After 156 years the MacDonald clan has a chief

In the days when its members counted themselves among Scotland's bravest souls and were the first to aid Bonnie Prince Charlie's efforts to restore the Stuart kings to the thrones of England and Scotland, it took a man of immeasurable talents to lead the Clan MacDonald of Keppoch.

Today, the responsibilities are as limited as the bragging rights which the title brings: essentially, a coat of arms, a motto Per marre per terras ('By Land And Sea'), and a personal tartan pattern for kilts.

But that hasn't stopped a retired hearing aid specialist, Ranald MacDonald, from waging - and winning - a bitter 20-year court battle to be installed as the first chief of Clan MacDonald of Keppoch since 1848.

His ascent to the position was concluded yesterday afternoon when, at a civic ceremony in the heart of the clan's ancestral homeland at Lochaber in the western Highlands, he assumed the title he had so coveted: 32nd Chief of the Honourable Clan Ranald of Lochaber Mac Mhic Raonuill.

Mr MacDonald (as some close friends still know him) was also presented with his Letters Patent and Ensigns Armorial by another esteemed dignitary - Sir Crispin Agnew of Lochnaw, Rothesay, Herald of the Lyon Court, at a civic reception in the Highland Council's chamber in Fort William.

"The record has been set straight," Mr MacDonald, 75, said.

"That is the point."

Those who had resisted his inauguration, he added, were indulging in "clownish antagonistic propaganda."

Mr MacDonald's grip on power rests on the concept of sloinneadh (pronounced 'slo-ny-ug') - a Scottish Gaelic word referring to the genealogy of the male line handed down orally from generation to generation.

In a case which makes the Labour Party leadership look like a mild playground squabble, his push for the leadership began in 1986 and twice went before the Court of the Lord Lyon, Scotland's heraldic tribunal, before reaching the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

In 1990, the Lord Lyon found against Mr MacDonald on the grounds that his ancestor was an illegitimate child.

Mr MacDonald appealed, presenting further evidence in 1995, but again lost.

He was then able to take his case to the Court of Session, and in 2004, the judges said that sloinneadh could be relied on to prove MacDonalds' heritage.

This allowed the resurrection of a title that has been dormant since 1848 when - after a clan history dating to the 6th century AD - the 21st chief died, leaving no male heirs.

True to fiery clan traditions, Scottish historians are bitterly divided on the subject of Mr MacDonald.

Rory MacDonald, a historian of the Keppoch clan that is a branch of the broader Clan Donald, said many clansman will continue to refuse to recognize Mr MacDonald as their leader even after the official installation.

"You cannot become clan chief without the acceptance of your clan. We will not recognize this," he said.

But Hugh Peskett, a leading expert on Scottish heraldry and editor of the Scottish edition of Burke's Peerage, who has examined public records dating back to the 1550s are kept, disagrees.

He was able to trace MacDonald as a direct descendant of Donald Gorm MacDonald of Inverroy, who was the fourth son of Alistair Buidhe, the 14th chief of the MacDonalds of Keppoch.

"This case is proven," Mr Peskett said.

"I do not think any chiefship has been so soundly tested in the courts for a long, long time. But there are people who do not like the decision by the court. This is just sour grapes by bad losers."

Words have not always been enough to resolve such issues.

In the 17th Century, Chief Alexander MacDonald, and his younger brother Ranald, were stabbed to death by rivals seeking to usurp the title.

Their murderers were hunted down and beheaded.

But the new clan leader preferred simply to remember his predecessors' reputation for courage, yesterday.

Hundreds of members of the clan, including the chief, were wiped out at the Battle of Culloden in 1746 when the uprising was crushed by the Duke of Cumberland's forces.

Mr MacDonald has also set up a new clan website and one of his aims in his time as chief is to resurrect the clan "to its former glory and place in Clan Donald history."

- INDEPENDENT