Clan MacPhail: A Legacy of Inverernie, Clan Chattan and the Sons of Paul
Introduction
Clan MacPhail, also written MacPhaile, MacPheal, MacPhayll, McPhail, McFall, MacFall, McFaul, McFell, and related forms, is a historic Highland Scottish clan-family tradition rooted especially in Lochaber, Strathnairn, Inverernie / Invernarnie, Inverness-shire, Dunlichty, Tullich, Elrick, Clan Chattan country, and the wider Scottish diaspora.
The Gaelic name is:
Mac Phàil
meaning:
Son of Paul
The clan motto is:
“Memor Esto”
meaning:
“Be mindful.”
The clan plant badge is:
Red whortleberry
Clan MacPhail is closely connected with the Clan Chattan Confederation, the great Highland confederation that included Mackintosh, Macpherson, MacBean, Shaw, Davidson, MacGillivray, MacThomas and other related or allied families. The Clan Chattan Association lists Clan MacPhail with the motto “Memor Esto”, translated as Be Mindfull, and gives the clan badge as Red Whortleberry.
The clan is currently best treated as a Clan Chattan-associated Highland clan-family, rather than a major independent chief-bearing clan with a currently recognised chief.
The last recognised chiefly line is generally associated with:
MacPhail of Inverernie / Invernarnie
The last chief is given as:
Paul MacPhail
who died in Australia in 1904 without an heir.
Chapter I: Origins of Clan MacPhail
The surname MacPhail comes from Gaelic:
Mac Phàil
This means:
Son of Paul
The personal name Paul comes from Latin Paulus, meaning:
small
or
humble
Historic spellings and related forms include:
MacPhail
MacPhaile
MacPheal
MacPhayll
McPhail
McPhaile
MacFall
McFall
McFaul
MacFaul
McFell
Phail
Phaul
The name appears in several Scottish regions, so MacPhail history must be handled carefully. There were MacPhails associated with Clan Chattan, but there were also northern MacPhail / Polson traditions connected with Mackay lines in Caithness and Sutherland. Clan Phail material notes that many MacPhails come from four main branches, including a northern branch descended from Paul Neilson Mackay, who took the name MacPhail or Polson around 1430.
For a Tartan Time Machine article, the safest wording is:
Clan MacPhail is a Highland Gaelic surname meaning “son of Paul,” with its strongest clan identity linked to Clan Chattan and the MacPhails of Inverernie in Strathnairn, while some MacPhail families may belong to separate northern or regional branches.
Chapter II: Clan Territory and Ancestral Lands
Clan MacPhail’s strongest historic associations include:
Lochaber
Strathnairn
Inverernie / Invernarnie
Dunlichty
Tullich
Elrick
Inverness-shire
Clan Chattan country
Caithness and Sutherland, for some northern MacPhail lines
Argyll, for later migration and settlement
The wider Scottish diaspora
The clan’s strongest Clan Chattan-associated seat was:
Inverernie / Invernarnie
The Clan Chattan Association identifies the MacPhails of Inverarnie as the chiefly family and notes that the first recorded chief was Duncan MakDonequhy Dow MacPhail, who held lands at Tullich and Elrig / Elrick in 1546.
For Clan MacPhail, Inverernie represents:
chiefship
Strathnairn roots
Clan Chattan identity
the old heart of the name
the place where the family held land and status
The MacPhail landscape is a Highland world of:
river valleys
Clan Chattan bonds
Gaelic-speaking ministers
leases and wadsets
wildcat symbolism
red whortleberry hills
migration after the loss of land
Chapter III: Clan Chattan and the MacPhails
Clan MacPhail belongs most strongly to the world of Clan Chattan.
Clan Chattan was not simply one surname. It was a confederation of related and allied Highland families who acted together for protection, military support and political survival.
Clan Phail history states that Clan Phail was one of the families forming part of the ancient blood of the Clan Chattan Federation, originally living in the area later called Lochaber. When Angus, 6th chief of Mackintosh, married Eva, heiress of Clan Chattan, many old Clan Chattan families moved with him into eastern Inverness-shire, including the ancestors of Clan Phail.
This gives Clan MacPhail a clear historical route:
Lochaber origin memory
Clan Chattan migration
Strathnairn settlement
Inverernie chiefship
wildcat confederation identity
For MacPhail descendants, Clan Chattan matters because it gives the name a wider Highland family network.
Chapter IV: Important People of Clan MacPhail
Paul Cattanach
Some MacPhail traditions point to an ancestor known as:
Paul Cattanach
Modern summaries describe the MacPhails as being of old Clan Chattan stock and say some early MacPhails were reputed to descend from Paul Cattanach.
This fits the name’s meaning:
Mac Phàil — son of Paul
Paul Gow MacPhail
The Kinrara manuscript mentions:
Paul Gow MacPhail
He is described as a “good sir”, a form often connected with clerical respect or church status. Modern summaries record him as living in the time of Duncan, 11th of Mackintosh.
This gives the name a possible learned or clerical layer, fitting the wider Highland world where churchmen, bards, smiths and legal men could become remembered ancestors.
Duncan MakDonequhy Dow MacPhail
The first recorded chief in Clan Chattan’s MacPhail account was:
Duncan MakDonequhy Dow MacPhail
He held half the lands and deeds of Tullich and Elrig / Elrick in 1546.
For Clan MacPhail, Duncan represents the first strong documentary chiefly figure.
Andrew MacPhail
In 1566, an Andrew MacPhail is recorded as minister of Inverness and Petty in the Gaelic language. Modern summaries describe him as “minister of Inverness and Petty in the Erse / Gaelic tongue.”
This is important because it shows MacPhails active in Gaelic religious life and not only as warriors or landholders.
The MacPhails of Inverernie
The chiefly family became known as:
MacPhail of Inverernie / Invernarnie
In 1631, a MacPhail received a long lease or wadset of Invernarnie, facing the River Nairn, within the Barony of Strathnairn. The lands also included Duglass and Dullatur, and the family held these lands until 1773, when the lease was not renewed.
Paul MacPhail
The last chief was:
Paul MacPhail
He died in Australia in 1904 without an heir.
This makes the modern MacPhail story one of chiefly loss, diaspora survival and Clan Chattan memory.
Chapter V: Historic Sites and Research Places
Inverernie / Invernarnie
Inverernie is the central place in Clan MacPhail history.
For Clan MacPhail, Inverernie represents:
chiefly identity
Strathnairn landholding
Clan Chattan status
the old territorial heart of the name
Strathnairn
Strathnairn is the wider district that shaped the MacPhails of Inverernie.
It connects the clan to:
Inverness-shire
Clan Chattan country
River Nairn settlement
wadset and lease records
Dunlichty burial memory
Dunlichty Kirk
The MacPhails of Inverernie and the Shaws of Tordarroch buried their dead for generations in an enclosure near the east wall of Dunlichty Kirk.
For MacPhail descendants, Dunlichty is a major place of ancestral memory.
Tullich and Elrick
Tullich and Elrick are important because Duncan MakDonequhy Dow MacPhail held lands there in 1546.
These places anchor the surname in real 16th-century land records.
Lochaber
Lochaber matters because the MacPhails are said to have been part of the old Clan Chattan stock before the migration east with the Mackintosh-led confederation.
Caithness and Sutherland
Some MacPhail lines belong to northern traditions, especially where MacPhail or Polson names connect with Mackay-related ancestry.
This is why genealogy is crucial.
Not every MacPhail line is automatically the same branch.
Chapter VI: Loss of Land and Diaspora
Clan MacPhail’s story includes the loss of the Inverernie lands.
The MacPhails held Invernarnie and related lands until 1773, when the lease was not renewed. Modern summaries state that this broke the unity of the family, with many drifting southward to Argyllshire and being absorbed into urban life.
This is a major turning point.
It changed the clan-family from a local landed group into a scattered surname community.
The later death of Paul MacPhail in Australia in 1904 without an heir completed the loss of the chiefly line as a living recognised leadership tradition.
For Clan MacPhail, the story is therefore one of:
early Clan Chattan identity
Strathnairn settlement
landholding at Inverernie
loss of land in the 18th century
diaspora movement
surname survival across the world
Chapter VII: Crest, Motto and Badge Traditions
Motto
The MacPhail motto is:
“Memor Esto”
This means:
“Be mindful.”
The Clan Chattan Association gives the motto as Memor Esto — Be Mindfull.
It means:
remember your people
be mindful of your duties
do not forget the old name
carry the past with awareness
For Clan MacPhail, this motto is especially fitting because the chiefly line ended and the family scattered.
Memory became the clan’s stronghold.
Clan Badge
The plant badge is:
Red whortleberry
This is the same badge strongly associated with the wider Clan Chattan world. ScotlandShop explains that Clan Chattan’s plant badge is Red Whortleberry, growing across forests, moorlands and hills of the clan’s territory.
Red whortleberry suggests:
Highland ground
rough country
Clan Chattan loyalty
life in hard places
small bright survival
Crest and Heraldic Caution
MacPhail heraldic material should be handled carefully.
Because the modern chiefly line is not active in the same way as a major chief-bearing clan, a universal MacPhail chiefly crest should not be overstated.
The safest wording is:
Clan MacPhail is best represented through its Clan Chattan association, motto “Memor Esto,” red whortleberry badge, MacPhail tartans and Inverernie heritage, rather than through an unquestioned universal modern chiefly crest.
Clan Chattan Wildcat Route
As a Clan Chattan-associated name, MacPhail also belongs to the wider wildcat symbolism of the confederation. Clan Chattan’s heraldic world uses the wildcat, red whortleberry and boxwood imagery.
Chapter VIII: Clan MacPhail Tartans
MacPhail Tartan
The MacPhail tartan is recorded by the Scottish Register of Tartans under reference 2695.
This is one of the principal tartans associated with the name.
MacPhail Hunting Tartan
The MacPhail Hunting tartan is also recorded by the Scottish Register of Tartans under reference 2698.
MacPhail Blue Bands Tartan
Clan Phail material also discusses MacPhail Blue Bands tartan information held in the Scottish Register of Tartans.
MacPhail Ancient, Modern and Hunting Options
Modern suppliers may offer MacPhail tartans in forms such as:
Ancient
Modern
Hunting
Weathered
Muted, where available
The usual distinction is dye tone:
Ancient colours are softer and lighter.
Modern colours are deeper and stronger.
Hunting tartans are darker and more subdued.
Weathered colours are muted and aged.
Muted colours are restrained and earthy.
The Meaning of MacPhail Tartan Today
For modern MacPhail descendants, tartan represents:
Mac Phàil identity
Clan Chattan membership
Inverernie and Strathnairn
Dunlichty memory
the motto “Be mindful”
red whortleberry
family pride and diaspora survival
The MacPhail tartans give this Highland name a visible and wearable Scottish identity.
Chapter IX: Heritage, Identity and Clan Traditions
Clan MacPhail represents a Highland identity built on Gaelic naming, Clan Chattan kinship, Strathnairn landholding, Gaelic religious life and diaspora survival.
Its story includes:
Mac Phàil — son of Paul
Lochaber Clan Chattan origins
migration into eastern Inverness-shire
Inverernie / Invernarnie
Tullich and Elrick
Dunlichty Kirk
Paul Gow MacPhail
Duncan MakDonequhy Dow MacPhail
Andrew MacPhail, Gaelic minister
loss of Inverernie lands in 1773
Paul MacPhail dying in Australia in 1904
the motto “Memor Esto”
red whortleberry badge
MacPhail tartans
Associated names and spellings include:
MacPhail
MacPheal
MacPhaile
MacPhayll
McPhail
McPheal
MacFall
McFall
McFaul
MacFaul
McFell
Phail
The Clan Chattan Association lists MacPhail, MacPheal, MacPhaile, MacPhayll, McFall, MacFall, McFaul and McFell as septs or associated forms.
Chapter X: Clan MacPhail Today
Today, Clan MacPhail is best understood as a Highland clan-family tradition within the wider Clan Chattan Confederation.
The old chiefly line is no longer active.
The last chief is recorded as:
Paul MacPhail
who died in Australia in 1904 without an heir.
Modern Clan MacPhail identity can be found through:
Clan Chattan Association
Clan Phail family history groups
family history research
MacPhail tartan wearing
study of Strathnairn and Inverernie records
research into Dunlichty Kirk
Scottish heritage events
Highland games
diaspora family networks
For MacPhail descendants, the best first step is to trace the family’s spelling and region:
MacPhail?
McPhail?
MacPheal?
MacFall?
McFall?
McFaul?
Inverernie?
Strathnairn?
Inverness-shire?
Lochaber?
Caithness?
Sutherland?
Argyll?
Australia?
Canada?
New Zealand?
The United States?
That will determine whether the strongest heritage path is Clan Chattan MacPhail, northern Mackay-related MacPhail / Polson, Argyll MacPhail, or another regional line.
Chapter XI: Legacy of Clan MacPhail
The story of Clan MacPhail begins with a simple Gaelic name:
Mac Phàil — Son of Paul.
From Lochaber came the old Clan Chattan memory.
From Strathnairn came the settlement.
From Inverernie came the chiefly family.
From Dunlichty came burial memory.
From Gaelic ministers and landholders came records.
From 1773 came the breaking of the family lands.
From Australia came the end of the chiefly line.
From tartan came visible identity.
Its motto gives the clan its voice:
Memor Esto — Be mindful.
That phrase captures the MacPhail spirit: remember the old places, remember the people, remember the name.
From Inverernie to Dunlichty, from Clan Chattan country to descendants across the world, Clan MacPhail continues to carry its heritage forward.
Its legacy is written in tartan, red whortleberry, wildcat memory, old leases, kirk records, family stories and the pride of those who still honour the name.
Tartan Time Machine Closing Paragraph
At Tartan Time Machine, we bring Scotland’s past into the present by exploring the clans, surnames, castles, kirkyards, tartans, legends and forgotten stories that shaped the nation.
Clan MacPhail is one chapter in that greater story — a story of Clan Chattan, Inverernie, Strathnairn, Dunlichty, red whortleberry, tartans and the thoughtful motto: Be mindful.
Discover more Scottish history, clan stories, castle features and heritage content at:
www.tartantimemachine.com