Domhnall Ballach, also known as Donald Balloch MacDonald (d. c. 1476) was a son of Iain Mòr Tànaiste MacDhòmhnaill

John Mór Tanister

John Mór Tanister was the second son of John Macdonald and Princess Margaret Stewart of Scotland, daughter of King Robert II. He is the founder of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg....

 and Margaret Bisset

Margery Byset

Margery Byset was an Irish noblewoman belonging to the Bissett family whose marriage to John Mór Tanister MacDonnell in 1399 laid the basis for the Clan Donald claim to the Glens of Antrim, the lordship of which her family had established in the 13th century...

, daughter of MacEoin Bisset, Lord of The Glens. He was the second chief of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg

Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg

Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg, also known as Clan Donald South, Clan Iain Vor, Clan MacDonald of Islay and Kintyre, MacDonalds of the Glens and sometimes referred to as MacDonnells, is a Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald...

.

He succeeded to the chieftainship of the clan after his father was murdered by James Campbell after a scheduled meeting at Ard-du, Islay

Islay

-Prehistory:The earliest settlers on Islay were nomadic hunter-gatherers who arrived during the Mesolithic period after the retreat of the Pleistocene ice caps. In 1993 a flint arrowhead was found in a field near Bridgend dating from 10,800 BC, the earliest evidence of a human presence found so far...

 in 1427. Donald took revenge and James Campbell was executed, protesting however, that it was done under the King James I of Scotland

James I of Scotland

James I, King of Scots , was the son of Robert III and Annabella Drummond. He was probably born in late July 1394 in Dunfermline as youngest of three sons...

's order.

Known as a military leader he was chosen to lead Clan Donald

Clan Donald

Clan Donald is one of the largest Scottish clans. There are numerous branches to the clan. Several of these have chiefs recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms; these are: Clan Macdonald of Sleat, Clan Macdonald of Clanranald, Clan MacDonell of Glengarry, Clan MacDonald of Keppoch, and Clan...

 and defeated the forces of King James I at the battle of Inverlochy

Battle of Inverlochy (1431)

The Battle of Inverlochy was fought after Alexander of Islay , Lord of the Isles and Earl of Ross, had been imprisoned by King James I...

 in 1431. Susequently after a number of defeats against Royal forces Donald was forced to flee to Ireland. A pickled head was presented by his friend, the Irish Chief Hugh Buy O'Neill, who presented it to the King James I, as that of the rebel Lord of Dunnyveg. After the death of King James I, Donald returned to Dunnyveg in 1437.

He died on an islet upon Loch Gruinart, Islay in c. 1476.

Family

By his first wife Johanna, daughter of Conn O'Neill of Edenduffcarrick, they had;

• John Mor MacDonald
  John Mor MacDonald, 3rd of Dunnyveg
  John Mor MacDonald was a son of Donald Balloch MacDonald and Johanna, daughter of Conn O'Neill of Edenduffcarrick. He was the third chief of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg.-Biography:...
  
  , m. Sabina O'Neill, daughter of Felim 'Bacach' O'Neill
• Margaret, b. c. 1414 married Ruari MacDonald, 3rd of Clan Ranald.

By his second wife Joan, daughter of O'Donnell, Lord of Tyrconnel, they had;

• Agnes, who married Thomas Bannatyne of Knraes.