Clan MacNab: The Children of the Abbot at Killin

Clan MacNab: The Children of the Abbot at Killin

CLANMACNAB“Timor Omnis Abesto”

The clan by the numbers

First on record“Son of the abbot” of Glen Dochart — a charter of 1124 is cited; Gilbert MacNab, chief c. 1336
Peak fighting strengthNo standing figure (a small clan) — ~300 clansmen at Worcester, 1651
People bearing the name today~550 in Scotland, ~3,150 worldwide (estimate) — a small clan

No standing muster survives; ~300 at Worcester is the recorded high-water war-party. Surname totals are estimates.

The Falls of Dochart roaring through Killin, with the wooded island of Innis Bhuidhe — the MacNab burial ground — in the river.
The Falls of Dochart at Killin. The wooded island in the river, Innis Bhuidhe, is the ancient burial ground of Clan MacNab.

Overview — an old clan of the head of Loch Tay

Clan MacNab is one of the ancient clans, rooted for centuries in Glen Dochart and Killin, at the head of Loch Tay. Their name means “children of the abbot” (Gaelic Mac an Aba) — for the MacNabs descend from the hereditary lay abbots of the old Celtic church here. Their story runs right through the village we know so well.

Innis Bhuidhe — the burial island in the falls

The clan’s most evocative site is right in the middle of Killin: Innis Bhuidhe, the wooded island in the Falls of Dochart, which has been the MacNab clan burial ground for centuries (it’s private, but you see it from the old Bridge of Dochart). Nearby Kinnell House was long the chief’s seat. The clan motto is “Timor omnis abesto” — “Let fear be far from all.”

Feuds, ruin & revival

The MacNabs were fierce and much-feuded — most famously with the Neishes (MacNeishes) of Loch Earn, whom they wiped out in a legendary 1612 raid, carrying their boat over the hills by night. But like the MacGregors, the MacNabs were eventually crushed by debt and by the rise of the Campbells of Breadalbane, and in the 1820s the ruined chief emigrated to Canada. The chiefship later revived, and a MacNab even bought back Kinnell — proof the old clan wasn’t finished yet.

MacNab country on our travels

  • Killin — the clan heartland: Innis Bhuidhe in the Falls of Dochart, and Kinnell.

← Back to Scottish Clans · see also the Castles of Scotland.

Battles — won and lost

The most notable actions the clan fought, and how they ended:

  • Dalrigh (1306) — vs Robert Bruce (with the MacDougalls) — WON
  • Glenboultachan (16th c.) — vs Clan Neish — WON
  • Kilsyth (1645) — vs the Covenanters (for Montrose) — WON
  • Worcester (1651) — vs Parliament — LOST
  • Altimarlach (1680) — vs the Sinclairs (with the Campbells) — WON

Having opposed Bruce, the MacNabs lost their lands after Bannockburn; famous for the feud with the Neishes of Loch Earn.

The clan lands

Orange markers = the clan’s chief castles, seats and territories; where we have a page, they link through.

Explore Scottish Outposts

Clans · Whisky · Castles · Lochs · Kirks & Cathedrals · Standing Stones · Metal Detecting · Trips So Far

Sources