Swein McDONALD
- Born: 7 Jul 1931, Nairn
- Marriage (1): Isabella Fraser
- Marriage (2): Lynsey McKinnon
- Died: 11 May 2003, Inverness at age 71
 General Notes:
CountryCode GB
RepCode 234
Repository National Archives of Scotland
Reference CS258/1975/9778
Title Swein McDonald (Appellant) v Mitchell Construction (Scotland) Limited: Reparation
Date 1975
AccessStatus Open
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/page.cfm?objectid=12962479&method=full&siteid=89488&headline=PROPHET'S+SAD+LOSS
PROPHET'S SAD LOSS May 16 2003
Crofter seer dies aged 71
Steven Ventura
HIGHLAND seer Swein MacDonald has died at the age of 71.
Crofter MacDonald, of Ardgay, Sutherland, famously predicted the Braer oil spill on Shetland in 1993 just days before it happened.
And he was seen by believers as a successor to Scotland's most famous prophet, the Brahan Seer - the 17th- century mystic who is believed to have foretold the Highland clearances and the discovery of North Sea oil.
MacDonald was born in Nairn on the seventh day of the seventh month, a date of astral significance.
He worked as a stonemason in Glasgow, but returned to the family croft when bricks fell on his head, almost killing him.
He claimed to have predicted the marriage of Prince Charles and Diana and their subsequent split, as well as the birth of Prince William within a year of their marriage.
He also said he had foreseen the Falklands War, poll tax riots and, locally, the closure of the Invergordon aluminium smelter in the early 80s with the loss of hundreds of jobs.
The Daily Record's psychic barber, Gordon Smith, said yesterday: "Swein MacDonald helped to guide and direct so many people who found themselves at a crossroads in their lives.
"He often offered hope to the hopeless and enlightenment to others whose views of life seemed clouded.
"He knew it was his time to join his friends and loved ones in a spirit world which he had a great knowledge of during his own life, certain that his gift of seership will be born through another who is preparing to come into the world."
MacDonald once said of his own predictions: "Sometimes, they are a wee bit out. The images are in my mind's eye. They flash by just like on television.
"But I don't always understand them."
He also claimed his powers worked best when he was angry.
He said: "One time, I went down to the local bar and met this character.
"He said to me, `Are you still telling those fortunes - taking money from the poor lassies?
"I think you're a crook, that's all you are. You tell me what I'll be like in the near future.'
"I said, `You don't have a future. In a year's time I wouldn't like to be in your shoes because you'll have no need for shoes'.
"A month later he was going down to Tain in his motorcar, a foreign visitor came round the corner on the wrong side of the road and rammed him.
"He was disabled from the neck downwards and spent two to three years in a wheelchair before he died."
Highland Council convener Alison Magee said last night: "It is sad that we have lost such a well- known local personality."
Swein married Isabella Fraser.
Swein next married Lynsey McKinnon.
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