Clan Walker is an Official Irish Clan of Scottish Gaelic Origin
What does that really mean?
Clan Walker are based in Ireland, and have been recognised and registered as an Irish Clan of Scottish Gaelic descent for a number of years by Clans of Ireland/Finte na hÉireann, whose patron is the President of Ireland. When the President is unavailable, he is represented on Clans of Ireland business by a Minister of State.
Clans of Ireland was set up by the Irish Government as an independent body to authenticate and register Irish clans, and is accredited as a Civil Society NGO by The United Nations.
The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Finte na hÉireann in 2013 at Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin. As part of the agreement both organisations agree to recognise each other’s authority over clans.
The chiefly line of Clan Walker (see ancient) has been shown via YDNA to have clear ancient origins in Ireland before moving to Scotland pre-surname times from the descendants of a Munster royal family. This would be the archetypal Gaelic Scottish or Highland clan origin story. From Scotland, some Walkers moved back to Ireland, others moved to England, to the new world and further afield or stayed in Scotland.
Therefore Clan Walker is “Scottish” in the sense that Scotland is where we were formed, but “Irish” in the sense that Ireland contains our deep roots, the country the Chief resides in and where the Clan gets it’s official recognition from.
We occasionally get inquires from people who obviously believe that we are an “official Scottish Clan”, most of whom aren’t aware that would mean being recognised by Lord Lyon, on behalf of Queen Elizabeth as “chief of the arms and Name of [Clan Name]”. While Walkers in Ireland are almost universally from a Scottish (or English) background originally, Clan Walker is not an “official” Scottish Clan as defined by recognition of Lord Lyon or swearing allegiance to the British Monarch.
While we are not part of the British regulated clan system, and very happy with that, it is important to inform you that as a Walker there are “official Scottish clans” that you may be eligible to be part of should you so wish.
Two of the three have clan chief’s on the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs which, as stated earlier, recognise Finte na hÉireann’s authority to recognise Clan Walker as a Clan of Scottish Gaelic origin. The other chief is in a bit of a limbo. He is recognised to be chief by everyone except Lord Lyon who sees him as a “representer of the… Name” rather than “chief of the… Name”, and it’s believed that the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs have not offered him membership as a result.
Much information on the internet (and in Scottish tourist shops!) is out of date or misleading. We’ve been in contact with the chiefs or official Clan Societies of the three clans that are most cited that Walker is supposedly a “sept” of to ask if you can join them, should you so wish.
Strictly speaking membership of a clan is something that an individual posses as a right of his or her heritage. They carry the same surname as their chief and claim decent from a single common ancestor. The exception is if the chief chooses to admit someone, just as happened in history, who does not otherwise come under those criteria. This is why clan membership is not purely based on bloodlines as people often joined clans through marriage, adoption and fostering, and for political and territorial reasons.
Often today clans and clan societies, both Scottish and Irish, will admit members who have a mother or grandmother with the name of the clan. Most clans regard themselves as being for anyone who identifies with the clan and acknowledges the chief, meaning in practice terms that every person who has the same surname as the chief is deemed to be a member of the clan, and a person who offers allegiance to the chief is recognised as a member of the clan unless the chief decides that he will not accept that person’s allegiance.
Advancements in male line Y-DNA testing has confirmed that clans are rarely all of the same male decent, but made up of any number of different male line families with the same surname. It’s allowed us to see prominent groupings within clans, and even male line relationships pre-surname between clans in some instances. It’s also disproved several “Scottish Highland Clan” origin stories.
Should you wish to join a Lord Lyon authorised clan our recommendation is to do a bit of digging in your family history to help make a decision, maybe take a male line (Y-DNA) test at at least 67 markers, and if you still draw a blank with clues, to join Clan MacMillan, Clan MacGregor or possibly Clan Stewart of Appin.
Here’s how and why we recommend this.
As most Walkers have an occupational surname, what is the furthest back you can trace genealogically? This may offer clues as to what clan your ancestors may have originally been part of. Cities are generally not very helpful as people would come from all over, especially to Glasgow. But if you can trace back pre-1800’s to a certain location that a particular clan was deeply associated with, and many of your ancestors married females with that clan surname, then it could well be the case that clan is “your” clan. You can reach out to the official clan society if they have one, or contact the clan chief if not asking if you can join.
If that is not appealing, or you can’t trace your ancestors back with enough accuracy to trace a clan territory then you can always look at other Scottish ancestors. Many Scottish clans allow members whose mother or grandmother (and sometimes further back) shares the clan name to join. Again you want to contact the official clan society or clan chief, many of whom make themselves incredibility accessible.
You may also wish to explore Ydna testing if you are male. Females would need to get a brother, father, paternal uncle, grandfather etc to test your male line. Be warned that these can be expensive and may not give you any information that you can actually use. However, it might match you with a dna halogroup that sways you obviously one way or another when it comes to choosing a clan, or indeed finding a whole new one.
For instance the chiefly line of Clan Walker is part of the classic Irish halogroup of the Eóganachta kings of Munster. Our chief is a closer male line relation of The O’Donoghue of the Glens, Prince of Glenflesk than than The Glens is to the The O’Donoghue Mór, who is a much more distant male line relation to both.
The Lord Lyon recognised Scottish Clan Lennox is descended from the old Mormaers of Lennox, who claimed decent from an Eóganachta Prince. While DNA findings have made these claims seem very unlikely- unless their decent was actually through a female line lost in the midsts of time, which is hinted at in some documents- a possibility for Walkers specifically of the same line wishing to join a Lord Lyon regulated clan might be Clan Lennox, as both of would have historically viewed themselves as part of the Eóganachta Magh Geirginn.
If you wish to join Clan Gregor and your name is Walker then the Clan Gregor Society requires you are able to “show evidence of descent or a family tradition of MacGregor connection” as they consider the name Walker a “Traditional Alias with little documented evidence”.
However, Sir Malcolm MacGregor (chief of Clan Gregor) told us that even though he doesn’t “really regard any of the names associated with clan Gregor as ‘septs’” that “If a particular Walker regards himself as a MacGregor – then that is fine with me”.
At worst you might have to get permission from Sir Malcolm to join and forward it to the Clan Gregor Society when you join. But it is an option, and easier to join than Clan Stewart of Appin, though possibly harder than Clan MacMillan.
The reason that the Walker name is linked to Clan MacGregor appears to be that in 1614 a number of MacNucators (Scots Gaelic for Walker) in Balquidder, Perthshire were fined for harbouring members of the proscribed Clan Gregor after their name and clan had been outlawed. It is suggested on various internet websites that some Gregors changed their name to MacNucator and later Walker and were not caught.
The Stewarts of Appin are a complicated case. There are three main branches who make up Clan Stewart, and no overall chief as traditionally the chief of clan Stewart would be the Stewart/Stuart Monarch of Scotland.
The Stewart society consider Andrew Francis Stewart, 17th Chisholm of Appin to be “absolutely” the Chief of Clan Stewart of Appin. The Lord Lyon considers him to be the “representative of the name” and “holder of the arms of Stewart of Appin” as the Lyon Court regards Stewart of Appin as a branch of a clan and not a separate clan in its own right.
The Stewart Society has informed us that only Walkers who claim decent from a Stewart of Appin can become members, however it seems like there are many Walker members and it may well be that you don’t need any actually evidence of decent.
The main reason that Walker is associated is that there were Walkers who followed the Stewarts of Appin in 1745 in support of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, so some believe that they were a sept, related, or part of clan Stewart of Appin.
The MacMillan Clan are the clan we would recommend if you really want to join a Lord Lyon recognised Scottish clan, have the surname Walker and don’t have any other genealogical or DNA evidence to help make your decision. It’s been said that they accept “all wayward Walkers” and The Macmillan told us “We certainly recognise ‘Walker’ as a sept of Clan MacMillan; and we don’t erect obstacles against anyone wishing to join us”. You can find out more via the official Clan MacMillan Society.
It should be noted that deciding who is welcome or not as a member of a clan, when they don’t share the surname, is entirely within the gift of the chief. The current MacGregor may not accept all Walkers with no proven link into his clan, but one of his descendants might for instance.
Many Scottish clan societies and clans don’t require membership of only one clan, but some might. If they do object then it is usually spelled out pretty clearly. However the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs have stated:
“Membership of a clan or family – in any of its spellings and including recognised septs or branches – is by birth, marriage or descent. There is no election or formal admission procedure. The exception is if the chief chooses to admit someone, just as happened in history, who does not otherwise come under those criteria.
Membership of societies and associations, however, will be determined according to procedures that they have established, and apply, ideally in consultation with the chief. Membership will extend, naturally, to those bearing or descended from the name; but, in many cases, also to those connected in other ways. Each will have their own criteria, subject to their own Constitution.”