[9] Through marital alliance and ambitious military conquest, Somerled rose in prominence to create the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles.

Aonghus Óg's loyalty to Bruce's claim for the Scottish crown and the extensive military services he provided would signify a lasting legacy, in which he and his descendants were known as the Lords of the Isles.

[13] Alistair Carrach MacDonald of Keppoch took an active part in supporting his brother, Domhnall of Islay, Lord of the Isles, in claiming the Earldom of Ross.

[12] The result was that upon the death of Domhnall, Lord of the Isles in 1425 the Lordship of Lochaber was forfeited to the Crown who then bestowed it on the natural son of Stewart, the Earl of Mar.

[12] The Crown never confirmed this arrangement, and upon the forfeiture of the Lord of the Isles in 1493, Angus MacDonald, 2nd of Keppoch had to maintain his position in Lochaber by force.

[12] It was defended for two and a half centuries and it was not until the downfall of the clan immediately after the Battle of Culloden in 1746 that Mackintosh become the Lord of Lochaber.

At the outset, he infuriated his retainers by handing over to the Mackintosh chief a notorious thief known as Domhnull Ruadh Beag, against whom the Clan Chattan had filed a complaint for various depredations.

He was granted a remission in 1608, but he was eventually forced to flee Scotland to Spain after he helped Sir James MacDonald, 9th of Dunnyveg escape from Edinburgh Castle.

Alexander of Keppoch, accompanied by Alastair M'Gorrie, John MacInnes, and their followers, invaded, in turn, the fertile plains of Urquhart, Glen Shee, and Strathardle, leaving nothing behind that he could carry with him.

Their disagreements were at length put to the test in a clan battle at Boloinne, in which the Camerons were defeated despite fighting with equal bravery on both sides.

Ranald Og of Keppoch appears to have distinguished himself above all his predecessors for his loyalty to the Scottish throne, friendly relations with Clan Campbell as well as the Earl of Moray.

This led to a personal feud with the Earl of Argyll, a stout Presbyterian, who invaded Lochaber and razed Castle Keppoch.

Over the next few years, Ranald's younger brother, Donald Glass took revenge by plundering Argyll with the forces of the Marquess of Montrose.

[18] On 25 September 1663, seven men fell upon Alexander MacDonald, 12th of Keppoch and his brother Ranald and murdered them during a brawl in the mansion of Insch, just outside the village of Roybridge, Lochaber.

The death of his father forced him to travel north, and while in Inverness, he sent messengers to the then MacKintosh chief, offering to settle their differences through litigation or "amicable settlement".

MacKintosh responded to this very reasonable and just request by committing the young Chief as a prisoner to the Tolbooth of Inverness, without even the pretense of a trial.

According to Angus and Archibald MacDonald, "Coll had neither forgotten nor forgiven his imprisonment in Inverness in 1683, and the hatred towards MacKintosh which he had been nursing ever since will find an utterance by and by.

"[17] In 1688, the MacKintoshes, supported by the Clan Chattan Confederation and the government of King James, made one final attempt to take Lochaber from the MacDonalds of Keppoch.

During the Jacobite rising of 1745, the Chief, Alexander Macdonald, 17th of Keppoch, was among the men who attacked British Government soldiers who were preparing a surprise assault on the Glenfinnan gathering at what is now known as the Highbridge Skirmish.

[28] More contemporary accounts, however, suggest that Keppoch led the attack surrounded by a small group of close kinsmen with the rest of his men following in support.

[29] During the advance Keppoch had his right arm shattered by a musket-ball: he was subsequently hit in the chest and died some time later while being carried off the field by his illegitimate son Aonghas Bàn.

[28] While his regiment appear to have partly rallied in an attempt to defend against government cavalry, they suffered heavy casualties and dispersed after the Jacobite defeat.

[30][31] Among the Keppoch Jacobites to suffer the supreme penalty after the defeat of the Uprising was Major Donald MacDonald, the Tacksman of Tir na Dis near Spean Bridge, who was executed at Carlisle in October 1746.

Before his death, however, the Major stated, "I die a member of the Holy Roman Catholic Church in the Communion of which I have lived... And I here declare, upon the faith of a dying man, that it was with no view to establishing that church or religion in this nation that I joined the Prince, but purely out of duty and allegiance to our only rightful, lawful, and native sovereign, due to him had he been a heathen, Mahomedan, or even a Quaker.