and had a son, John, who, by his second wife, had Colin Fitzgerald.
That is, Maurice, who died in 1257, had a great grandson Colin,
who, as a warrior of mature years and experience, fought at the
battle of Largs only six years after his great-grandfathers death.
But there was in fact no Earl of Kildare at this early date. That
title was, as already stated, not created until 1316, twenty-eight
years after his son Colin Fitzgerald was, according to the testimony
of his supporters, buried in Icolmkill. It is surely unnecessary to
add that such a consummation is absolutely impossible; and these
facts alone, though no other shred of evidence was forthcoming,
would dispose of the Colin Fitzgerald origin of the Mackenzies for
ever.

Colin's five brothers are given by the upholders of the Fitzgerald
origin as Galen, said to have been the same as Gilleon or Gillean, the
ancestor of the Macleans; Gilbert, ancestor of the White Knights;
John, ancestor of the Knights of Glynn; Maurice, ancestor of the
Knights of Kerry; and Thomas, progenitor of the Fitzgeralds of
Limerick. But it is quite unnecessary to deal with Colin's brothers
and their descendants here. It will be sufficient if we dispose of
Colin himself, who, according to the genealogy given to him by those
who claim him as their progenitor, was really not Colin Fitz-Gerald
but Colin Fitz-John. He must, however, be dealt with a little more at
length; for, whoever he may have been, and however mythical his
personal history, his name will always command a certain amount of
interest for members of the Clan Mackenzie, and those who have become
allied with them by marriage or association.

Most of us are acquainted with the turbulent state of the West
Highlands and Islands in the reign of Alexander II., when the