10 facts you never knew about Clan Morrison

In Scotland, our clans have rich fascinating histories, dating back hundreds and hundreds of years.

Here, we reveal ten important facts every aspiring member of Clan Morrison should know.

1. The seat of the Morrisons of Harris was at Pabbay (Gaelic: Pabaigh), a small island to the south of Harris. The island is now uninhabited. It is from the Morrisons of Pabbay that the current chief descends.

2. The motto of the Morrisons is ‘Teaghlach Phabbay’, which translates as Pabbay Family. The clan’s two Hebridean branches, Morrison of Lewis and Morrison of Harris, trace their lineage to Norseman Olaf the Black who married a Kintyre noblewoman named Lauon in 1214.

3. The stronghold of the Morrisons was Dun Eistean, a sea-stack separated from the mainland by a deep ravine a couple of miles from the northernmost tip of Lewis. The Dun (Gaelic for a fort) is isolated from the mainland of Lewis by the sea at high tide; at low tide the Dun is accessible by foot. It was bought by the Clan Morrison Society from a London property company and ownership was transferred to Dr John Morrison.

The Dun Eistean sea stack was the Morrisons’ stronghold

4. A tower and the stack is depicted on the crest of Clan Morrison. The tower is believed to be the tower that used to be on Dun Eistean.

5. The Morrisons, as they became, were not numerous and tried to live in peace with their more powerful neighbours, the Macauleys and Macleods, but nevertheless sometimes became embroiled in feuds and were eventually driven from their lands in the 16th century. In the 20th century the chieftainship was vested in the Morrisons of Ruchdi.

6. The green Clan Morrison tartan is similar to that of their erstwhile neighbours the Mackays, but with a red line through it. The society, in the absence of an identifiable Morrison tartan, made their selection based on their ties with Clan Mackay. Ay Mac Hormaid (Morrison) fell in love with and married the daughter of the Bishop of Caithness, whose dowry was the whole of Durness on the mainland, so around sixty Morrison families relocated there in the 1600s. The ancient or ‘red’ tartan was officially recognised as the Morrison tartan by the Lord Lyon on 3 January 1968. It was first worn again at the 1964 Clan Gathering. Members of Clan Morrison are entitled to wear either tartan.

Bognie Castle near Huntly is thought to have been built by the Aberdeenshire Morisons

7. In 1974 Dr Ian Morrison – Lord Ruchdi – became Clan Chief. He could trace his lineage, through fourteen generations to the Morrisons of Harris, those who held the seat on the isle of Pabbay. He was succeeded by his son, Dr Ru Morrison, in 2010.

8. Many surnames of today can trace their ancestry back to the Morrisons. The primary septs are Morison, Murison, Gilmore, Gilmour, Brieve and MacBrieve, Judge.

9. Notable members of Clan Morrison include Marion Morrison, aka John Wayne. Bowmore whisky, formerly ‘Morrison Bowmore’, can also be traced back to the clan. Rugby legend Mark Morrison captained Scotland and the British Lions, Jim Morrison was the lead singer of The Doors, while American boxer Tommy Morrison was heavyweight champion of the world in the 90s.

10. Bognie Castle near Huntly is thought to have been built by the Morisons in the 1600s. The 14th Baron of Bognie is the representative of the Morisons of Bognie – the Aberdeenshire branch of the Clan. However, in 1965 the Morrisons of Ruchdi, whose ancestors were the Pabbay Morrisons, were officially recognised as ‘principal chief of the whole name and clan’, by the Lord Lyon King of Arms.