The Famous Faces of Clan Donnachaidh

We are going to begin this blog by looking at possibly the most famous chief of the Donnachaidh Clan, Alexander Robertson of Struan, “the poet chief”. This infamous chief of Donnachaidh was born around 1670 and for the majority of his childhood, he was bred to be a member of the priesthood. Whilst studying at the University of St Andrews under the tutelage of John Menzies, Alexander heard word that his father and eldest brother had died only months apart. This meant at the age of 19 Alexander was the leader of the clan and battalions. You must be wondering how a young man would have dealt with such high pressure? He got caught and was taken prisoner in his first year as chief.

It wasn't looking great for the young chief as he and many other leaders were sent to live on the continent as exiles (a quiet life in France doesn’t sound too bad to me). Alexander and I must be very different as he grew restless and awaited the day when he would be reclaiming his land once lost. This day came when Queen Anne granted his return to Scotland and his clansfolk greeted him with glee. This is where Alexander’s life became a bit crazy. His poetry at the time made him invaluable to the Jacobites as his politics made him a Jacobite celebrity.

Soon came the rebellion of 1715. The Earl of Mar raised the flag of rebellion in the highlands restarting the highlands vs the lowlands war. Alexander Robertson of Struan quickly joined Mar in Perth with 300 clansmen and was sent orders to take Menzies Castle. The castle of Alexander's once mentor and now foe. The Robertson men, described as the strongest in the Jacobite army outsmarted the clan, as they waited for all the soldiers to go to the pub at night and then took over the castle! This Jacobite rebellion was later unsuccessful, and the clan were forced to retreat to Dunalastair castle. Alexander went on to live till 81 years old but sadly never had children ending this family line, despite this Alexander was said to have loved a party, so at least he had fun!

From one master tactician to another, Oscar Robertson is famous for extremely different things compared to Alexander, but both are remembered as greats! Oscar Robertson otherwise known as “Big O” is recognised as one of the greatest basketballers of all time. Oscar was a 12-time all-star, 11-time all-NBA, 1-time MVP award winner and most importantly a one-time championship winner. He must have a pretty massive trophy cabinet!

Whilst being great on the court, his legend goes far beyond just being a player. Oscar was also a massive labour activist after being the longest-serving President of the players union and was the first black president of any national sports or entertainment labour union. He continued to fight for the player's rights after he sued the NBA on behalf of his colleagues and won! The settlement that he achieved shaped the game and the league into the way it is today, which gives players much more freedom!

Now let’s go all the way back 1000 years ago, to the days of Crinan, the Abbot of Dunkeld. Crinan had a life of battle, adventure, and misfortunes as he started the House of Dunkeld, the ruling house of Scotland for many years. In the year 1000, Crinan married Bathoc the daughter of the famous Malcolm II. Malcolm bore no more children, meaning Crinan's children were the heir to the throne. Crinan’s child is someone who you might know, Duncan the First otherwise known as “King Duncan” in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. And if you have ever read or watched the seemingly endless video adaptations of Macbeth you know how it ends up for Duncan.

Crinan was heavily involved in the forever changing power dynamics of Britain at this time. Most notably when King Malcolm II and Duncan I, arrived at the Kingdom of Cumbria to gain homage. Here they met King Canute of England and Denmark who asked the King of Alba for a peace treaty, to which they responded, peace will be agreed on the return of Duncan’s father. Peace was agreed and Crinan started back at Dunkeld making it a strong trading post once again.

Sadly, things were about to change on the 25^th November 1034, when King Malcolm II died. This left Duncan as King, making the House of Atholl the strongest in the region. What could go wrong? Sadly, there was one thing missing for Duncan, the ability to win a battle. Duncan opened up war on both sides of their empire and lost both! It was at the battle of Bothgowan where Macbeth defeated and killed Crinan’s favourite son, Duncan ending his sad rule. Despite this Crinan had the last revenge as his grandson Malcolm was named high king and his descendants ruled Scotland until Alexander III.

From a king of Scotland to a king of rock! Robbie Robertson (cousin of Boaty McBoatface) is one of the premier songwriters of the rock era with his band known as The Band. (Naming a band, The Band is one of the boldest moves I have seen in a while.) Either way, Robbie was born in Ontario, Canada to a Jewish father and a Mohawk mother. Robbie gained his musical inspiration from listening to the live music that came from the Six Nations Reservation. As time wore on, his musical interests evolved from country to big band to rock, and he eventually dropped out of school to pursue a career as a performer.

Soon The Band came to the attention of Bob Dylan and became the support unit on the singer's now-legendary 1965-1966 world tour. On the back of their many hit singles and albums, they became one of rock's biggest attractions until Thanksgiving, 1976 when the band disbanded. Despite this, this was not the end of Robbie’s career as he went on to compose the majority of Martin Scorsese’s movies including, Raging Bull, the Irishman and the Wolf of Wall Street. Robbie and his band were later inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!