Clan MacKay
Clan Mackay (Gaelic: Mac Aoidh) is an ancient and once-powerful Scottish clan from the far
North of the Scottish Highlands, but with roots in the old kingdom of Moray. They supported Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century. In
the centuries that followed they were anti-Jacobite. The territory of the Clan Mackay consisted of the parishes of Farr, Tongue, Durness and Eddrachillis, and was known as
Strathnaver, in the north-west of the county of Sutherland. However it was not until 1829 that Strathnaver was considered part of Sutherland when the chief sold his lands to
the Earls of Sutherland and the Highland Clearances then had dire consequences for the clan. In the 17th century the Mackay chief's territory had extended to the east to
include the parish of Reay in the west of the neighboring county of Caithness. The chief of the clan is Lord Reay and the lands of Strathnaver later became known as the Reay
Country.