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Answer:
The name 'Macintyre' is
dated to the twelfth century; in Gaelic it is 'Mac an t-saoir' meaning 'son of
the carpenter'. In the Scottish Clan
and Family Encyclopedia there is a traditional story detailing the beginning
of the Macintyre clan: In the twelfth century
Somerled was establishing his lordship in the Western Isles. In order to make a
pact with the Olav the Red, King of Man, Somerled sought to marry Olav's
daughter, Ragnhild. Somerled's nephew, Macarill, claimed he could devise a plan
to win her; Macarill sabotaged Olav's ship by boring holes in the hull which he
plugged with tallow. He managed to get on the ship as a passenger and took a
supply of wooden plugs with him. As the tallow washed out in the heavy seas and
the ship began to flounder, Macarill said he would save the king's life if the
king would promise his daughter's hand to Somerled. The king agreed, Macarill
plugged the leaks and he was known thereafter as the 'wright' or 'carpenter'. Macarill's descendants
later established themselves on the mainland by Ben Cruachan. By the end of the
thirteenth century the Macintyres were foresters to the Lords of Lorn. The first
Macintyre chief of record was Duncan who died in 1695 and was buried at
Ardchattan Priory. He had married a daughter of Campbell of Barcaldine and
through this line Macintyres claim descent from Robert the Bruce.
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