Clan Irwin Association

CREST: A sheaf of holly consisting of nine leaves, Vert slipped and banded Gules

MOTTO: Sub Sole Sub Umbra Virens: Flourish in Sunshine and Shade

SEPTS: Brand, Snodgrass, all spellings of Irwin, Irving, etc.

A Short History:
Our ancestors migrated with other Scots to Caledonia (Scotland) in the fifth century A.D. We settled in Argyll, fighting under King Fergus against the Romans, both in Caledonia and Hungary. King MacAlpin untied the three sections, Scots, Picts, and Britons. His line ruled until 1034 A.D. King Kenneth also moved our Clan south to the border and made them Dukes of Cumbria. In 1034 A.D., Duncan (Eryvine) I became the King of Scotland. He was the son of Crinan, 3rd son of Eryvine, Abthane of Dule and Beatrix, the only other heir of the last MacAlpin King. The Eryvine line ruled Scotland until 1285. When the Eryvine line left no heirs, Robert the Bruce claimed the throne. On one of the Bruce’s flights from the English, he hid in Irving's Bonshaw Tower. Upon leaving, Robert the Bruce took the eldest son of the Laird of Bonshaw, William, as his Armour Bearer and Secretary. Upon Bruce becoming King of Scotland, he granted to William Irwin the Castle and forest of Drum, in Aberdeenshire. The original document is dated February 1323. Thus began a 652 year history of the Irvines of Drum. Drum Castle was turned over to the National Trust of Scotland in 1975. It is open for public tours. Drum Castle, ten miles from the center of Aberdeen, is one of the most beautiful castles of Royal Deeside. For nearly all of its seven centuries, it was the home of one family, the Irvines.

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