MacDonald of Staffa tartan

**Biathlonman** · 23rd February 11, 05:23 AM

A retired gunner colonel named Brian MacDonald once jokingly pointed out to me that although the island of Staffa has been uninhabited since 1800, there's a tartan. Why? Who could wear it? Surely someone's looked at this odd situation before. Just wondering.

**Chas** · 23rd February 11, 05:31 AM

There seem to be nine 'Staffa' tartans, but they are all variations of a MacDonald of Staffa sett. So they are all named after the family branch and not the island.

Regards

Chas

**OC Richard** · 23rd February 11, 05:41 AM

In The Setts of the Scottish Tartans Donald C Stewart says:

"The Smith work (Authenticated Tartans of the Clans and Families of Scotland, 1850) was the first to show the highly complex MacDonald of Staffa (plate 107). James Grant (The Tartans of the Clans of Scotland, 1886) gives for MacDonald of Staffa a very similar design, one now known to have been in production by the Wilsons of Bannockburn before 1820."

**figheadair** · 23rd February 11, 06:09 AM

Wilsons of Bannockburn were probably the originators of the design. They wove two versions both of which they called Donald of Staffa's tartan and the earliest of which dates to the late 18th Century. All the subsequent versions are errors in attempting to copy Wilsons' complex design.

Staffa was one of the minor Clanranald titles and is normally held by the (2nd I believe) son. Donald of Staffa was possibly the son of the Clanranald of the late 1700s.

I wrote an article (Jan Tartan of the Month) on an interested plaid from PEI that is in a similar, perhaps related sett - http://www.scottishtartans.co.uk/PEI_Family_Plaid.pdf

**Biathlonman** · 23rd February 11, 10:08 AM

Sounds then that so long as you're a MacDonald - it is one that's open to you - nobody's going to object, or tie you by your hair to the rocks with a rising tide.

**xman** · 23rd February 11, 10:13 AM

Originally Posted by Biathlonman

Sounds then that so long as you're a MacDonald - it is one that's open to you - nobody's going to object, or tie you by your hair to the rocks with a rising tide.

I'm not sure of that. I know there are branches of Clan Donald which no longer have a chief, but I can't find information anywhere about branches which may actually be 'dead'.

Does anybody know?