"A BRIEF NOTE concerning the Island of Rathlin in Ulster, extracted of Scotichronicon."...

It is certain by the chronicles of Man, Melrose, Scotichronicon, &c., that in the year 1265 and 49 Henry III., Magnus King of Norway passed away his right of the Isle of Man and the south isles of Scotland, as also the north isles, to Alexander III. King of Scotland. But at that very time it is as certain by authentic records that the Bissetts or Missetts were seized of the Isle of Rathlin as a parcel of the kingdom of Ireland, and so continued above 40 years; so that by no means it can be supposed that the Isle of Rathlin was then passed away to the King of Scotland, but remained as formerly a parcel of the kingdom of Ireland near or adjacent thereunto. Whereas it is alleged that the Rathlins belong to the jurisdiction of the sheriffdom of Tarbar, it is to be understood that the south isles of Scotland were assigned to that jurisdiction; but not before the year 1503. For at that time James IV. enacted in his 6th Parliament, cap. 59, for that there is a great abusion in the north and south isles, for lack of justices and sheriffs, and therefore the people are almost gone wild; it is therefore ordained that there should be a sheriff made for the south isles, and to have his place in the Tarbar of Loch Kinkeran; so that this new institution of the sheriffdom of Tarbar cannot prejudice the right of the Crown of England to the Rathlins, which, since the conquest of Ulster, was annexed to the county of Antrim both for temporal and spiritual jurisdiction.

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