Scotland · Ruin
Caisteal Maol
Caisteal Maol (Castle Moil, Dunakin) is a ruined rectangular keep on a small headland beside the strait at Kyleakin on the Isle of Skye. The surviving masonry dates to the late 15th or early 16th century; it commanded the narrow channel between Skye and the mainland. The castle is now largely collapsed and stabilised as visible ruins on the grassy promontory above the water.
Its prime
1513
Today
Ruin
As it stood in 1513
What Caisteal Maol looked like in its prime.
Perched on a rocky, grassy headland above a narrow channel, the castle was a simple three-storey rectangular stone keep of grey, roughly coursed masonry. In prime condition the keep presented continuous vertical outer walls with small window openings and a clear roofline over three internal levels; the main entrance level sat above the exposed rocky slope. The promontory drops steeply to rocky shorelines on three sides, with distant hills forming the backdrop.
Its story
The story of Caisteal Maol.
The Toll on Kyle Akin and the Norse Bride
Caisteal Maol — Gaelic for the bare castle — holds a headland above the village of Kyleakin on Skye, commanding the strait of Kyle Akin between the island and the mainland. Shipping working this coast had either to pass through the kyle or attempt the stormy passage of The Minch.
MacKinnon tradition carries the site far behind its surviving masonry. It holds that Findanus, fourth chief of the clan and great-grandson of Alpín mac Echdach, brought Dunakin into MacKinnon hands around the year 900 by marrying a Norse princess nicknamed Saucy Mary, and that the pair ran a heavy chain across the sound and levied a toll on every vessel. The princess is said to lie buried on Beinn na Caillich, her face reputedly turned towards Norway.
Haakon's Kyle, Largs and the Name Dunakin
Whatever the veracity of that tradition, there is good reason to suppose a Norwegian connection of some kind. King Haakon IV is thought to have assembled his fleet of longships here before the Battle of Largs in 1263, and the place-name Kyleakin is read as Haakon's kyle. His defeat at Largs effectively ended Norse domination of the Scottish islands. Medieval and early modern documents call the castle itself Dunakin — Dun-Haakon.
The MacKinnon Keep, c. 1500–1601
The structure that stands is later than the legend attached to it: a simple rectangular keep of three storeys, dated to the late 15th or early 16th century on the evidence of both historical documents and carbon dating. In 1513 a meeting of chiefs was held here at which they agreed to support Donald MacDonald as Lord of the Isles. The last occupant was Neill MacKinnon, nephew of the clan's 26th chief, about 1601.
Storms, Lightning and Stabilisation, 1949–2018
The castle is now almost completely ruined. Parts of the remains broke away in storms in 1949 and again in 1989, and on 14 February 2018 a lightning strike destroyed a further portion; the surviving fabric has since been stabilised and secured against further deterioration. The site has been a scheduled monument since 10 November 1953. No excavation of the ruins has been carried out, and none is planned.
Step inside
7 places to explore in 1513.
The record describes 7 distinct spots at Caisteal Maol, including 3 interiors: main level public dining space (entrance level), basement (kitchen) level, upper private apartments. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Clans who held Caisteal Maol.
The families that held Caisteal Maol for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
MacKinnon
Ancient seat of Clan MacKinnon; by tradition brought into the clan around 900, its last occupant a nephew of the 26th chief.
