Does anyone fancy a second installment of informed debate on Manx Surnames, like the one previously conducted by Greg, Frances, Ian myself and others a few years back?

I have come on the following through the landscape and Manorial records, and Rev. Rex Kissack's writing on the McKissacks.

There are a number of areas laid out in large farms, on the desirable lowlands, where thr following circumstances apply;

1. There are groups of large quarterlands lying together with regular shapes and boundaries.Areas include around Rushen parishs church near Port Erin; a strip through the soutthern lowlands; Lands in Ballaugh flanking Old Ballaugh church; land in Andreas between the Lhen Trench and the parish church, and around Regaby.
2. There are indications some of these occupied former arable fields which were accessed by other, surrounding hohldings which were 'disinherited' of their arable.
3. The names of the earliest recorded tenants repeat in different parishes, but no one parish has the whole group. Commonly three or four will be found in a given parish out of the following:-

McNele/Nelson; McHelly/McKelly; McUrry/McCure/McCurrie; McKissock/Kissack; McGawne/MacGowan; McDannell/Cannell; Lamont/McLemon etc; Morrison; Cross; Bailey;

There are a few more restricted; notably Olyner in Rushen, possibly O'Lynagh

4. These names apparently form a distinct group which is different from the names found in other parts. I have extracted the surnames from the Malew and Lezayre Abbey rentals of 1540, and in Malew only one of the foregoing list actually represented, two in Lezayre. .
There are no McGil names rreopresented in these areas. The Abbey holdings in these parishes are known to have been long-standing.

5. If you try searching on-line for the names McNeil, McDonald, Morrison, McKissack, O'Lynach, MacGowan, Ross (i.e. McCross) Lamont,McKelly, you will discover they are the Chiefly families and some of the septs from the Western Isles, dating from a couple of generations after the end of the Kingdom of Man and the Isles. THe Islands of Lewis and Harris remained posessions of the Manx Kings until 1266, but afterwards gravitated to a new power in the area, the McDonalds of Islay or the Isles.

6. Rex Kissack re-assesed the evidence that John McDonald of the Isles was patron of Krk Malew in the late 1300's.

It has long been suspected that there was a major re-inforcement of Gaelic-speakers from Scotland into the IOM the 15thc.

See contribututions from Megaw and Margaret Gelling.

Provisionally I am thinking that the predecessors of the 1511 etc tenants were the descendants of the oarsmen of Bruce's war-fleet of 1313. I have read that Bruce callled in the Military or naval obligations of the Hebridean Chiefs and they furnished a fleet.

I assume that Bruce would have required to garrison and hold the Island.

Nigel