[ [265] Angus Og, son of John last Lord of the Isles, who fought the battle of the Bloody Bay against his father.
[ [266] John, son of Alexander Lord of the Isles.
[ [267] Both John and Angus, sons of the last Lord of the Isles, died before their father. He was forfeited, and died in a monastery in Paisley.
[ [268] This word is spelled “Eithnis,” and “Einis,” and “Enis.” It is translated Angus and Innis. But it is difficult to decide which it means; probably “Inis” in Ulster, where the Lords of the Isles had extensive possessions.
[ [270] Who this blind poet was the Editor cannot say. He can find no notice of him anywhere, nor of the attack on Castle Sween, which he describes. He was an Irish bard, and composes in the Irish dialect, making use, like the later Irish poets, of language much more difficult to understand than the older composers. The Editor encountered more difficulty in reading this piece, than in reading any other in the Dean’s MS. “Broin” is an ancient word for a troop or band, and “cleath,” “comhlan,” “nòs,” are words for a warrior; but these words are entirely obsolete; so “glantair,” as the comparison of “glan,” is unknown in the modern language. There is a manifest attempt in the composition to use obsolete words; but the Editor trusts the meaning has been correctly rendered.
[ [271] We can find no trace in our history of this attack by the Irish Mac Sweenys on Castle Sween. The event cannot be of a very ancient date, as the Mac Sweenys are not a very ancient tribe in Ulster.
[ [272] One of the Mac Sweens or Mac Sweenys of Slieve Mis in Antrim.
[ [273] This cannot be Kyle Akin in Skye, but is probably the ancient name of the entrance to Loch Sween.
[ [274] Knapdale, on the west coast of Argyle, south of Crinan.