My question is.....
Does the McTaggart name actually have any biological connection with its famous first ancestor, Ferchar Mackinsagart, the 1st Earl of Ross?
The name McTaggart is from of the Old Gaelic "Mac an tsagairt" meaning son of the priest. The first recorded spelling of the name is shown to be that of Ferchar Mackinsagart, dated 1215. During the reign of King Alexander II of Scotland, Ferchar Mackinsagart was knighted the 1st Earl of Ross after defeating the king's enemies, clans MacHeth and MacWilliam in a large battle.
However, information about Ferchar Mackinsagart (later anglicised to Farquhar Macintagart) before the rebellion in 1215 does not exist. He appears to have come from nowhere....However, his ability to defeat the might of the MacWilliam (Meic Uilleim) clans and MacHeths together, suggests that he could command large military resources?
But how then does his surname, Mackinsagart 'son of a priest' apply? According to some historians, Farquhar was perhaps the son of a parson from a monastery and passed into the hands of the Abbots called Sagarts or priests - and he was the possessor of the monastery, in reality a powerful Highland chief probably of the O’Beollan family who commanded the population of the western region.
Farquhar was then most likely an O'Beollan according to historians, and his name Mackinsagart was then a fabrication, or not?
My question is then - did Farquhar's ancestors then carry his surname, Mackinsagart, today McTaggart? Or were his ancestors called O'Beollan (or another different name), does anyone know?
Thank you for your help!