Clan MacNeil Net

Kisimul (or Chisimul) Castle gets its name from the Gaelic words cios, (tax or tribute) and mul (mound), meaning "The place where taxes are paid."  Kisimul is a small medieval castle located in the centre of Castlebay.  Construction of Kisimul Castle was started by Naill of Barra (or Naill of the Castle) 21st of Barra around 1039 AD.  Since that time, Kisimul has been the stronghold of Clan MacNeil. 

At almost 1000 years old, Kisimul is one of the oldest castles in europe, and has never fallen to an enemy.  One of the major reasons for the castle's success as a stronghold is its position in Castlebay.   As Kisimul is completely surrounded by water, it can only be reached by boat. Although the castle is surrounded by salt water, it has its own fresh water wells.  This supply of fresh water was a major boon to the inhabitants of the castle. One tale of a siege of the castle by the Norse tells the story of how the MacNeils fooled the besiegers by hanging up the hides of cattle that were to be used for the making of shoes.  The hides were smeared with the blood of an unlucky dog, and the Norse were fooled into believing that the Clan had ample food, so they gave up their siege and went home.

Kisimul was abandoned in 1838 when the island was sold, the castle was left to the mercy of the elements. Partially destroyed by fire and vandals, a large portion of the castle came to end up as paving stones in Glasgow.  Salt boats calling at Barra to deliver salt for fish-curing would use stones from the castle as ballast. They were then sold as paving stones when they returned to Glasgow.  Some of the castle stones were also used as ballast for fishing boats and these stones were then thrown overboard to make way for the catch.  Over the years, many parts of the castle slowly disappeared.

Robert Lister Macneil 45th of Barra (father of the present Chief of the Clan MacNeil, Ian Roderick Macneil 46th of Barra) was able to purchase the remains of the castle and most of the island of Barra in 1937.   His life's desire was to see the castle restored and he immediately started work to restore the castle to the way it looked in the 1700's. When Robert Macneil arrived on Barra, he found the remains of stone fishing jetties surrounding the bay. Using the stone from these jetties, he restored the castle to its current appearance.  This reconstruction included restoring much of the interior of the castle as well as the castle's enceinte (or walls). 

In praising the work of Robert Macneil, one of Scotland's greatest traditionalists, the late Sir Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk said: 

The angles of most of the walls are very sharp (arris) at the base with the exception of the northern angle which is rounded.  As the northern angle ascends, it turns into a small turret with a stance for a sentinel on top.  Below the sentinel's stance is a "dungeon" with what may have been two apartments one above the other.  The lower may have been a prison cell with the upper being a guardroom.  The other angles of the enceinte have been raised higher that the curtain walls, but do not project out over the curtains to form bartizans.  The northwest wall of the enceinte does have two somewhat rounded projections which may have served as points of defence for the walls.

The Keep of Kisimul Castle measures approximately twenty nine feet by twenty seven feet and is carried up from a broadly splayed base.  The Keep Tower is located in the southeast angle of the enceinte, and was added later than the original construction of the enceinte.  The walls of the Keep are about six feet in thickness.  The entrance to the keep is located on the level of the first floor (The second floor for most North Americans), and when originally constructed could only be entered by means of a ladder or possibly a movable bridge from the parapet walk.  There are now stairs to this entrance from the castle's courtyard. 

The Keep is a total of four storeys in height, with what would have been the Chief's apartments located above the first floor where the hall was located.    The basement of the Keep would have held the stores for the castle.  Stairs from the entrance level of the Keep run in the thickness of the wall to the basement and to the second and third floors.

The entrance to the castle it self has changed in that the current steps and doorway are located to the left of the original position of the castle's gate and machicolation (an opening in the floor of the parapet walk above the door used for discharging weapons upon enemies below).  In the photograph shown at left,  note the the original gate of the castle was located in the wall just off camera to the author's right (i.e. just to the right of the steps shown in the photo)

Currently, the restored courtyard of the castle looks like the photo at right.  Note that buildings inside the enceinte were originally added some time after the addition of the Keep.  They have been reconstructed as part of the restoration of the Castle.  The house like structure to the left is the Kitchen House and the structure to the right is the Tanist (or "Heir's") House.  One of the fresh water wells was located in the centre of the courtyard and can no longer be seen, while the second is located in the right angle formed by the Tanist House and what is known as "Marion of the Head's Addition."  This addition in connected to the castle's "Great Hall."  In the foreground at the left of the photo, a corner of the the Keep of Kisimul Castle can be seen. 

Information for this page  was confirmed using the following sources:

The Clan Macneil by The Macneil, 45th Chief of the Clan,  The Caledonian Publishing Company, 1923.  Reprinted by Scotpress, Morgantown, WV, 1985.

Castle in The Sea by The Macneil, 45th Chief of the Clan, Collins, London & Glasgow, 1964.  Republished, 1975.   Republished by Scotpress, Morgantown, WV, 1984.