Editing South Uist (section)

===John Moidartach and his sons===

Some time after Ranald Bane's nephew, John Moidartach,{{refn|group="note"|''Moidartach'' refers to [[Moidart]]}} succeeded as laird, he fell out of favour with [[James V of Scotland|King James V]].{{refn|group="note"|Surviving records do not explain why.}} By 1538, James had transferred lairdship of Kilpheder to John's younger half-brother, Farquhar;{{refn|group="note"|Though they shared the same father, Farquhar's mother was Marion MacIntosh, while the name of John's mother was ''Dorothy'' (her surname is unknown).}}<ref>''Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland'', edited by M. Livingstone, 1908, HM General Register House, volume II, entry 441</ref> the king gave him Skirhough shortly afterwards.<ref>''Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland'', edited by M. Livingstone, 1908, HM General Register House, volume II, entry 592</ref> In 1563, Farquhar sold his portion of South Uist to a distant relation, [[James MacDonald, 6th of Dunnyveg|James MacDonald]] (heir of the second son of John of Islay);{{refn|for 2,000 [[Merk (coin)|marks]]|group="note"}}<ref>''Clan Donald'', Donald J MacDonald, MacDonald Publishers (of Loanhead, Midlothian), 1978, p.298</ref> that same year, [[Mary, Queen of Scots]], issued a charter confirming James MacDonald as laird of these lands.<ref>''Register of the Great Seal of Scotland'', edited by Maitland Thomson, 1912, HM General Register House, volume IV, entry 335</ref>

[[File:Howmore 20090609 Clan Ranald Chapel.jpg|thumb|The Clan Ranald chapel at Howmore<!--the clanranald stone would be a better picture-->]]
In the following year, Farquhar was murdered by John Moidartach's sons.<ref name="JMac301">''Clan Donald'', Donald J MacDonald, MacDonald Publishers (of Loanhead, Midlothian), 1978, p.301</ref> The year after that,{{refn|group="note"|1565}} as opponents of the [[Scottish reformation]], Moidartach and his family took the side of [[Mary, Queen of Scots|the Queen]] during the [[Chaseabout Raid]], and were consequently back in royal favour; the Queen prohibited them from being punished for Farquhar's murder.<ref name="JMac301" /> By the last decades of the century, John Moidartach had obtained a practical hold on Farquhar's former lands, though seemingly as a tenant of James MacDonald's heirs. In 1584 John died, and was buried at Howmore; a decorated stone from the site (the ''Clanranald Stone'') is thought to have been his headstone.{{refn|group="note"|Following the theft of the stone, in the 1990s, it is now located at the Kildonan museum.}}

In 1596, concerned by the active involvement of highland leaders in Irish rebellions against [[Elizabeth I of England|Queen Elizabeth of England]], king [[James VI and I|James VI of Scotland]] (Elizabeth's heir) demanded that they send well-armed men, as well as attending themselves, to meet him at [[Dumbarton]] on 1 August, and produce the charters for their land. As neither John Moidartach's heirs, nor those of James MacDonald, did so, Skirhough and Kilpheder became forfeit, by the corresponding Act of Parliament. Consequently, the king awarded them to Donald Gorm Mòr, the heir of Hugh of Sleat, as a reward;<ref>''Register of the Great Seal of Scotland'', edited by Maitland Thomson, 1912, HM General Register House, volume VI, entry 161</ref> he had been one of the few Highland leaders who obeyed the king's summons.<ref>''Clan Donald'', Donald J MacDonald, MacDonald Publishers (of Loanhead, Midlothian), 1978, p.309</ref> Donald Gorm Mòr [[subinfeudation|subinfeudated]] Skirhough and Kilpheder back to Clan Ranald, for £46 per annum.