Dubgall mac Somairle was an apparent King of the Isles. He was a son of Somairle mac Gilla Brigte and Ragnhildr Óláfsdóttir. Dubgall was a leading figure of Clann Somairle, and the eponymous ancestor of Clann Dubgaill. Dubgall's career is obscure, and little is certain of his life.
One of the king gaming pieces of the Lewis chessmen. Comprising some four sets, the pieces are thought to have been crafted in Norway in the twelfth- and thirteenth centuries.
A rook gaming piece of the Lewis chessmen. The Scandinavian connections of leading members of the Isles may have been reflected in their military armament, and could have resembled that depicted upon such gaming pieces.
Ruinous Mingary Castle before its renovation. This thirteenth- or fourteenth-century citadel may have been constructed by Dubgall's descendants. As such it would appear to exemplify the northern extension of Clann Dubgaill power from the twelfth century.
A bishop gaming piece of the Lewis chessmen.
The Kingdom of the Isles was a Norse-Gaelic kingdom comprising the Isle of Man, the Hebrides and the islands of the Clyde from the 9th to the 13th centuries AD. The islands were known to the Norsemen as the Suðreyjar, or "Southern Isles" as distinct from the Norðreyjar or Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland. In Scottish Gaelic, the kingdom is known as Rìoghachd nan Eilean. The territory is sometimes called the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles, although only some of the later rulers claimed that title. The historical record is incomplete, and the kingdom was not a continuous entity throughout the entire period. At times the rulers were independent of external control, although for much of the period they had overlords in Norway, Ireland, England, Scotland or Orkney. At times there also appear to have been competing claims for all or parts of the territory. The islands have a total land area of over 8,300 square kilometres (3,205 sq mi) and extend for more than 500 kilometres (310 mi) from north to south.
Signature page from the Annals of the Four Masters
Folio 32v of the Book of Kells which may have been produced by the monks of Iona and taken to Ireland for safekeeping after repeated Viking raids of the Hebrides.
Modern Dumbarton Castle, the site of the 9th-century siege by the Uí Ímair
A posthumous "Sihtric" coin from the British Museum, minted at Dublin c. 1050