Curries of Arran: A Brief History and Their Tartan

That the Curries of the Isle of Arran, the Western Isles and the west of Scotland are descended from the Irish/Scottish bard/poet Muireadhach Ua Dailidh is a historical fact. The Scottish historian Ian Grimble credits Muireadhach Ua Dailidh for bringing literacy to Scotland, and traces the Currie descent from him.
Ancestry
Scottish historian Ian Grimble names the Curries as Scotland’s longest learned dynasty, their roots going back to Ireland’s Mael Iosa Ua Dalaidh, who, when he died in 1185, was called the Ollamh, or “chief man of learning of Ireland and Scotland.” Through the Ua Dalaidh line the Curries’ descent can also be traced back historically to an 8th century king of Ireland. The Currie’s direct ancestor, Muireadhach Ua Dailidh, (in English approximately Murdoch or Murcard O’Daly) became known as Muireadhach Albanach because of his immense contribution to the literacy of his adopted country. “Muireadhach Albanach would be “Murdoch or Murcard of Scotland”, in Gaelic pronounced Vurrig Albanach and written Mhurrigh Albanach. His descendants bore the name MacMhurrigh, meaning son of Mhurrigh, again, pronounced MacVurrig.
The Isle of Arran
Muireadhach Ua Dailidh fled Ireland for Scotland circa 1213 after killing an insolent tax collector. The Battle of Largs in 1263, was a skirmish over the control of the west coast and isles of Scotland between the King of Norway and his vassal, the Lord of the Isles, against the King of the Scots. After this skirmish the Isle of Arran was given to one “Murchard” or “Margad” by the King of Norway for his loyalty and support. “Murchard” is another Anglicized corruption of the Gaelic Muireadhach, and this man could be either a son or grandson of Mhuireadhach Albanach. This would account for the MacMhurrigh name on Arran.
Provenance
There are two important factors regarding this gift. First, traditionally an honour of this magnitude would only be to an extremely significant and highly placed supporter of the King. Historically, after the King, the next place of honour is that of the warrior/bard. Second, since Muireadhach Albanach had allied himself as the bard to the Mormaer of Lennox, and through him to the King of Norway, the logic of this “Murchard” being a son or grandson of Muireadhach Albanach, and the bard of the conflict, is inescapable. (Mormaer is an ancient Scots title later morphing into Earl.)
Curries and MacDonalds
There is much evidence that some descendants of Muireadhach Albanach allied themselves as bards to the MacDonalds of Clanranald. But the first dated poem of this family line is 1613, some 400 years after the arrival of Muireadhach Albanach in Scotland. Despite the claim of Lachlann MacMhuirrich of that family line in 1800 to be 18th in descent from Muireadhach Albanach, there is a 400 year gap where there are no records to determine which of the various Currie family groups might follow the line of primogeniture - eldest son to eldest son - and therefore it is not possible to trace a hereditary chief for the descendants of Muireadhach Albanach - today the Curries.
Gaelic to English
On the Isle of Arran it is well documented as to the shift from the Gaelic name to the English translation. When the clergy began being trained in English circa 1700, written records of births, deaths and marriages started being kept in English. Gaelic names could only be written phonetically by the English-trained clergy. On Arran a Gaelic dialect had evolved that omitted the “m” sound at the beginning of words, and also omitted the “v” sound which was written in Gaelic as “mh”. Thus the name MacMhurrigh -- son of Vurrig - as descendants of Muireadhanch Albanach were called, was heard phonetically by English speakers as “Acurrig” or Acurrie”, and was written in the register as MacCurrie, or more commonly as Currie. A few families survived as MacVurrich and MacMurrich, and other variants included MacCurdy, Murchie, etc., but all were derived from MacMhurrigh.
The Lord Lyon King of Arms
In 1956, Lieut. Colonel Henry (Harry) Currie, then a young officer in the Canadian Army, was attached to the British Army for three years. Visiting Edinburgh and the Isle of Arran in the summer of 1956, he met with Sir Thomas Innes of Learney, then Lord Lyon King of Arms. They discussed at length the pitfalls of establishing the name Currie as a recognized clan among the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs, and the Lord Lyon confirmed that there are no records in existence to establish a direct eldest-son-to-eldest-son link to Muireadhach Albanach, and therefore the Curries could not qualify as an official Scottish clan. The best they could do, he said, would be to organize a Clan Association. He stated that the Murchard to whom the Isle of Arran was given could very well have been the direct male line from Muireadhach Albanach, just as any other large grouping of the name might well be so connected. There is no documentation in existence to establish that descent. Harry Currie fully understood this, and has never been under the impression that this could miraculously change one day and that suddenly a Clan Chief would materialize. As the youngest son of a youngest son of a youngest son, he certainly had no illusions that he himself would ever be in the primogeniture line. A number of years later a short-lived Clan Currie Association formed in Canada, but no one had the time to dedicate to the needs of running such a demanding organization.
The Curries and Tartan
In his book of Clans and Tartans, historian Ian Grimble had stated that two of the most significant Scottish names, Currie and MacCrimmon, had simply been overlooked when tartans were re-established circa 1820 for the 1822 visit to Scotland of King George IV. It is indeed common knowledge that following the Culloden defeat of the clans supporting Prince Charles Edward Stuart’s attempt to regain the English throne for his father in 1745, tartan was proscribed. All tartan fabrics were destroyed, and even the winding sticks containing the patterns disappeared. Some 20 years later when the proscription was lifted, tartan was no longer the daily dress of the highlanders, and all records of the patterns were lost. When Sir Walter Scott determined that for the 1822 visit of King George IV to Scotland the Scots should be “all plaided and plumed in their tartan array,” it was the woollen mills which designed the new tartans and placed clan names on the designs quite arbitrarily - no one knew anything of the originals, and only a few have since been rediscovered in paintings.
A Currie Tartan
Fortified by this, in 1977 Colonel Harry Currie began the design of a tartan which would be for all descendants of Muireadhach Albanach. It was completed in 1980, and registered at the Tartan Museum in Comrie in 1981, bearing the registration number 499. It was registered as the Clan Currie Tartan, and it was for everyone bearing the Currie name and all other descendants of Muireadhach Albanach. It was never intended nor claimed to be solely for the Clan Currie Association of Canada, as some have mistakenly written and suggested.
A Clan Currie Society
Circa 1990 a Clan Currie Society began to emerge in Scotland, making several heretofore unknown claims. First, that a Colonel William McMurdo Currie of Glasgow, Scotland, was the 30th Chief of Clan Currie, and second, that a tartan had been derived from the Lord of the Isles tartan and granted to James Currie of Balilone and Garrachoran in 1822 by Lord Alexander MacDonald, 10th Baronet of Nova Scotia, Chief of the MacDonalds of the Isles, giving James Currie the right to use the Lord of the Isles tartan, with certain heraldic differences, as the basis for his own family tartan. That tartan, named Currie of Balilone, was a restricted family tartan until the Clan Currie Society registered it in 1991, bearing the registration number 778.
A New Lord Lyon King of Arms
The new Lord Lyon King of Arms, Sir Malcolm Innes of Edingight, was contacted by Colonel Harry Currie to ask if either new documentation had surfaced or if the regulations had changed. The written reply stated that nothing had changed and no new evidence had been discovered. He also restated that the Currie name could not be classified as an official clan recognized by the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs, and that there was no documentation to prove the primogeniture descent of Colonel William McMurdo Currie from Muireadhach Albanach, and therefore he could not be recognized as a Scottish Clan Chief, even though a number of his followers had signed a document naming him the Currie Clan Chief. The Lord Lyon stated that he appreciated the sentiment and the intent, but that this document held no legal status and could not be recognized. In other words, neither Colonel William McMurdo Currie nor his ancestor, James Currie of Balilone, were chiefs of Clan Currie, and the Currie name cannot be recognized as an official Scottish clan.
Society Officers
The Clan Currie Society is a different matter altogether. They can elect or appoint any officers they wish - president, secretary, etc. - but there cannot be a Chief or Commander of the Clan, for positions like this can only be used by the officially recognized clans.
The Society Tartan
The Clan Currie Society has adopted the Currie of Balilone tartan as the Society's tartan. That is the limit of their authority. That does not make the Currie of Balilone tartan the official tartan for all who bear the Currie name. There is no such tartan, and there will never be one, since the Curries are not an officially recognized clan. It would take a decision of a Clan Chief to determine an officially recognized clan tartan, and, unfortunately, the Curries do not, and will never, have a Clan Chief. The simple truth is that anyone can wear any tartan they like the look of - there are no rules or restrictions regarding the use of tartan. The Clan Currie Society has informed publishers of books dealing with Scottish Clans and Tartan that the Currie of Balilone tartan is the official Currie tartan. The publishers and compilers of books on tartan have been misled. The Currie of Balilone tartan is the Clan Currie Society tartan - nothing more.
A Tartan Name Change
In order to avoid any confusion or possible conflict with the Clan Currie Society, and after consultation with Bruce Wilton of the Scottish Tartans Authority, Colonel Harry Currie voluntarily and officially re-designated the tartan he registered in 1981 as the Clan Currie tartan, registered no. 499, to be renamed as the Currie of Arran tartan. Just as there are many different Cameron, MacDonald and Stewart tartans, etc., so can there be more than one Currie tartan. Anyone who likes the Currie of Arran tartan can wear it, for it is just as “official” as the Currie of Balilone tartan.
Clan Septs
For many years the name Currie has been listed as a sept, or dependant, of either the MacDonalds of Clanranald or the Macphersons (the MacPherson Currie line is not descended from Muireadhach Albanach). The Curries have the right to stand alone, given their contribution to the literacy of Scotland. That the Currie of Balilone tartan came into being in 1822 based on a MacDonald tartan and granted by a MacDonald chief perpetuates the misconception that the Curries are a sept of, or were in servitude to, the MacDonalds. Perhaps that Balilone Currie family was, but the rest of the Curries were not then and certainly are not now.
A Unique Tartan
The Currie of Arran tartan was designed and registered as a free service to all who bear the name. The designer, Col. Harry Currie, is not connected to any tartan manufacturer, and receives no payment or commission whatsoever no matter who weaves or makes any garment or article from that tartan. The Currie of Arran tartan is uniquely Currie, designed by a Currie, and not derived from a tartan of the MacDonalds. The design is truly that of an island tartan. Curries of the world, like all Scots, should wear a tartan proudly, but wear whatever tartan they please, from Abbotsford to Yukon, and any tartan in between.

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