The Laggan Redshanks

Dave Swift from the Claoíbh in Redshank attire

(Link to Claoíbh on Facebook)

In the sixteenth century Scottish Highlanders settled in the Laggan district of east Donegal. They were called Redshanks. Their story is told in the book The Laggan Redshanks.  The history of the Laggan Redshanks has many fascinating elements which include Clann Chaimbeul and their dynamic leader the fifth Earl of Argyll, Gaelic sexual intrigues, English Machiavellian maneuvers, and the Redshanks themselves.

The Redshank settlement in the Laggan took place in the tumultuous years during the sixteenth century that were dominated by Elizabethan English attempts to bring Ulster under the control of the Crown.  The Redshanks were vital players in these affairs and it was their military skills that delayed the conquest of Ulster until the beginning of the next century.  The Laggan Redshanks were part of a military build up to protect and support Clann Uí Dhónaill (clan O'Donnell).  They settled on Clann Uí Dhónaill lands in east Donegal that border the Foyle River.  One of their main functions was to protect the river harbours on the Foyle.

The Redshanks came primarily from mid Argyll.  The first cousin of the Earl of Argyll was the famous Iníon Dubh and it was she that organised the Redshank military forces that supported the O'Donnell clan.  Iníon Dubh married the taoiseach (chief) of Clann Uí Dhónaill in 1569 and this set the stage for the Redshank settlement.

Magh Gaibhlín, Porthall, Donegal, castle of Iníon Dubh

The Laggan Redshanks remained on their lands in Portlough precinct after the Plantation began in 1610.  Their Campbell connections, Reformed faith, along with their reputation as elite fighting men, made them acceptable to the incoming Stewarts who took over the east Donegal lands of Iníon Dubh.  The Redshanks were Gaels in every sense, but could be considered British subjects in an ecumenical sense, complete with appropriate loyalties, and a version of the Protestant faith.  In the Portlough area, the incoming Planter Scots came from Ayrshire and Lennox.  Lennox included lands in the Scottish Gaeltacht and parts of Ayrshire were still Gaelic speaking in the early 1600s.  The Scots from these areas were familiar with Gaelic language and customs and were ethnically similar to the Campbell Redshanks.

Many of the descendants of the Laggan Redshanks migrated to the English Colonies during the Ulster Migration and became part of the Scots-Irish people. Of interest to the genealogist, the book includes appendices of the Portlough muster rolls and surnames of the Redshanks and notes on their point of origin in Scotland.

Link: The Laggan Redshanks 

Link: Barry R McCain