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Clan MacIntyre are a multi-talented family, boasting impressive skills in a wide range of fields including poetry, comedy, and music. If you are lucky enough to be a MacIntyre yourself, or have historical links to the clan, we hope you will be just as impressed by the achievements of your peers as we are!
Meet the Famous MacIntyres
Duncan Ban MacIntyre
Duncan Ban MacIntyre, a contemporary of Robert Burns, is one of the most renowned Scottish Gaelic poets, despite the fact that he remained illiterate for his entire life, and wasn’t able to either read or write.
Born in 1724 in Glen Orchy, he undertook no formal education as a child, and went on to work various different jobs. Like many Highlanders, he spent a while serving as a soldier and fought for the Hanoverian forces during the infamous Jacobite rising of 1745 to 1746. During the battle, he lost his sword while fighting, an incident which became an unlikely source of creative inspiration, as he later wrote a comic poem about the event!
From 1746 to 1766, he worked as a gamekeeper for the Earl of Breadalbane and then the Duke of Argyll, spending his days in stunning hills and woods, building a close connection to the land. In 1766, he moved to Edinburgh, where he joined the City Guard. He spent the majority of his time outside of the guard composing more poems, which steadily gained acclaim and popularity. Due to his illiteracy, his work was memorised and shared by oral tradition, before it was later written down by the minister of Lismore, Donald MacNicol. It was then translated into English by various prestigious scholars including Hugh MacDiarmid, Derrick Thomson, and Iain Crichton Smith.
The majority of his pieces are highly descriptive and are influenced by his close relationship with nature and his native lands, often referencing specific places. One of his most popular poems, ‘Moladh Beinn Dòbhrain,’ or ‘the Praise of Beinn Dòbhrain,’ tells the story of a calf climbing up a hill path, while another of his beloved works, ‘Òran Coire a’Cheathaich,’ ‘the Song of the Misty Corrie,’ paints a picture of flowers on a mountain.
McIntyre passed away in Edinburgh in 1812, and was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard. He was well-loved and admired by his contemporaries, being affectionately known as ‘Donnchadh Bàn nan Òran,’ or ‘Fair Duncan of the Songs,’ and many wanted to commemorate his great service to the arts. In 1859, this dream was realised when John Thomas Rochead designed a monument in his honour in the hills overlooking Loch Awe.
Why not explore his work for yourself and discover Clan MacIntyre’s grand poetic talent!
Michael McIntyre
If you’re a fan of stand-up comedy, you may be familiar with our next famous face for today.
Michael McIntyre was born in London in 1976 and grew up in the showbiz industry, as his dad was a well-known comedian and comedy writer for British television.
He was determined to follow in his family’s footsteps, starting his stand-up career in 1999. His love of performing kept him determined, even when one night at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, his show only drew an audience of 1 person!
Luckily, it wasn’t long until he got his big break. In 2006, he performed at the televised Royal Variety Performance, where he charmed the audience in the building, and those watching at home. Since then, he has secured his status as one of the most successful comedians in the world, with his tours having sold over 4 million tickets!
From 2009, McIntyre held a prime time spot on BBC 1 hosting ‘Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow’, which was hugely popular and received multiple BAFTA nominations, and even won the National Television Award for Best Entertainment programme in 2012.
In 2010, he returned to where it all started by hosting the Royal Variety Performance on ITV, and was invited back again in 2014. He used his talents for good in 2011 and 2013 when he co-hosted Comic Relief on BBC 1.
In 2016, he began hosting another hit BBC 1 show called ‘Michael McIntyre’s Big Show,’ which also won several awards, including a BAFTA for Best Entertainment Performance.
McIntyre is also a seasoned and well-loved panel show member, having appeared on Mock the Week, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Have I Got News for You, The Apprentice, Alan Carr: Chatty Man, and many more!
He regularly tours his stand-up routine, giving fans a chance to enjoy his comedy in real life, and even holds the record for the highest selling artist at London’s O2, the UK’s biggest arena, for 33 sold out shows.
Macy Gray / Natalie Renée McIntyre
Our final famous face for today has also brought joy to people over the world, though this time with music rather than laughs!
Macy Gray is an American singer, songwriter, and producer, admired for her distinctive voice, and style mixing R&B, pop, soul, jazz, and funk.
She was born Natalie Renée McIntyre in 1967 in Ohio to a steelworker and a schoolteacher. She was creative from an early age, often writing stories and poems as a young child. She pursued this love of writing at university, attending the University of Southern California to study screenwriting. This gave her an unlikely chance to step into music! While she was a student, she agreed to write songs for a friend, initially being reassured that another singer would record the demos. However, this singer failed to appear at the demo session, so McIntyre recorded them herself.
After meeting writer-producer Joe Solo, she started to pursue music more intentionally, writing a collection of songs and recording them in Solo’s studio. This tape started to attract attention, and Gray was asked to sing at various jazz cafes in LA. Her talent was clear and she was soon signed to various labels, landing a record deal with Epic Records in 1998.
Her breakthrough came with her 1999 debut album, ‘On How Life Is,’ which features the international hit song ‘I Try.’ The album went multi-platinum and in 2001 she won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for ‘I Try.’
She went on to release many more albums, including ‘The Id,’ ‘The Trouble with Being Myself,’ and ‘Ruby,’ often exploring themes of love, heartbreak, and self-identity. To date, she has released 10 studio albums, and is clearly not content to rest on her laurels!
McIntyre is blessed with the unusual combination of both critical acclaim and widespread fan adoration. While the early 2000s saw her commercial peak, she has a passionate fan base to this day, and is seen as one of the most influential contemporary figures in soul and R&B.
Why not revisit one of her many great albums to enjoy some of Clan MacIntyre’s talent!
We hope you have enjoyed meeting a few of Clan MacIntyre’s most accomplished members, and are feeling impressed by their wide and varied contributions to the world.
If you would like to learn more about this great family, head over to our Clan MacIntyre page, and be sure to look out for the rest of our MacIntyre content over this month.
Image Sources:
Duncan Ban MacIntyre Memorial, Greyfriars Kirkyard by Dmitri N. Smirnov, Attribution
Michael McIntyre by Raph_PH - McIntyreSoho150517-3, CC BY 2.0
Macy Gray in 2008 by LivePict.com, CC BY-SA 3.0
