John of Islay, Lord of the Isles

Who was John of Islay, Lord of the Isles?

John of Islay was the Lord of the Isles and chief of Clan Donald. In 1336, he styled himself Dominus Insularum, "Lord of the Isles"; because this is the first ever recorded instance of the title in use, modern historians count John as the first of the later medieval Lords of the Isles, although this rather broad Latin style corresponds roughly with the older Gaelic title Rí Innse Gall, in use since the Viking Age, and for instance, the even more similar Latin title dominus de Inchegal, applied to Raghnall Mac Somhairle in the mid-12th century. In fact John is actually styled Rí Innsi Gall or King of the Isles shortly after his death in a contemporary entry in the Irish Annals of Ulster.