| Clan Macquarrie
Lachlan MacQuarrie, the last chief to live on the island, claimed that
his clan had possesd Ulva since the 9th Century; and although the chiefs
are not on public record until the mid-15th Century, they can produce a
pedigree of sorts going back to the thirteenth. They even claim kinship
with Saint Columba.
General Lachlan MacQuarrie, the most famous member of the clan, was
possibly born at Ormaig on the Mull side after his parents moved there
from Ulva. AFter a military career, he became the first Govenor of
New South Wales and Australians still make pilgrimages to his mausoleum
at Gruline on Mull.
He was not the only MacQuarrie to lay down the plough for the sword.
The men of Ulva were known in sonorous Gaelic as 'the fierce, fearless,
great-feated MacQuarries'. Their war cry was 'The Red Tartan Army'
and they took part in many far flung battles - at Inverkeithing, Bannockburn,
in the colonies.
Graves of MacQuarries at Culloden are on the right hand side where other
Mull men rest. They followed the MacLeans who joined Prince Charles
under MacLean of Drimnin at Stirling. An Ulva man carried the banner
back from Culloden. With it wrapped around his body, he swam home
across the sound. David Livingston was a descendant of this warrior.
Lachlan's over-generous nature may have been his downfall - he had to
sell Ulva in 1777 to pay his debts. However, the majority of Ulva's
crofters were still from his clan. To this day many MacQuarries from
all over the world visit Ulva to find their roots. Alas, there are
no MacQuarries resident on Ulva today. |
