 In 1601, the Macdonalds of Clanranald joined the MacDonnels of Glengarry in their constant warring with the Mackenzies of Kintail, ravaging and laying waste to the Kintail area.While the Macdonald fighting force was in the Kintail area, trouble was brewing in South Uist as Murdoch MacNeil of Barra had taken possession of the lands of Boisdale under the pretext that they belonged to the MacNeils of Barra.Donald led his fighting force down South Uist and fought the MacNeils at North Boisdale, killing most of them.