Clan MacIntyre ( ) is a Highland Scottish clan. The name MacIntyre (from Scottish Gaelic Mac an t-Saoir), means "son of the carpenter" Although no documented history of the clan exists, it is most commonly said to descend from Maurice Mac Neil a nephew of Somerled, the great 12th century leader of the Scottish Gaels. Through an ingenious strategy, Maurice secured the marriage of Somerled to the daughter of the King of Mann and the Isles, thus greatly increasing Somerled's territories. At an unknown date the clan journeyed from the Hebrides to the Scottish mainland where the chiefs established their home at Glen Noe, in Ardchattan Parish, on the east side of Loch Etive. The earliest recorded clan chiefs do not emerge until the 17th century. According to tradition, they had held the land at Glen Noe for centuries, although subject to a feudal tenure converted to money rent in later years. In 1806, however, the chief was forced to relinquish the tenancy of Glen Noe due to inability to meet the payments. He and his family subsequently emigrated to the United States. MacIntyres participated in military campaigns during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Jacobite rising of 1745–46 but they did not operate as an independent body. Clan members served as hereditary foresters to the Lords of Lorne and as hereditary pipers to the chiefs of Clan Menzies and the MacDonalds of Clanranald. Duncan Ban MacIntyre is regarded as one of the finest Gaelic poets. Origins The name MacIntyre (), means "son of a carpenter", or "son of a craftsman". Iain Moncreiffe notes that some consider the name to be a trade name, equivalent to the names Wright or MacNair ("son of the heir") and attribute the existence of the surname in various parts of Scotland to the fact that the name signifies descent from various individuals who were wood workers. In 1990, Scotland's heraldic authority, the Lord Lyon King of Arms, recognised MacIntyre of Glenoe as Chief of the Name and Arms of the name MacIntyre. Although several works mention a "Black Book of Glen Noe", now lost, said to have contained the history of Clan MacIntyre, no documented record of the clan's origins has ever been discovered. There are, however, several accounts that purport to identify its founder and explain its name. The most frequently repeated story ties the MacIntyres to Somerled, who lived in