Clan MacDonald - Dunyvaig Castle - Photo Print

Dunyvaig Castle on the south coast of Islay was one of the key strongholds of the MacDonald Lords of the Isles, the medieval rulers who governed much of Scotland's west coast and the Hebrides from the 14th century until James IV stripped the Lordship in 1493. The castle's later history was anything but settled, changing hands repeatedly between the MacDonalds and the Campbells of Cawdor over the following century. In 1647, Alasdair MacDonald, known as Old Colkitto, took the castle in a dramatic siege before surrendering when the water supply failed. The Campbells demolished the structure around 1677, and only the ruins remain. Photographer Aly Wight photographed the ruins in soft evening light on Islay's south coast.

If the MacDonald name is part of your story, Islay and its castles were among the places your clan fought hardest to hold.