Gilhemoire


Gilhemoire is the progenitor of the Scottish Clan Morrison, and half-brother to Leod, the progenitor of the Scottish Clan Macleod, according to Clan traditions.

Life and family

Gilhemoire was a natural ' son of Olaf the Black and Lauon, a Kintyre noblewoman. Olaf and Lauon's marriage was not considered legitimate due to their kinship '. Eventually the marriage was nullified by Bishop Reginald of the Isles, and Gilhemoire was declared illegitimate .This account is sourced from the Bannatyne Manuscript, and is verified by the oral traditions of the Clans Morrison and MacLeod.
Olaf the Black sired two sons in the Hebrides '. The sons were Leod and Gilhemoire, who became the progenitors of the Clans MacLeod and Morrison. Gilhemoire and Leod were half-brothers, Leod having been born of Christiana ', Olaf's third wife.
Gilhemoire is noted by the Morrisons of Ness and Harris ' as the first of the Morrison Clan, '
His place of birth has not been established, although most of the line believe Gilhemoire to have been born in The Isle of Lewis '.
Gilhemoire married the last heiress ' of the Clan Igaa ', thereby acquiring the Castle Phabbay on the Island of Phabbay '. There was a split in the Clan Morrison, and some of Gilhemoire's descendants remain in this area of Scotland in modern times .

Understanding the Gaelic to English Translations

'Gilhemoire' means 'Servant of the Virgin Mary'.
The is Mac Ghille Mhoire, which means "son of the servant of the Virgin Mary."
Dun means 'citadel' or 'castle'

Castles: Dun Phabbay, and Dun Eistein

The original stronghold of Gilhemoire ' is not to be confused with the citadel of, later constructed on the Northern Tip of the Lewes by Gilhemoire's descendants '.
Gilhemhoire's descendants eventually branched: the Morrisons of Ness controlled Dun Eistein on the Isle of Lewis, while the Morrisons of Harris remained on the Isle of Harris, and held Dun Phabbay. The 'Isle of Lewis' and the 'Isle of Harris' are in fact parts of the same land mass.

Gilhemoire's line in the present day

The current Chief of the Clan Morrison is R. Alasdair Morrison who assumed the Chief's mantle on November 7, 2020 after the death of his father Dr. John Ruairidh Morrison, who took office on 11 December 2010; he is the Son of Dr. Iain M. Morrison, who took office on 12 June 1974. Dr. Iain M. Morrison was the Son of Dr. John Morrison, who was appointed as Chief of all Morrisons in 1965 by the Lord Lyon, King of Arms. Dr. John Morrison's lineage can be traced back thirteen generations to the Morrisons of Harris, the hereditary keepers of the Dun of Pabbay.

From the Bannatyne Manuscript

The word 'them' in the above quote , refers to Gillemorrie and his wife Heiress of the Clan Igaa, as opposed to the half-brothers Gillemorrie and Leod.