W. F. Skene suggested that although the words have quite different meanings that this name was linked to the earlier pre-Norse kingdom of Dál Riata.
Somhairle Mac Domhnail | Clann Somhairle | Clann na nGael GAA | Gille Míchéil, chief of ''Clann meic Duib'' |
Gofraid was claimed as an ancestor in the eighth generation of Somerled, progenitor of the Clann Somhairle and thus Clan Donald, and it seems that these entries were added to glorify Clan Donald.
Although their descent from Godred Crovan is through the female line, Alex Woolf believes the Clann Somhairle (Clan Donald and Clan MacDougall) or the Lords of the Isles can be regarded as a "cadet branch" of the Uí Ímair, as they apparently based their claim to the Isles on this descent (according to Woolf).