MacLachlan Clan Crest
MacLachlan Coats of Arms
A note on Coats of Arms:
Under Scottish heraldic law a coat of arms is awarded to an individual (with the exception of civic or corporate arms) . There is no such thing as a ‘family coat of arms’ The arms represented below are personal arms (with the above exceptions). Only the individual granted these arms has the right to use them. for more information see our pages on heraldry here:
(https://tartanshop.com/pages/all-about-scottish-heraldry)
MacLACHALAN of MacLachalan
Quarterly, 1st, Or, a lion rampant, Gules; 2nd, Argent, a dexter hand, couped, fessways, holding a cross patée, paleways, Gules; 3rd, Or, a lymphad, her oars in saltire, Sable, plased on the sea, Proper; 4th, Argent, on a base, undée, Vert, a salmon, naiant, Proper.
In the 1st Quarter of the Arms, we have the red lion on the gold field which is the “Dalriadic Royal Lyon” and appears on the Arms of Scotland since the 12th century.
The 2nd Quarter of the Arms displays the red hand holding a red cross. This symbolises the Association of the Clan with the Kindred of St Columbia. and thus with royalty in the North of Ireland, since Saint Columba was a prince in Ulster before he migrated to Iona. It is interesting to note that the red hand is an emblem of Ulster and of the royal O’Neill family.
The 3rd quarter of the Arms shows a galley with oars; the galley was originally an emblem of the Mother Goddess and was adopted by the Norse sea kings and the Lord of the Isles. The Gaelic name of Lochlainn means Northern lands and it is believed was given to the son of a marriage between a member of the royal family of O’Neill and a Norwegian princess; this branch of the MacLochlainns were Kings of Aileach and High Kings of Ireland.
The 4th quarter of the Arms shows a salmon swimming in a green sea. The salmon in this context is an emblem derived from the royal O’Neills. In the Celtic world, especially among the ancient Gaels, the salmon was the sancrosant royal fish; ancient Irish kings wore the salmon as a brooch.
Arms on old postcard