The tale of how the Brooch came to be captured at Dalrigh has been told down through the generations of Clan MacDougall to the present day; but the truth of what happened is clouded in a mixture of legend and history.

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There may be lost documents, but a note from the 25th chief, Captain John MacDougall to the journal of the Society of Antiquaries in 1828 probably sums it up:

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"It was said by tradition to have been taken by my ancestors, the MacDougalls, Lairds of Lorn, from the King Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Dalry".