Domhnall mac Raghnaill

Who was Domhnall mac Raghnaill?

Domhnall mac Raghnaill was a Hebridean noble in the late 12th- and early 13th-century. He is the eponymous progenitor of Clan Donald. For this reason some traditions accumulated around him in the Later Middle Ages and Early Modern period. Despite his role as the historical figurehead of one of the world's most famous kindreds and surnames, there is almost no contemporary evidence yielding certain information about his life.

His place in the genealogical tradition of the MacDonalds is the only reason for believing in his existence, a genealogical tradition that not all historians have accepted. Beyond his actual existence, there is little that is certain. Three entries in Irish annals may discuss him, though he is never named; a praise poem surviving from the Early Modern period may be descended from a poem originally written for him; a miracle in a Manx chronicle may or may not have Domhnall as its subject; and a doubtful charter surviving from a similarly late era was allegedly issued by him.