Ranald MacDonald of Smerby was a son of James MacDonald, 6th of Dunnyveg

James MacDonald, 6th of Dunnyveg

James Mac Domhnaill or MacDonald in Scotland, 6th of Dunnyveg , a Scoto-Irish chieftain, who was the son of Alexander MacDonald, lord of Islay and Kintyre , and Catherine MacDonald, daughter of the Lord of Ardnamurchan....

 and Agnes Campbell

Agnes Campbell

Lady Agnes Campbell was the daughter of Colin Campbell, 3rd Earl of Argyll and his wife Lady Jean Gordon.She was probably born at Inveraray Castle which was the Campbell Family seat.Her sister, Elizabeth, married James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray...

, daughter of Colin Campbell, 3rd Earl of Argyll

Colin Campbell, 3rd Earl of Argyll

Colin Campbell, 3rd Earl of Argyll was a Scottish nobleman and soldier. He was the son of Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll and Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox. In 1506/07 he married Lady Jean Gordon, the eldest daughter of Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of Huntly...

. He was granted Smerby Castle

Smerby Castle

Smerby Castle, also known as Island Muller Castle, is a ruined fortified house on a promontory known as Isla Muller, Kintyre, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, north of Campbeltown...

 from his father. He was a hostage for the good behaviour of his family together with his nephew James held 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....

. He was in charge of the garrison of troops within Loch Gorm Castle

Loch Gorm Castle

Loch Gorm Castle is a ruined castle located on the isle of Eilean Mór on Loch Gorm, Islay, Scotland. It was once a stronghold of Clan Macdonald....

 and surrendered the castle to Sir John Campbell of Cawdor on 28 January 1615. Ranald died in 1616, and was buried at Saddell Abbey

Saddell Abbey

Saddell Abbey was a Cistercian monastery in Argyll, Scotland, founded in 1207 by Raghnall, son of Somairle mac Gille Brigte. It was established by monks from Mellifont Abbey in Ireland. Very little is known about the abbey and its history. It probably enjoyed several centuries of good monastic...

.

Family

By his wife, a daughter of Bannatyne of Kames, their children were:

• Coll
• Archibald, who had issue, Coll and Archibald.
• Donald Gorm, who was a party to the surrender of Loch Gorm Castle.
• Mary, who married Ranald Macdonald of Benbecula, had issue.