Aileach was built in 1991 at the MacDonald boatyard in Moville, Co. Donegal, Eire, where the MacDonald Brothers have been building wooden boats since their ancestors fled Scotland in 1745. She was designed by Scotsman Colin Mudie - famed for his yacht design as well as important historic replicas. The primary purpose behind her building was to further knowledge of the design and use of Celtic Galleys. No remains of Celtic Galleys have ever been recovered, although the Trust is keen to encourage archaeological exploration for galley remains. Unlike the longships of' the Vikings, galleys were not preserved in burial mounds. In Scotland timber was precious. When a galley became old the sound planks were re-used, others burned for fuel.

Great Seal of Islay and the Isles (1176)

The uses of such vessels are well remembered. The undecked galley (sometimes referred to as a Nyvaig or Birlinn) was the vessel developed from Viking lines which enabled Somerled, the founder of Clan Donald, to break the power of the Norsemen in the twelfth century. For the next 400 years these beautiful craft, swifter and more manoeuverable than their forbears, formed the sole means of communication in the kingdom created by Somer1ed and his sons. Their domain spanned 25,000 square miles and 500 islands.

The design of Aileach was based on quite detailed representations of galleys on medieval graveslabs, found in the Hebrides and all along the western seaboard of Scotland. The effigy which provided the most detail is on a MacLeod gravestone at Rodel church on Harris. Estimations of length and beam came from Scottish State Papers as well as from the interpretation of carvings.

Carving on gravestone at Rodel Church in Harris

Celtic Galleys are distinguishable from Norse longships by having a straight sternpost on which a rudder is hung, instead of a steering-oar over the starboard side. The design of Aileach's tiller was difficult as there are no tillers represented in the carvings. Aileach has a double-handed tiller, curving around her wide stern. The other major difference between Celtic and Norse vessels is that the Celts rivetted the planks instead of lashing them together. Aileach is a light boat, designed to flex in waves, and with her shallow draft she can negotiate shallow channels and be hauled up beaches out of the reach of weather.

Aileach was named after a Scottish princess who crossed the sea about 1500 years ago to marry an Irish king. A stone fortress overlooking Lough Foyle in Ireland still bears her name. The marriage symbolises the ancient links between the coasts of Ireland and Scotland.