Clans of the North-East: House of Hay
February 2009
tartan courtesy of scottish tartans authority
by Gordon Casely
Chief of Hay is Merlin, 24th earl of Erroll. As hereditary High Constable of Scotland, he is first of our nation, preceding all others except the Royal family. His late mother Diana, 23rd countess of Erroll, was an outstanding Scot, living in Slains, Aberdeenshire, and taking an active part in notable events of our land.
On a rare occasion when Scots Wha Hae was played as our national anthem – in 1970 at the 650th anniversary celebrations at Arbroath Abbey of the signing of the Declaration – Diana Erroll led the salute standing below a giant Saltire, in stature completely eclipsing Willie Ross, then Secretary of State for Scotland.
The spirit of clan Hay is kept alive today in Delgatie Castle, four miles out of Turriff, where the enormous collection of Hay memorabilia collected by Captain John Hay of Delgatie is lovingly maintained and kept current by Joan Johnston (who in the castle tearoom also provides some of north-east Scotland’s best coffee and scones).
Sir Merlin Sereld Victor Gilbert Hay, 24th Earl of Erroll, 25th Lord Hay, 24th Lord Slains, 28th High Constable of Scotland, and 32 Chief of Hay is known in the Celtic world as Mac Garadh Mor. A modernist, Lord Erroll (60) works in the forefront of IT, lives in Bedfordshire adjacent to the hi-tec corridor of the Thames Valley, and has built a sound reputation as a speaker on matters relating to IT, as well as the countryside and the constitution. His heir is his elder son Harry, Lord Hay.
Ceremonially, Lord Erroll is a lieutenant in the Atholl Highlanders, the private army of the 11th Duke of Atholl (and with whom the Lonach Highlanders occasionally parade) as well as being a member of the Queen’s Bodyguard of Scotland (the Royal Company of Archers). His father the redoubtable and learned Sir Iain Moncreiffe, 11th baronet of Moncrieffe, was Scotland’s greatest 20th-century genealogist and as an outstanding herald, held the appointment of Albany Herald at the court of the Lord Lyon.
Declaration of Arbroath signatory
Lord Erroll’s fourth name – Gilbert – reflects his descent from Sir Gilbert de Haya, fifth of Erroll, one of King Robert Bruce’s foremost lieutenants during the Wars of Independence, and one of his aides at Bannockburn. Hay was also a signatory to the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320.
Hay tradition asserts that the progenitor came from Haya in Normany in 1066, eventually settling in Scotland as De la Haya. A long-held story recounts that a man named Hay was brought before King Kenneth III (died 1005) in Perth following courageous action by Hay in defending the royal cause.
Hay had been ploughing when invaders entered the Carse of Gowrie, by the ancient township of Erroll. Hay and his two sons took the yoke from their oxen and faced the rascals. The tide was halted, and Scots reinforcements were inspired by the Hay example.
From this, King Kenneth granted to Hay as much land as a falcon could cover between the Tay and Erroll. Legend recounts that the falcon alighted in Erroll, thus marking ancient Hay properties. Fable or otherwise, the fact remains that the arms of the chief to this day bear supporters showing men shouldering oxen yokes, below the crest of a falcon.
The Aberdeenshire connection was made in the 12th century when King William the Lion granted William de Hay a charter of the lands of the barony of Erroll. Generations later, another Erroll earl founded the harbour town by Cruden Bay, calling it Port Erroll. With due modesty, Hays claim some 15,000 descendants of the name in the USA alone.
Septs and allied families of Hay are said to include: Arroll, Beagrie, Du Plessis, Erroll, Garra, Garad, Garrow, Gifford, Hayson, Kinnoull, Leith, MacGarad, MacGarra, McArra, MacGarrow, MacHay, O’Garra and O’Hea.
This is an article from the February 2009 edition of Leopard Magazine. To read much more like this every month, see our subscription details.