Gille Ruadh was the Galwegian leader who led the revolt against King Alexander II of Scotland

Alexander II of Scotland

Alexander II was King of Scots from1214 to his death.-Early life:...

. Also called Gilla Ruadh, Gilleroth, Gilrod, Gilroy, etc.. His birth, death date and origins are all unknown, although it is strongly suspected that he was the leader of the MacDowell

Clan MacDowall

Clan Macdowall is a Scottish clan. The clan claims to descend from the senior descendants in the male line of the princely house of Fergus, first of the ancient Lords of Galloway...

 kindred

Clan

A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...

.

Upon Alan, Lord of Galloway

Alan, Lord of Galloway

Alan Fitz Roland was the last of the MacFergus dynasty of quasi-independent Lords of Galloway. He was also hereditary Constable of Scotland.-Family:He was the son of Roland, or Lochlann, Lord of Galloway and Helen de Morville...

's death in 1234, Galloway was left without a legitimate feudal heir. Alexander II had decided to partition the lordship

Lords of Galloway

The Lords, or Kings of Galloway ruled over Galloway, in south west Scotland, for a large part of the High Middle Ages.Many regions of Scotland, including Galloway and Moray, periodically had kings or subkings, similar to those in Ireland during the Middle Ages. The Scottish monarch was seen as...

 between the Anglo-Norman

Anglo-Norman

The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...

 husbands of Alan's three living daughters, Roger de Quincy

Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester

Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester was a medieval nobleman who was prominent on both sides of the Anglo-Scottish border, as Earl of Winchester and Constable of Scotland....

 (married to Ela

Helen of Galloway

Helen of Galloway was a daughter and co-heiress of Alan, Lord of Galloway and his first wife, a daughter of Roger de Lacy, Constable of Chester. Helen was the first wife of Roger de Quincy, Earl of Winchester . Although Helen was the first of Roger's three wives, his only descendants were three...

), John de Balliol (married to Derborgaill) and William de Forz

William de Forz, 4th Earl of Albemarle

William III de Forz, 4th Earl of Albemarle played a conspicuous part in the reign of Henry III of England, notably in the Mad Parliament of 1258.He married:# Christina William III de Forz, 4th Earl of Albemarle (died 1260) (Latinised as de Fortibus) played a conspicuous part in the reign of Henry...

 (married to Cairistiona).

However, Alan had left an illegitimate son, Thomas. In Gaelic succession law, Thomas was a perfectly acceptable heir. Thus the native Galwegians and the Gaelic clergy of the province rose in revolt against the Scottish king.

Leader of Galloway Revolt

The Revolt of the Galwegians started in 1235, under Gille Ruadh's leadership. Matthew Paris

Matthew Paris

Matthew Paris was a Benedictine monk, English chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire...

 says that that Manx and Irish forces got involved too. Thomas received help from his father's father-in-law, Hugh de Lacy

Hugh de Lacy, 1st Earl of Ulster

125px|right|thumb|[[coat of arms|Arms]] of Hugh de LacyHugh de Lacy, 1st Earl of Ulster was the younger son of Hugh de Lacy, and founded the Earldom of Ulster....

 the Earl of Ulster

Earl of Ulster

The title of Earl of Ulster has been created several times in the Peerage of Ireland and Peerage of the United Kingdom. Currently, the title is a subsidiary title of the Duke of Gloucester, and is used as a courtesy title by the Duke's son, Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster...

, Hugh had his own problems which limited his participation. Thomas also seems to have gained support from Ruaidrí mac Ragnaill of Garmoran

Garmoran

Garmoran is an area of western Scotland. It lies at the south-western edge of the present Highland Region. It includes Knoydart, Morar, Moidart, Ardnamurchan, and the Small Isles....

 and the Uí Domnaill of Tír Conaill.

Alexander soon invaded Galloway. Gille Ruadh ambushed the royal army, almost bringing it to disaster. However the Scottish King was saved by Fearchar

Fearchar, Earl of Ross

Fearchar of Ross or Ferchar mac in tSagairt , was the first Mormaer or Earl of Ross we know of from the thirteenth century, whose career brought Ross into the fold of the Scottish kings for the first time, and who is remembered as the founder of the Earldom of Ross.-Origins:The traditional...

, Mormaer of Ross. Gille Ruadh and Thomas escaped to Ireland, Alexander returned north, and Walter Comyn, Earl of Menteith

Menteith

Menteith or Monteith , a district of south Perthshire, Scotland, roughly comprises the territory between the Teith and the Forth. The region is named for the river Teith, but the exact sense is unclear, early forms including Meneted, Maneteth and Meneteth.First recorded as the Mormaerdom of...

, was left to subdue the province, ravaging the lands and monastic establishments (Glenluce Abbey

Glenluce Abbey

Glenluce Abbey, near to Glenluce, Scotland, was a Cistercian monastery called also Abbey of Luce or Vallis Lucis and founded around 1190 by Rolland or Lochlann, Lord of Galloway and Constable of Scotland...

 and Tongland Abbey

Tongland Abbey

Tungland or Tongland Abbey was a Premonstratensian monastic community located in Galloway. It was probably founded in 1218 by Alan, Lord of Galloway, although the church of Tongland had previously been granted to Dercongal Abbey by his grandfather Uchtred in the early 1160s. Few of its early abbots...

 were both sacked, and their abbots punished).

Soon afterwards, Gille Ruadh returned from Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 with a new army. The royal forces fled the province. However, for an unknown set of reasons, Gille Ruadh abandoned Thomas and gave himself up on favorable conditions to Patrick II, Earl of Dunbar

Patrick II, Earl of Dunbar

Patrick II , called "5th Earl of Dunbar", lord of Beanley, was a 13th century Anglo-Scottish noble, and one of the leading figures during the reign of King Alexander II of Scotland....

. Thomas followed suit.

The failure of the revolt ensured the death of the Lordship of Galloway as a united and distinct sub-kingdom of northern Britain.