1 For Coll Keitach's family and career see R. Black, ‘ Colla Ciotach ’, in Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, xlviii (1972–4), pp 201–15; For Scottish-Irish relations see D. Stevenson, Scottish covenanters and Irish confederates: Scottish-Irish relations in the mid-seventeenth century (forthcoming).

2 See ibid, and A. Clarke, ‘The earl of Antrim and the First Bishops' War ’ in Irish Sword, vi (1963–4), pp 108–15.

3 D. Stevenson, The Scottish revolution, 1637–44. The triumph of the covenanters (Newton Abbot, 1973), p. 296.

4 For the confused evidence concerning Coil's marriages and children see Black, ‘ Colla Ciotach ’, pp 215–19.

5 Stevenson, Scottish revolution, p. 296.

6 G. Hill, ‘ The Stewarts of Ballintoy ’ in U.J.A., new series, vi (1900), pp 23, 78, 80–8, vii (1901), p. 14; M. A. Hickson, Ireland in the seventeenth century (2 vols., London, 1884), i, 145–6, 148–9, 234–49, 252–5; G. Hill In historical account of the Macdonnells of Antrim (Belfast, 1873), pp 62–3, 9–70, 75–6; Letters and papers relating to the Irish rebellion, ed. J . Hogan, tr. MSS Comm., Dublin, 1936), pp 6–7; several sources wrongly state lat Alasdair only arrived in Ireland after the rebellion began – Gilbert, Contemp. hist., 1641–52, i, 33; T. Carte, The Life of James, duke of Armond (1st ed., 3 vols., London 1735–6), i, 189; Two biographies of William Bedell, ed. E. S. Shuckburgh (Cambridge, 1902), p. 173.

7 Reg. privy council Scot., 1638–43 (Edinburgh, 1906). p. 185.

8 HMC 53: Montagu of Beaulieu, p. 147; Commons’ jn., ii, 416; D. Stevenson, ‘ The myth of the founding of the Scots Guards in 1642 ’ in oct Hist. Rev. lvi (1977), pp 114–18.

9 HMG 23: Cowper, ii, 300–1; The history of the wars of Ireland, ed. E. Hogan (Dublin, 1873), pp 23–4; Hogan, Letters and papers, pp 49–51; Black, ‘ Colla Ciotach ’, pp 225–6.

10 The brothers are named as Gillespie and Ranald, Historical notices of old Belfast, ed. R. M. Young (Belfast, 1896), p. 217, but Gillespie is a mistake for Alasdair.

11 Patrick Gordon, A short abridgement of Britain's distemper (Spalding Club, 1844), p. 64. G. S. Terry, The life and campaigns of Alexander Leslie, first earl of Leven (London, 1899) p. 167.

12 Memorials of Montrose, ed. M. Napier (Maitland Club, 1848–50), i., appendix p. li.

13 Historical notices of old Belfast, p. 217.

14 The Bishopric of Derry and the Irish Society of London, 1602–1705, ed. T. W. Moody and J. G. Simms, (Ir. MSS Gomm., Dublin, 1968), i, 245.

15 Gilbert, Contemp. hist, 1641–52, i, 33.

16 Bodl., Carte MS 3, f.579.

17 J. Spalding, Memorials of the troubles (Spalding Club, 1850–1), ii, 209.

18 Stevenson, Scottish revolution, p. 296.

page note 82 1 These documents are printed by permission of the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Spelling (except in proper names), punctuation and capitalisation have been modernised and abbreviations extended.

page note 82 2 Bodl., Carte MS 4, f.230.

page note 82 3 Evidently the copyist's error for ‘ remission ’.

page note 82 4 MS reads ‘ incarrated ’.

page note 82 5 Bodl., Carte MS 4, f.231.

page note 82 6 Sir Duncan Campbell of Auchinbreck was lieutenant colonel of Argyll's regiment.

page note 83 7 Cross or Crosses in the Route, on Bannside near Ballymoney—sec Hill, Macdonnells of Antrim, pp 69– 7on, 421– 2n.

page note 83 11 Bodl., Carte MS 4, f.32.

page note 83 12 Lieutenant Colonel of the earl of Leven's regiment and commander of the garrison of Coleraine. Nephew and son-in-law of Major General Robert Monro.

page note 84 13 This final paragraph starts by being an order to, it seems, Auchin-Dreck and George Monro, and then reverts to being (like the rest of the document) addressed to Ranald and Alasdair.