The name Macquarrie is said to be derived from the Gaelic word Guaire meaning “ noble.” The clan are one of the branches of the great Clan Alpine.

When Alexander II. invaded the Western Highlands in 1249 he was joined by Cormac Mor, chief of the Macquarries, but the king’s death in Kerrera brought trouble to the clan. The clan is said to have fought at Bannockburn in support of Bruce, but not until the death of John Macquarrie of Ulva in 1473 do we find any authentic record of the clan. Twenty years later John’s son, Dunslaff, was chief of the clan. The clan lands were the island of Ulva and part of Mull, and after the forfeiture of the Lord of the Isles, the clan acquired independence like many other clans in the Western Isles.

They then followed the MacLeans of Duart, and supported Donald Dubh MacDonald in his effort to restore the Lordship of the Isles. In 1505 the Marquarries, with their powerful leaders, the MacLeans of Duart, submitted to the government, and in 1517 Dunslaff Macquarrie was included in the petition of Laughlan MacLean of Duart for a free remission for all offences, which remission was granted by the Privy Council. Gillespie Macquarrie was one of the signatories to the Statutes of Iona in 1609.

From the blow suffered in 1651, when the chief, Allan Macquarrie, and most of the clan were killed at the Battle of Inverkeithing, the Macquarries never recovered, and Lachlan, 16th of Ulva, who had entertained Dr. Johnson and Boswell in 1773, was forced to sell his lands in 1778. He died in 1818, aged 103, the last chief of the Macquarries.

Major General Lachlan MacQuarrie was Governor of New South Wales during the convict period, and under his wise government the colony prospered. He laid out the city of Sydney, and returned home in 1821, to the great regret of the colonists. His name is commemorated in MacQuarrie Island and other place-names.

Crest: Out of a crown, proper, an arm embowed, in armour, grasping a dagger, argent. Badge: Pine. War Cry: An t-Arm breac dearg ( the red tartaned army).

Pipe music: The red tartaned army.