[A composite volume : containing The ballads and songs of Ayrshire ...
[A composite volume : containing The ballads and songs of Ayrshire ...
[A composite volume : containing The ballads and songs of Ayrshire ...
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THE FAIRY LADY OF DUNURE.<br />
that he had taken shelter in the Castle <strong>of</strong> Ayi% pressed foi-ward to<br />
Dunure, in pursuit <strong>of</strong> one <strong>of</strong> his great captains, <strong>and</strong> there captured<br />
both him <strong>and</strong> the fort. For this service Alex<strong>and</strong>er III. rewarded<br />
M'Kinnon by a grant <strong>of</strong> the castle, <strong>and</strong> certain :—<br />
l<strong>and</strong>s around it.<br />
following is this writer's account <strong>of</strong> the affair<br />
<strong>The</strong><br />
" <strong>The</strong> Black Book <strong>of</strong> Scone sets their (the Kennedies) beginning to be in the<br />
reign <strong>of</strong> King Malcolm the Second, who was crowned in the year <strong>of</strong> G-od 1010<br />
years, <strong>and</strong> was the fourscore King <strong>of</strong> Scotl<strong>and</strong>. <strong>The</strong>re was with the King, one<br />
M'Kenane <strong>of</strong> the Isles, who was slain by Danes at the battle <strong>of</strong> Murluk ; <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>of</strong> him came the M'Kenane <strong>of</strong> the Isles, who bruikis ' ' (possesses) the l<strong>and</strong>s <strong>of</strong><br />
Stroworddell to this hour. This M'Kenane <strong>of</strong> the Isles' succession was at the<br />
time <strong>of</strong> King Donald's reign, when the Danes got possession <strong>of</strong> the whole Isles,<br />
banished by them in Irel<strong>and</strong>, where he remained to the reign <strong>of</strong> King Alex<strong>and</strong>er<br />
the Third, <strong>and</strong> then came to King Alex<strong>and</strong>er before the battle <strong>of</strong> Largs,<br />
with threescore <strong>of</strong> his name <strong>and</strong> servants ; <strong>and</strong> after that King Acho was defeated,<br />
he fled to Ayr, <strong>and</strong> there took shipping. <strong>The</strong> principal man that pursued<br />
him was M'Kenane, with his two sons ; <strong>and</strong> after that the King <strong>of</strong> Danes<br />
was received in the Castle <strong>of</strong> Ayr, M'Kenane followed on a Lord or great Captain<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Danes, to a crag in Carrick, whereon there was a strength built by<br />
the Danes, low by the sea side ; the which strength M'Kenane <strong>and</strong> his sons<br />
took, <strong>and</strong> slew the captain <strong>and</strong> all that was therein. For the which deed, this<br />
M'Kenane got the same strength from King Alex<strong>and</strong>er, with certain l<strong>and</strong>s lying<br />
thereto ; the which he gave to his second son, <strong>and</strong> there was the first beginning<br />
<strong>of</strong> the name <strong>of</strong> Kennedy in the mainl<strong>and</strong>. On the strength <strong>and</strong> crag<br />
there is now a fair castle, which the chiefs <strong>of</strong> the lowl<strong>and</strong> Kennedies took their<br />
style <strong>of</strong>, for a long space, <strong>and</strong> were called Lairds <strong>of</strong> Dunure, becaiise <strong>of</strong> the<br />
don <strong>of</strong> the hill above that house. Of this house the rest <strong>of</strong> that name are<br />
coming."<br />
This alleged origin <strong>of</strong> the Kennedies is considered fabulous, the name<br />
having been known in Carrick<br />
was fought in 1263.<br />
previous to the battle <strong>of</strong> Largs, which<br />
In " "Wood's Peerage," the descent <strong>of</strong> the family<br />
is traced back to Duncan de Carrick, in the reign <strong>of</strong> Malcolm IV.,<br />
Carrick or Kennedy, as it is said, being the patronymic indiscriminately<br />
used down to the time <strong>of</strong> Sir John Kennedy <strong>of</strong> Dunure, founder<br />
<strong>of</strong> the collegiate church in Maybole, <strong>and</strong> who obtained the l<strong>and</strong>s<br />
<strong>and</strong> barony <strong>of</strong> Cassillis from Maijorie, heiress <strong>of</strong> Sir John Montgomerie,<br />
Knight, <strong>of</strong> Stair. This occurred about 1373. It is seldom,<br />
however, that tradition is totally at variance with fact. <strong>The</strong> similarity<br />
in the ancient armorial bearings is presumptive that the isl<strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>and</strong> mainl<strong>and</strong> Kennedies were <strong>of</strong> the same stock.<br />
In the Highl<strong>and</strong>s<br />
there arc several small clans <strong>of</strong> the name <strong>of</strong> Kennedy—^in Gaelic, M'Urick<br />
or M'Rorie—<strong>and</strong> it is rather a striking coincidence that the isolated<br />
conical mount on which the flag-staff is erected at Dunure, near<br />
the mouth <strong>of</strong> the harbour, is called Port-Rorie, evidently meaning the<br />
port <strong>of</strong> M'Rorie or Kennedy.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Abbey <strong>of</strong> Crosraguel was founded in 1244 or 1245—so the<br />
^<br />
28<br />
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