Loch Gorm Castle is a ruined castle located on the isle of Eilean Mór on Loch Gorm, 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...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. It was once a stronghold of Clan Macdonald.

The castle was square, with a round bastion at each corner. The castle was occupied temporarily by Sir Lachlan Mor Maclean

Sir Lachlan Mor Maclean

Sir Lachlan Mór Maclean or Lachlan the Great, was the 14th Clan Chief of Clan MacLean from late 1573 or early 1574 until 1598.Mór or Mor translates as great in English, or magnus in Latin, when added to a name in Scottish Gaelic....

 of Duart

Duart Castle

Duart Castle or Caisteal Dhubhairt in Scottish Gaelic is a castle on the Isle of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland, within the council area of Argyll and Bute...

 who was besieged in 1578 by the MacDonalds with the assistance of the Colin Campbell, 6th Earl of Argyll

Colin Campbell, 6th Earl of Argyll

Colin Campbell, 6th Earl of Argyll was a Scottish nobleman and politician. He was appointed to the Lord Chancellorship of Scotland.-Biography:...

. Ruinous from 1586, royal forces led by Andrew Stuart, 3rd Lord Ochiltree demolished the castle in 1608. Repaired afterwards, Ranald MacDonald of Smerby

Ranald MacDonald of Smerby

Ranald MacDonald of Smerby was a son of James MacDonald, 6th of Dunnyveg and Agnes Campbell, daughter of Colin Campbell, 3rd Earl of Argyll. He was granted Smerby Castle from his father. He was a hostage for the good behaviour of his family together with his nephew James held by Sir Lachlan Mor...

 was in charge of the garrison of troops within Loch Gorm Castle and surrendered the castle to Sir John Campbell of Cawdor on 28 January 1615. Sir James MacDonald, 9th of Dunnyveg retook the island in April 1615 and left a garrison upon Eilean Mór. A private garrison was maintained upon Eilean Mór between 1639-40.