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Daniel Boyd

Family tradition tells that the first Boyd in Carrickfin was Daniel who came to Donegal with his brother Hugh from somewhere East of Kilmarnock in Ayrshire, Scotland in 1693. Hugh settled in Loughros Point near Ardara, 37 miles to the South of Carrickfin.

There is no documentary record of when or how Hugh and Daniel came to Donegal. We do know that in 1695 the Coyningham family increased their holdings in Donegal to include the areas the Boyd brothers settled in Loughros Point and Carrickfin. Records show that the area in which Hugh lived at Loughros Point was first settled in 1698 suggesting that Hugh and Daniel actually arrived a little later than the traditional date of 1693.

Local folklore in Loughros Point tells how brothers Daniel and Hugh together with at least one of Hugh’s sons  were brought by a sailing ship to the coat of Loughros Point and given a small boat to take them ashore. When they arrived on shore the locals fled in terror but later returned to greet them. Daniel later moved North to Carrickfin. Another story tells of six brothers who fought in the Battle of the Boyne (4th July 1690) and later settled in Donegal - 3 in the East and 3 in the West of the county. Yet another story tells how Daniel got into gambling debt in Scotland and went into hiding in Donegal. (If anyone in Scotland is looking for him Daniel is long gone.) A tradition from the North of the county tells how Daniel landed East of Dunfanaghy and walked  West until he finally arrived in Carrickfin. Some Boyd families in Carrickfin maintain that their earliest ancestors there came to work as Horse Breakers/Trainers for the local landlord.