Castle Tioram was one of
Somerled's castles in his time (the twelfth century),[4] though some may date it from the thirteenth or fourteenth century.[5] It appears to have originally been a principal stronghold of
Clann Ruaidhrí.[6] Eilean Tioram, the island the fortress sits upon, is first recorded in a charter of
Cairistíona Nic Ruaidhrí, daughter of
Ailéan mac Ruaidhrí.[7] According to early modern tradition, preserved by the seventeenth-century Sleat History, the castle was erected by Ailéan's granddaughter,
Áine Nic Ruaidhrí.[8] The castle certainly served as the seat of the latter's
Clann Raghnaill descendants for centuries.[9]
As such, Castle Tioram is the traditional seat of the
Clanranald (Clann Raghnaill) branch of
Clan Donald. The castle was seized by Government forces in around 1692 when the clan chief Allan Macdonald of Clanranald joined the Jacobite Court in France, despite having sworn allegiance to
William III of England (II of Scotland) and
Mary II of England (and Scotland). A small garrison was stationed in the castle until the
Jacobite rising of 1715 when Allan recaptured and torched it, purportedly to keep it out of the hands of
Hanoverian forces. It has been unoccupied since that time, although there are some accounts suggesting it was partially inhabited thereafter including for the storage of firearms from the De Tuillay in the 1745 Jacobite Uprising and
Lady Grange's account of her kidnapping.
Restoration proposals
The castle is now in extremely poor condition and in 1998 was closed to the public at the insistence of the present owner despite the objections of the Highland Council's archaeologist; the walls were in surprisingly good condition, requiring only minor repairs. However, a major structural collapse occurred at the northwest curtain wall in 2000.
Proposals to restore the castle by the new owners,
Anta Estates, were announced in 1997 and received planning consent from Highland Council. This included the creation of a clan centre/museum, domestic apartments, and some public access. However,
Historic Scotland refused Scheduled Monument Consent, a decision upheld after a local public inquiry.[10]
The castle can be reached on foot across the tidal causeway, but there is no access to the interior because of the risk of falling masonry. Eilean Tioram is one of 17
tidal islands that can be walked to from the Scottish mainland.[11]
Castle Tioram: Statement of Cultural Significance. ARP Lorimer and Associates. 1999 – via Highland Historic Environment Record.
Fisher, I (2005). "The Heirs of Somerled". In
Oram, RD; Stell, GP (eds.). Lordship and Architecture in Medieval and Renaissance Scotland. Edinburgh:
John Donald. pp. 85–95.
ISBN978-0-85976-628-9.
McDonald, RA (1997). The Kingdom of the Isles: Scotland's Western Seaboard, c. 1100–c. 1336. Scottish Historical Monographs (series vol. 4). East Linton: Tuckwell Press.
ISBN978-1-898410-85-0.
Murray, A (1998). Castle Tioram: The Historical Background. Glasgow: Cruithne Press – via Highland Historic Environment Record.
Murray, A; Ballin-Smith, B (1999). Landscape Around Castle Tioram: The Historical Evidence. Glasgow:
University of Glasgow – via Highland Historic Environment Record.
Stell, G (2014). "Castle Tioram and the MacDonalds of Clanranald: A Western Seaboard Castle in Context". In
Oram, RD (ed.). The Lordship of the Isles. The Northern World: North Europe and the Baltic c. 400–1700 AD. Peoples, Economics and Cultures (series vol. 68). Leiden:
Brill. pp. 271–296.
doi:
10.1163/9789004280359_014.
ISBN978-90-04-28035-9.
ISSN1569-1462.
Tabraham, C (2005) [1997]. Scotland's Castles. London: BT Batsford.
ISBN0-7134-8943-X.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Castle Tioram.