Clan MacNeil
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Clan MacNeil
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The Tartans of Clan MacNeil
The purpose of this note is to clarify the confusion which seems to have arisen respecting Clan Macneil tartans. There are two - and only two - Clan Macneil tartans recognized by the Chief of the Clan, who by custom and in Scotland by law, determines what the clan tartan or clan tartans are. These are: 1. Macneil of Barra. The tartan of the Macneils of Barra is the familiar black, green, and blue tartan with narrow alternating white and yellow (encased in black) stripes. (Donald C. Stewart, the Setts of the Scottish Tartans, No. 166.) This has been that standard Macneil of Barra tartan for well over a century.2. Macneil of Colonsay. The tartan of the Macneils of Colonsay, which has also been in use for a very long period is somewhat similar, but has two white stripes quite close together rather than alternating yellow and white equidistant stripes (Stewart No. 168)(The shades of these tartans vary a great deal, from very dark to very light, and from soft to bright. Confusion is engendered by terms like ancient and modern to describe these differences, thereby implying that they are different tartans. They are not. A tartan is determined by its sett, i.e. colour thread count, not by the shades of its colours.) As is the case with many clans, there are also a number of other tartans associated in some way with the Clan Macneil besides those recognized by the Chief as the clan tartan or tartans. These are Stewart Nos. 165, 167, and 169. In the 1930's Robert Lister Macneil of Barra adopted one of these tartans, Stewart No. 165, as a tartan for himself and his immediate family. It is quite comparable to the standard Macneil of Barra tartan, but has a narrow red stripe on each side of the white stripe. This tartan has never been recognized by a Chief as an official tartan of the Clan Macneil. I have now been told that, without consulting me, a number of members of the Clan Macneil have decided to wear the red-stripe tartan, after discovering that the Chief had never taken formal steps to restrict its use to his immediate family. I feel strongly that the Clan should have only a single tartan for each branch - Barra and Colonsay - and therefore have no intention of recognizing the red-stripe as a Clan Macneil tartan, except for use by the Chief and his immediate family. (I do not intend myself to wear the red-stripe tartan, because I believe the Chief should wear the same tartan as the Clan.)
The Macneil of Barra
28 July, 1997 The following files are in a format that allows them to be displayed "tiled". If you save them to a folder on your computer, you can display them tiled to see a closer representation of what the fabric would look like. "Modern" MacNeil of Barra, this is the darker coloured variant of the Barra sett of the approved tartan. "Ancient" Macneil of Barra, the lighter "weathered" variant of the Barra sett of the approved tartan. "Ancient" MacNeil of Barra Background, this is the file that is used as the background for this page.
MacNeill of Colonsay,
green with doubled white overstriping.
Topics in this Section| The Tartans of Clan MacNeil | |
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A letter from
the Chief of Clan Macneil directed to the members of
Clan Macneil at the International Gathering on Barra in
1997.