The Clan Shaw

The Clan Shaw The early Mackintosh Shaws, or "Ciars" (nickname for swarthy or brown) soon sprouted a vigorous northern branch or sept in Strathnairn in 1468 called Clan Ay.

From Our Common Background within the Clan Mackintosh and the great Clan Chattan Confederation of tribes, the never-ending Clan Shaw family story begins at the ancient hill-fort at The Doune in Rothiemurchus Forest in the late fourteenth century. A generation later, the main chiefly stem family established other vigorous and powerful septs in Rothiemurchus at Dell and Dalnavert and established a b

ranch in the Western Isles on Skye, called the Clan Mhic Iver. This sept quickly spread to Harris and Jura. During this time of consolidation, a branch was also started over the Cairngorms in Deeside, settling eventually at Invercauld. This eastern branch of the family quickly became a powerful and independent clan in their own right, the Clan Fhionnlaigh, later called Clan Farquharson. Because Of Tribal And National Geopolitics, by the close of the sixteenth century, the main Mackintosh Shaw chiefly family at the Doune of Rothiemurchus had lost its position of eminence and hegemony. Eventually, the second and now senior branch of the Clan Shaw up north at Tordarroch began to act as Heads of the Shaws within the Clan Chattan Confederacy. By 1629, our Clan Farquharson cousins were joined by a scion of the Shaw of Dell Chieftains. This Shaw established a new branch of the clan at Crathienaird in Deeside under the territorial hegemony of the Chief of Clan Farquharson. This semi-independent sept, called Clan Seumas also spread north of Crathienaird to Glengairn and south to lovely Glenshee and Glenisla. From These And Many Other septs, branches and families, the Clan Shaw has spread throughout Scotland Eire and England, scattering during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries 'to all the Airts' throughout the world. This is your story! The Clan Shaw Tribal Septs and Territories include :



Rothiemurchus : Dell, Dalnavert, Kinrara na Choille, Guislich, Achnahatnich, Tullochgrue. (Main fortified tribal strongholds at the Doune and Loch an Eilean)



Tordarroch/Clan Ay : Tordarroch/Strathnairn, Ayr, Ard Meanach/The Black Isle, Craigfield and Culblair, Muirton. Also later settled in Upper Canada. (Main tribal stronghold at Tordarroch)



Shaws of the Western Isles/Clan Iver : The Isle of Skye (at Trumpan and Harlosh), Harris, Jura, and Mull. Crathienaird/Clan Seumas: Crathienaird and Daldownie, Upper Glengairn, (includes Shaws of Inchrory) Glenshee and Glenisla. Shaws of Eire: Shaws of Clonmel and Sandpits, Cork and Baronets of Bushy Park.

🌲A good outline of the Clan Farquharson at Braemar Castle, showing the clan’s origins and entwined roots with the Mackin...
23/06/2026

🌲A good outline of the Clan Farquharson at Braemar Castle, showing the clan’s origins and entwined roots with the Mackintosh Shaws of Rothiemurchus and the Clan Chattan confederation.

🌲Just to drive the point home.🎯
23/06/2026

🌲Just to drive the point home.🎯

The Aos Sí weren’t cute little fairies with wings.

They were feared.

According to Irish tradition, they lived alongside us, but on their own terms.

The rule was simple:

Leave them alone, and they'll leave you alone.

But cross the line, and the consequences could be terrifying.

People avoided disturbing fairy forts.

They refused to cut down lone hawthorn trees known as fairy bushes.

Even road projects have been rerouted because of local fears about offending them.

Why?

Because the Aos Sí were believed to be highly territorial, volatile, and unpredictable.

Those who disrespected their boundaries were said to suffer madness, devastating bad luck, illness, or even death.

To many of our ancestors, this wasn't a story.

It was a warning.

Do you think these beliefs were simply superstition, or do you believe some places are best left undisturbed?

🌲…Gu Dearbh!
23/06/2026

🌲…Gu Dearbh!

What if Ireland's fairies were never meant to be friendly at all?

Eddie Lenihan, one of Ireland's last great seanchaí, has spent decades warning that we've changed our folklore beyond recognition.

According to Lenihan, the Aos Sí weren't tiny winged creatures spreading magic and happiness.

They were powerful and unpredictable beings that people genuinely feared.

Farmers avoided certain fields.

People refused to cut down fairy trees.

Some believed crossing the Other Crowd could bring illness, bad luck, or even death.

Lenihan argues that turning these ancient beings into harmless fairy-tale characters strips away the fear, mystery, and respect that once surrounded Irish folklore.

So who has it right?

Should folklore be adapted for modern audiences, or should we preserve these stories exactly as they were told by previous generations?

What do you think has been lost when the Aos Sí became "fairies"?

🌲Even though we Highland Shaws are under the benevolent protection of The Bodach an Doune, you still don’t want to mess ...
23/06/2026

🌲Even though we Highland Shaws are under the benevolent protection of The Bodach an Doune, you still don’t want to mess with the fairies. (And they are proud beings….portrayals of them with insipid Butterfly Wings probably upsets them!)

The biggest myth about Irish fairies isn't that they have magic...

It's that they look anything like Tinkerbell.

Traditional Irish folklore never described fairies as tiny, winged creatures fluttering through flower gardens.

The Aos Sí were said to look almost exactly like humans.

They walked among people unnoticed.

The only clues were often a strange beauty, pale skin, an unsettling presence, or something that simply felt... wrong.

These weren't cute companions.

They could lure people away, replace children with changelings, punish insults, and lead travellers into danger.

For centuries, people treated them with caution, not affection.

So how did we go from feared supernatural beings to tiny fairies with wings?

Which version do you find more fascinating: the ancient Irish Aos Sí or the modern fairy-tale image?

🌲Well done!
23/06/2026

🌲Well done!

🌲Now’s the day, and now’s the hour!
19/06/2026

🌲Now’s the day, and now’s the hour!

10/06/2026

🌲In light of it being International Heraldry Day today, please make sure you take a few minutes to scroll down a bit to the September 12/13 ish 2025 overview of the personal heraldry and Arms of the past 100 or so years of Duine Uasail, Lairds and Chiefs of the Highland Clan Shaw and related families granted by The Court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms for Scotland. I'll be adding a few more items soon! 🥃

…'Heraldry is the mysterious signs, deeper than art or language, by which a family or a tribe pass on their most precious secrets, their lore of a kingdom lost….. Heraldry is the fury of history - made wise and formal. From its hands we take at last the wholesome images – the heart’s bread – that our ancestors sowed for us in passion and blindness.’
- ‘Orkney Tapestry’ by George MacKay Brown.
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

‘Heraldry is the fusion of fact and fancy, myth and manner, romance and reality. It is an exuberant union of family, ar...
10/06/2026

‘Heraldry is the fusion of fact and fancy, myth and manner, romance and reality. It is an exuberant union of family, art and history.’
- The Lion Rejoicing’, by the ever-talented duo of the late Charles Burnett and the late Mark Dennis.

🌲Some personal heraldry in honour of June 10th being International Heraldry Day. Fide et Fortitudine. 🥂

🌲Well done all!
06/06/2026

🌲Well done all!

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Rothiemurchus, Strathspey/Tordarroch, Strathnairn/Upper Deeside/Glenshee And Glenisla
Glenisla

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