Melbourne Highland Games & Celtic Festival 23 March 2025
Melbourne Highland Games & Celtic Festival 23 March 2025
Clan MacLennan is the Honoured Clan for 2025
Clan MacLennan is an ancient and noble family steeped in Scottish history.
In 1645 on May 9th, King Charles’ representative, the Marquis of Montrose, confronted an army of Covenanters led by Sir John Urray, near a village named Auldearn in Scotland. Rain was falling as the battle commenced. Among the 3,500 foot and 400 horse assembled under Urray’s command, was Ruairidh MacIain Domhnull Bhain MacLennan, Chief of the Clan, defending the standard of Lord Seaforth. A tall, rugged, red-bearded highlander, he fought savagely and desperately in the ensuing clash, during which Urray’s forces were slowly overwhelmed by a flanking movement of the Gordon Cavalry.
Ruairidh and his two brothers were ultimately killed along with many more MacLennans in that segment of the battle. For the next 330 years, the Clan had no official Chief. During 250 of those years, due to pressures political and financial, many remaining Clansmen and their descendants were forced or chose to leave Scotland to seek survival in newly discovered lands. Many septs with names distorted by usage or altered for practical purposes, have resulted.
The Chief’s Coat of Arms, with the motto “Dum spiro spero” (While I breathe, I hope) includes a piper because the Clan is noted for its piping. A number of MacLennans held the position of town piper in Inverness.
Clan MacLennan, after more than 300 years of dormancy, was reborn in 1978 and continues to actively reunite MacLennan’s throughout the world.
Clan MacLennan’s extensive genealogy database contains more than 61,000 individuals and 24,000 media items. https://www.clanmaclennan-worldwide.com/genealogy/
The current Clan Chief is Ruairidh D G MacLennan of MacLennan.