[11] According to the thirteenth- to fourteenth-century Chronicle of Mann, Somhairle and Ragnhildr had several sons: Dubhghall, Raghnall, Aonghus, and Amhlaoíbh.

[13] The Clann Somhairle claim to the kingship of the Isles seems to have stemmed from its descent from Ragnhildr,[14] a granddaughter[15] of the common ancestor of the Crovan dynasty.

[16] In the mid twelfth century, Somhairle confronted Ragnhildr's brother, Guðrøðr Óláfsson, King of the Isles, and wrested the kingship from him.

Although the Chronicle of Mann appears to reveal that Dubhghall was the senior dynast in the 1150s,[18] this man's next and last attestation, preserved by the Durham Liber vitae, fails to accord him a royal title.

[24][note 2] Whilst the division of territories amongst later generations of Clann Somhairle can be readily discerned, such boundaries are unlikely to have existed during the chaotic twelfth century.

[29] There is reason to suspect that the inter-dynastic infighting amongst Clann Somhairle was capitalised upon by the ambitious neighbouring kindred of Walter fitz Alan, Steward of Scotland.

[39] Possibly before Walter's death in 1177,[40] or perhaps during the tenure of his succeeding son, the family seems to have extended its influence westward into Cowal, and beyond the frontier of the Scottish realm into the islands of the Firth of Clyde.

[41] The fact that Bute seems to have fallen into the hands of this kindred by about 1200 could indicate that Alan capitalised upon Clann Somhairle's internal discord and thereby seized the island.

[50] Alan's westward expansion appears to have suddenly ceased by about 1200,[51] perhaps partly in consequence of royal anxiety concerning the alliance.

[53] The year before, the fifteenth- to sixteenth-century Annals of Ulster reports that the sons of Raghnall[54]—apparently Ruaidhrí and Domhnall[55]—defeated the men of Skye with great slaughter.

[65] The fact the two episodes took place at the same time a Norwegian fleet is reported to have ravaged the Hebrides could indicate that there was some sort of correlation between these events.

[70] This identification suggests that the man was a member of Clann Somhairle,[71] as sources concerning this kindred associate it with Kintyre more than any other region.

[80] Although it is possible that Ruaidhrí controlled the lands that made up Garmoran[81] and various islands in the Hebrides,[82] there is uncertainty as to how and when these territories entered into the possession of his family.

[83] Later leading members of Clann Ruaidhrí certainly possessed these lands, but evidence of custody before the mid thirteenth century is lacking.