Stephen Coyle tells the story of the Scottish Gael who died for
the Irish Republic during the civil war IAN GRAEME Baun
MacKenzie Kennedy or 'Scottie' as he was inevitably nicknamed,
was a well known figure in Ballingeary and in Irish-speaking
circles during the Tan War. His short life is a story of burning
idealism and noble courage and deserves to be retold. MacKenzie
Kennedy was born in 1899 and is believed to have hailed from
Inverness-shire in the Scottish Highlands. He came from a
distinguished family that was steeped in the military tradition.
His father was a major and his uncle had been a major general in
the British army. His brother was killed in action in France,
and his mother keen for her son to avoid the same fate, took him
to live in Ireland about 1916. The youthful MacKenzie Kennedy
was a tall strapping young man in kilts and his Glengarry cap
sported the Kennedy badge. He was proficient in Scots Gaelic and
was clan proud. Donald, the Great Steward of Mar, a district
associated with the Kenne