Fearchar, Earl of Ross

The traditional story is that Fearchar was part of the ancient family Ó Beólláin (O'Beolain, Boland, Bolan) of the Gaelic Cenél Eoghain that were co-arbs (hereditary abbots) of St. Maelrubha at Applecross in Ross-shire.

[1] The historian Alexander Grant has recently challenged this theory, arguing that the evidence for this origin is far too thin to contradict the intuitive and well attested idea that he came from Easter Ross.

Grant takes up the idea instead that mac an t-Sacairt (= Son of the Priest') probably refers to a background as keeper of the shrine to St Duthac, at Tain, Scotland.

[3] Fearchar emerges from nothingness in 1215, as the local warlord who crushed a large-scale revolt against the Scottish king, Alexander II.

In this view, conferring this style was simply an act of harnessing organic Gaelic power structures to the political, terminological and ideological framework of the regnum Scottorum.

King Alexander invaded Galloway, and Gille Ruadh ambushed the royal army, almost bringing it to destruction.

[8] The defeat of the rebellious Galwegians by another peripheral Gaelic lord in the service of the Scottish King had been parallelled in 1187, when Lochlann, Lord of Galloway defeated the rebellious Domnall mac Uilleim, claimant of the Scottish throne, at the Battle of Mam Garvia, somewhere near Dingwall.

Walter's family were of Flemish origin, and had been planted in Moray by the Scottish crown as agents of royal authority, but were steadily building an independent power-base.