Alasdair MacColla’s Failed Siege of Craignish
In the violent and uncertain 17th-century Highlands, castles were more than strongholds—they were symbols of clan pride, political allegiance, and personal defiance. One such castle, nestled on the western promontory of the Craignish peninsula, became the focus of scorn from one of Scotland’s most enigmatic and feared warriors: Alasdair MacColla, the legendary son of Colla Ciotach MacDonald. He came, he mocked, and he attacked—only to be stopped cold by a little, spiny fortress he believed would fall with a breeze.
This is the tale of a man whose reputation for fierce conquest met unexpected resistance, and a castle that, despite its size, refused to yield.
The Warrior from the Sea: Alasdair MacColla
Alasdair MacColla MacDonald, known widely as Alasdair MacColla (“Alasdair, son of Colla”), was no ordinary warrior. Born into the famed Clan Donald of Antrim in Ireland, he emerged as a key Royalist commander during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Fiercely loyal to the Stuart cause and notorious for his devastating Highland campaigns, MacColla was known for lighting up the glens with fire and steel, particularly in Argyll, the heartland of his clan’s ancestral enemies—the Campbells.
MacColla carried his father's legacy. Colla Ciotach had already played his part in the Highlands' chaotic chessboard, fighting Royalist causes and executing daring seaborne raids. But Alasdair would raise the stakes. In 1644–45, during his infamous campaign with Montrose, MacColla struck terror into Campbell lands. He burned, pillaged, and reclaimed, all under the banner of revenge and Royalist zeal.
It was during this scorched-earth campaign that he turned his attention to Craignish Castle, a place he saw as little more than a bump in the road.
“The Little Pointed Castle of the Whelks”
Craignish Castle wasn’t an architectural marvel like Stirling or Edinburgh. Perched overlooking Loch Craignish, it was modest in comparison—small, narrow, and jagged like the shells strewn along the shoreline. Its nickname, drawn from local imagery, was “Caisteal beag biorach na faochagan”, or “The little pointed castle of the whelks.”
To Alasdair, this poetic nickname summed up its weakness. He is said to have scoffed:
"Caisteal beag biorach na faochagan,
Cuiridh oiteag do 'n ghaoth air chridh e."“The little pointed castle of the whelks,
A puff of wind will make it tremble.”
His words dripped with disdain. He believed the garrisoned Campbell lairds, already fleeing from his advance elsewhere, would offer minimal resistance.
But the Campbells of Craignish were a hardened lot. The estate, long embattled both within and beyond the clan, was under threat from many sides: internal Campbell politics, historic MacDonald hostility, and Royalist vs. Covenanter violence. Yet when MacColla came storming with his famed “birlinns” (oared galleys), ready to make quick work of the castle, he encountered something unexpected: unyielding resistance.
A Failed Siege
Details of the siege are sparse in official records, but oral history tells of a tenacious defense. The Campbells refused to surrender. Whether bolstered by tight stonework, sheer determination, or perhaps the simple fact that Craignish’s size made it easier to defend, the defenders held the line. MacColla’s forces, used to sweeping victories and razed villages, faced an immovable pebble in their path.
Ultimately, the siege was lifted. Alasdair had other battles to fight, and he couldn’t afford to bleed men and time on a castle too stubborn to fall. His poetic insult, once a confident dismissal, became an ironic reminder of the limits of power.
The castle would remain standing for centuries to come—rebuilt, sold, restored, and inhabited—still peering over the loch that once bore witness to one of the Highland’s briefest yet most symbolically potent sieges.
A Clash of Pride: Castle, Culture, and Reputation
Alasdair MacColla’s mocking words live on because they capture more than military hubris—they reflect the pride and symbolic warfare that underpinned Highland conflict. A castle didn’t need to be tall or famous to matter. Craignish stood for territorial defiance, clan autonomy, and ancestral claim.
MacColla, the destroyer of Argyll, the hammer of the Campbells, was halted—not by a royal army or a rival general, but by a modest fortress with a sharp spine and a loyal garrison.
It’s a lesson etched into Highland lore: even the smallest stones can break the largest waves.
Adapted From: Gillies, P. H. (1909). Netherlorn, Argyllshire, and its neighbourhood. Virtue & Co.
