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The clan MacEwen trace
their descent from the Kings of Ireland and claim a common ancestor, Anradan, with the
Lamonts, MacLachlans and the MacNeils; together these clans were in possession of the
greater part of the district of Cowal. The MacEwens were established on a strip of land
along Loch Fyne between the lands of the Lamonts to the south and those of the MacLachlans
to the north. The earliest chief of the clan on record was Eoghain na' h' Oitrich (Ewen
the Otter) who lived at the beginning of the 13th century. He was succeeded by Severan II
of Otter. For a century little is known of the chiefs or the history of the clan.
Gillespie V of Otter assumed the chiefship about 1315 and was followed by Ewen, John and
Walter. The last chief of the clan to hold the barony of Otter was Swene MacEwen IX who in
1431-32 granted a charter of these lands to Duncan Campbell and resigned the barony to
James I. He received it again from the King with the remainder to Celistine Campbell, son
and heir of Duncan Campbell of Lochow. After Swene's death in 1513, King James V confirmed
the barony on Colin, Earl of Argyll and thereafter the lands of Loch Fyne remained in the
possession of the Campbells and the MacEwens became a "problem" clan. The
MacEwens found their way to many districts, some became absorbed by the Camerons and
Mackintoshes others stayed on in Argyll and associated with the Campbells and the
MacDougalls. Many of the clan settled on the shores of Loch Lomond in the Lennox country
and are claimed to have fought on the side of Mary Queen of Scots at the battle of
Langside in 1568. Some moved on into Galloway and others to Perthshire. However despite
the fragmented nature of the clan, the ruins of MacEwen's castle can still be seen on the
coast of Loch Fyne, and as a commemorate mark, the MacEwen Clan Society erected a cairn at
this spot in 1990.
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