Mary Campbell (Highland Mary) Mary Campbell (Highland Mary) Mary Campbell also known as Highland Mary, (was christened "Margaret", March 1763 – 1786) she was the daughter of a sailor in a revenue cutter named Archibald Campbell of Daling, whose wife was Agnes Campbell of Achnamore or Auchamore, by Dunoon on the Cowal Peninsula in 1762. Mary was the eldest of a family of four. Robert Burns had an affair with her after he felt that he had been 'deserted' by Jean Armour following her move to Paisley in March 1786. The brief affair started in April 1786, the parting took place on 14 May
Cowal in the 19th century, the traditional provinces were formally abolished, in favour of counties aligned with sheriffdoms, so Cowal became merely a part of the county of Argyll. The history of the Cowal is tied into the clans who inhabited it. Seemingly, in the 11th century, an unidentified heiress of the Cenel Comgaill married Anrothan, grandson of the king of the Cenél nEógain, from Ulster. Clan traditions argue that Anrothan's lands were passed down to a descendant named Aodha Alainn O'Neil, who had the following sons: Excavations carried out at Castle MacEwen showed the site had several stages of development