common term then for a private army.[2] Their principal residence in the Route was at Dunluce Castle, near the mouth of the River Bush.
The end of the MacQuillan-O'Cahan feud came in 1559, when their allies, the MacDonnells of the Glens turned upon them.[1] Sorley Boy MacDonnell, with the aid of levies from Scotland, launched a mass assault on the Route against the MacQuillans. The final battle of this assault was at Aura, and saw the end of the MacQuillans and the conquest of the Route by the MacDonnells.[2][1][4]