XII. KEITH AND AUSTIN
KENNEDY.
The tartan seems to have been first worn by Kennedy families in the Lochaber district. Tradition avers that some centuries back Ulric Kennedy, a scion of the Ayrshire Kennedys who came originally from Ireland, settled in Lochaber, and that all bearing the name in this locality are descended from him. In the Highlands they are known as Mac Ulrics or Clan Ulric, and are said to have once mustered considerable force. The design has been accepted by the Kennedys in Carrick, many of whom adopted it last century as an emblem of their Jacobite sympathies. Several early examples of the pattern are in existence, and one of these is here reproduced in the exact tints of the original. As will be seen in the plate, the single red stripe is scarlet and the two fine red lines are crimson; but manufacturers, to save themselves trouble, have been accustomed to vitiate the design by failing to mark this distinction. It is noteworthy that the tartan bears little resemblance to any other Lochaber design of ancient date, and that the Kennedys, while generally allied with the Camerons, have ever maintained their own colours. They regard as their chief the Marquis of Ailsa, who is head of the Kennedys of Ayrshire.
XIII. KENNEDY
LOGAN.
The pattern here given is included in the collection formed by the Highland Society of London, and it occurs in numerous others, including that at Moy Hall, while it has borne this name for many years. Great confusion has somehow arisen concerning the tartan of the family. James Logan’s table in The Scottish Gaël furnishes a design totally unlike the one afterwards illustrated in his joint work with Mac Ian, The Clans of the Scottish Highlands. Messrs Smith, in their usually trustworthy Authenticated Tartans of the Clans and Families of Scotland, present the Logan designated as the Skene, with the comment: “It appears in Mr Logan’s book, but we must confess it is a pattern about the antiquity of which we entertain some doubts.” In point of fact, Logan gives no Skene tartan in The Scottish Gaël, while the pattern of Clan Donchadh of Mar or Skene supplied in the Logan-Mac Ian collaboration is entirely different. That it is not Skene tartan is attested by the fact that an example which belonged to the late Dr. W. F. Skene (now in the possession of the Editor) is described as “Logan” in his own handwriting. Its early and general use under that name clearly justifies its inclusion in this collection.
