Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary

MacDonald Of The Isles

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

MACDONALD OF THE ISLES (S3x32) 3C set Derek Haynes Carnforth Collection 2

1- 8 2s dance full diagonal Reels of 4 with 1st corners, passing by the LSh to face 2nd corners
9-16 2s dance full diagonal Reel of 4 with 2nd corners to end in original places
17-24 All dance Snowball Grand Chain for 3 couples:
 1s cross RH and change places LH on side with 2s
 1s change places RH with 3s while 2s cross over RH
 1s cross LH while 2s and 3s change places LH. 3(2)1
25-32 3s+2s dance ½ R&L, 3s dance ½ Fig of 8 round end couples (3M up and 3L down) to end in 2nd places. 231

(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)


MacDonald of the Isles
Derek Haynes Carnforth Collection 2
Strathspey 3 x 32 bars 3 Couple Repeat 3 Couple Set Longwise Set

  1-8   1M2s3L diagonal reel of 4, 2s finishing by passing left shoulder to face 2nd corners;

  9-16 1L2s3M diagonal reel of 4, all finishing in places;

17-24 snowball chain (1s start), finishing 3M2L1M on Mn's side, 3L2M1L on Ls' side;

25-28 3s2s half rights and lefts;

29-32 3M (up), 3L (down) half figures of 8, finishing 2s3s1s.

(MAXICRIB. Scottish country dancing instructions compiled by Reuben Freemantle)

Dance Notes

  1-2   2s pass left shoulder to start, then give right to first corners.

    -8   Retain eye contact with partner while passing left shoulder.

  9-16 Plenty of time; the 2s, especially, must not arrive in places early.

17-24 2 bars for each hand; 1s pass 4 dancers, 2s pass 3 and 3s pass 2.

    -32 Except on the last repeat, 3s should arrive in 2nd place on time or fractionally late so as to flow smoothly into bar 1 of the next repeat.


Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams


Dance Instruction Videos

MacDonald Of The Isles - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video

Dance Information

Also see the dance MacDonald Of The Isles For Five Couples by J Rigby.

This is one of the most popular Scottish country dances. It has been in the top thirty most frequent dances appearing on dance programmes, for decades.


The Lord of the Isles is a title of Scottish nobility with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It emerged from a series of hybrid Viking/Gaelic rulers of the west coast and islands of Scotland in the Middle Ages, who wielded sea-power with fleets of galleys. Although they were, at times, nominal vassals of the Kings of Norway, Ireland, or Scotland, the island chiefs remained functionally independent for many centuries.

Their territory included the Hebrides, (Skye and Ross from 1438), Knoydart, Ardnamurchan, and the Kintyre peninsula. At their height they were the greatest landowners and most powerful lords in the British Isles after the Kings of England and Scotland.

The end of the MacDonald Lords came in 1493 when John MacDonald forfeited his estates and titles to King James IV of Scotland. Since that time, the title has been held by the Duke of Rothesay, the eldest son and heir apparent of the King of Scotland, which, since the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain, is now borne by the Prince of Wales. Thus Prince Charles is the current Lord of the Isles.

The only island still in the possession of the MacDonalds is tiny Cara off Kintyre, which is owned by the MacDonalds of Largie, a small remnant of a once vast family inheritance.

MacDonald Of The Isles - Information Video

MacDonald Of The Isles
MacDonald, Lord Of The Isles, Somerled - A Victorian Illustrator's Impression


This page contains both original content, which is copyrighted, and excerpts from Wikipedia and other sources using the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Text from this original Lord Of The Isles article on Wikipedia.
Image copyright Robert Ronald MacIan (1803-1856) Creative Commons Licence 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Additional search terms: McDonald.

Back to the top of this Scottish Country Dancing Instructions 'MacDonald Of The Isles' page