Scotland · Ruin
Finlaggan Castle
Finlaggan Castle is the ruined 13th-century masonry stronghold on Eilean Mòr in Loch Finlaggan, Islay, that served as the principal seat of the Lords of the Isles and Clan Donald. The site includes the remains of a medieval chapel dedicated to St Findlugan and other domestic and ceremonial remains; it was a regional administrative centre from the 13th to the 15th centuries.
Its prime
1410
Today
Ruin
As it stood in 1410
What Finlaggan Castle looked like in its prime.
A compact 13th-century stone-built fortified house set on the small island of Eilean Mòr in Loch Finlaggan, defined by continuous coursed masonry walls rising from the shoreline and enclosing domestic ranges and a chapel; roofs in its prime would have been timber and thatch or slate with chimneys and occupied hearths. The building cluster sits surrounded by freshwater, with neighbouring Eilean na Comhairle visible across the loch; in 1410 the complex stood complete and inhabited.
Its story
The story of Finlaggan Castle.
The Monastic Isle and Somerled's Stronghold, 1138
A monastic community was established in the first half of the seventh century on Eilean Mor, the largest of the three islands in Loch Finlaggan on Islay. It was either dedicated to or possibly founded by St Findlugan, an Irish monk and a contemporary of St Columba, who is venerated as a saint in both the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.
In 1138 Somerled, Lord of Argyll, Kintyre and Lorne, and the first to be styled Lord of the Isles, raised a stronghold on the island. It was most likely of timber, and may have been built on the remains of an earlier Iron Age fort. The fortified house whose ruins survive is a masonry building of the thirteenth century.
The Isle of the Council
Two of the loch's three islands did the work of government. Eilean Mor, the Great Isle, and Eilean na Comhairle, the Isle of the Council, were the administrative centre of the Lordship of the Isles from the thirteenth century to the fifteenth, and the castle on Eilean Mor served the Lords as their principal court and the meeting place of their clan chiefs.
Excavation has recovered both the working gear of that court and its symbols, from a quilted sheep's-wool aketon of the kind worn beneath armour to an ancient cross associated with the lords. The stone walls of a medieval chapel on Eilean Mor, dedicated to St Findlugan, have been stabilised, and several sixteenth-century graves are displayed under glass panels.
Betrayal, the Fall of the Lordship and Demolition
Treachery reached inside the castle. Iain Mor MacDonald, 3rd of Dunnyveg, and his son Iain Cathanach were taken prisoner at Finlaggan through the deception of MacIain of Ardnamurchan, held to answer for the hanging of the governor of Dunaverty Castle. Both were later tried and hanged on the Burgh Muir at Edinburgh.
In 1493 the Lordship of the Isles fell to James IV of Scotland, who administered the territory through a tenant-in-chief thereafter. Finlaggan is recorded in 1541 as held from the Crown by Donald MacGilleasbuig. The castle itself appears to have been demolished during the fifteenth or sixteenth century.
Step inside
6 places to explore in 1410.
The record describes 6 distinct spots at Finlaggan Castle, including 2 interiors: chapel of st findlugan (interior), lords' court / main hall (assembly). 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 Finlaggan Castle.
The families that held Finlaggan Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Seat of Clan Donald and the Lords of the Isles, whose principal court met here from the 13th to the 15th centuries.
