[35][note 3] As late as 1261, an earlier member of the clan, a certain Dubhghall mac Suibhne, is reported to have been the lord of Skipness Castle and its adjacent chapel.

[48] Eóin appears to be the subject of a remarkable piece of Gaelic poetry called Dál chabhlaigh ar Chaistéal Suibhne ("An assembling of a fleet against Castle Sween").

[60] In fact, there is reason to suspect that the poem was composed not for Eóin, but for a fourteenth-century member of the kindred, Eóghan, brother of Toirdhealbhach Caoch Mac Suibhne, Lord of Fanad.

As such, Dál chabhlaigh ar Chaistéal Suibhne may instead concern a proposed expedition by Eóghan to reclaim his family's ancestral Scottish heritage.

[61][note 6] Historically, in February 1306, Robert Bruce VII, Earl of Carrick, a claimant to the Scottish throne, murdered his chief rival to the kingship, John Comyn of Badenoch.

[76] Clann Suibhne's alignment with the English, therefore, exemplifies how bitter long-standing local rivalries dictated the adherence or opposition to the Bruce cause.

[77][note 7] Further correspondence likewise evinces this royal grant to Eóin, and reveals that he was in the company of Aonghus Óg Mac Domhnaill and Hugh Bisset whilst on campaign against John.

[82][note 9] In any case, in early August, within weeks of Richard's intended maritime campaign, Edward II redirected the fleet to Mann, and placed it under the command of Simon de Montagu.

In this grant, these territories are stated to have been in the hands of John, and to have been earlier possessed by a certain "Suny Magurke"—presumably at some point in the late thirteenth century.

[108] According to the sixteenth-century pedigrees of the Uí Domhnaill, a daughter of a certain Mac Suibhne was the mother of Domhnall Óg's son and successor, Aodh.

[109] In fact, Domhnall Óg was himself fostered amongst Clann Suibhne,[110] as evidenced by a contemporary poem composed by Giolla Brighde Mac Con Midhe.

Forced from its homeland, Clann Suibhne evidently found a safe haven in Tír Chonaill on account of its marital alliance with Domhnall Óg.

[117] As such, it is conceivable that the Stewart/Menteith aspect of the band concerned the continued threat that the family faced from Clann Suibhne, now seemingly seated in Tír Chonaill, and backed by Aodh.

[118] Tall men are arraying the fleet which takes its course on the swift sea-surface; every hand holds a trim warspear in the battle of targes, polished and comely.

[127] Whether this clash was a direct result of the bond is uncertain, although it seems likely that Aonghus Mór's part in the pact concerned the value of his kindred's military might.

[128][note 12] When Toirdhealbhach was defeated again in 1295, the Annals of the Four Masters reports that he was forced from Tír Chonaill, and found sanctuary with Cineál Eoghain and Clann Domhnaill.

[134] The history of Clann Suibhne in the thirteenth- and fourteenth centuries reveals not only the remarkable military power at the disposal of its leadership, but also the ability of these leaders to maintain cohesion without a fixed territorial base.