The Genesis of MacDubhsithe

Dubh Sidhe has to do with the clan Macfie who are Celts, and are supposed to be of the race of Alpin. In Gaelic, the clan name is Dubhsithe, meaning Macduffie, the dark-featured tribe. This is the oldest form of the surname and can be found written in a 1463 charter. The original home of the clan was the island of Colonsay in Argyll, which they possessed until about the middle of the seventeenth century.

Dr. George F. Black, in his invaluable life-work, The Surnames of Scotland relates that Macfie is one of the oldest and most interesting of the Gaelic names. Dr. Black derives Macfie through Mac duffy from MacDhuibhshith, Son of Dubhsith, a name meaning Black One of Peace.

There was, however, on the island of South Uist in the Hebrides, a family known as Dubh-Sidhe or Black Fairy. Henceforth, sidhe or sidh (pronounced she), refers to fairies and can equally mean elf, from a tradition that the clan had been in touch with the fairy folk. Oral tradition and lore also tells us that the Macfies descended from a seal-woman. Celtic lore contains many interesting Selkie tales. Fortunately, I have never turned into a seal, but I do claim descent from this clan. Dubh Sidhe, therefore, seemed an appropriate choice for my screen name.

For those who enjoy Black Dog Tales, there are clan tales about a Macfie chief, his Black Dog, less than friendly sidhe and how the chief eventually met his death, killed by an arrow-shot while taking refuge in a cave called Slochd Dubh Mhic a' Phi.

Of course, death has no favorites to overlook, and the Macfies prepared for this event in ways to be remembered. The Macfie clan chose the island of Oronsay for their burial grounds, according to some legends, because it was considered to be a part of fairyland--hence, many fairies or sidhe frequented the island. The effigies on their tombstones represent male clansmen either as warriors or churchmen. The beautifully carved Celtic tomb slab of Murchard Macfie of Colonsay, chief of the clan, who died in 1539, was buried on Oransay. Carved on his headstone was a sword above a galley. The sword is a superb example of the old Highland two-handed claymore, with its cross-guard ending in four-ringed guillons.

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