Irish families as septs of Highland Clans

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There is a lot here that as a historian I can try to untangle some of for you, but also keep in mind that the term sept can be tricky and some of the supposed lists of septs and clans they are attached to should not be trusted. For instance in the case of occupational names (Gowan being roughly the Gaelic equivalent of Smith) one can have a really hard time tracking down what clan affiliations if any might have existed without knowing where in Scotland the family originated.

Sept is an English word that designates a branch of a family. My understanding is that it is similar to the Gaelic term Siol - seed or progeny. As I understand it the sept lists that we find today were mostly created in the 19th century linking surnames to clans so that people without a clan could claim a tartan. Some lists as far as I can tell are better than others, but I am not expert on that.

Fitz (or Fiz) is of Anglo-Norman origin and means "son of", so it can be found independently throughout the British Isles. Without going into to too much detail on the Norman attempts at conquest in Ireland or the Scottish invitation of Normans into the realm, I will say that after 1066 Normans spread far and wide across the Isles.

Kirk - Is a Scots word for church. It's origins are a bit murky with some saying it derives from Greek while others saying it comes from Old Norse. In any case its use in naming conventions usually comes from place names. For instance Kirkpatrick might take it's name from the Church of St. Patrick. You might also see the name as Gilpatrick or Kilpatrick "servant" of Patrick. Because these are names derived from places or the like, they are often found in different locations and can be independent in origin, like occupational names.

Mac - Mac is Gaelic and means "son of". Now this gets complicated for two reasons. Both the Irish and the Scots use Mac, so here I'll return to Gowan one might see a MacGowan and it could be either Scots or Irish. To make matters worse the Plantations of Ireland in the 16th-17th centuries brought many a Scottish family over to Ireland.

O' - O' is Gaelic means "descendant of". In my limited research have rarely seen O'XXXX listed as a sept, save in the case of Clan MacDonald. Given the history of Clan Donald this is not surprising as they traditionally have longer ties to Ireland and in fact some of Somerled's descendants are recorded as some of the first Gallowglass in Ireland.

One has to also keep in mind that Scotland and Ireland had a long connection. The Scoti people are said to have been Irish Gaels who settled in the west of Scotland and who culturally supplanted the native Pics. Robert Bruce's brother Edward claimed himself King of Ireland with support from the O'Neill family in 1317. And of course the Plantations cannot be ignored.

As for MacManus' relationship to Colquhoun. I cannot say for sure, but the historic lands of the Colquhouns are said to be Dunbartonshire which is on the west cost. If I had to hazard a guess this is why a family with the name meaning "Son of Mangus" fell under their banner. My understanding of Colquhouns is that they were Kilpatricks who took the name Colquhoun from the barony they were granted.

Take what I say with a grain of salt. I am by no means an expert in genealogy, I'm a historian who dabbles in knowing the families of Scotland and Ireland.