These men were led by John MacDougall of Lorn , who was the cousin of John III Comyn , Lord of Badenoch , nephew of King John Balliol .

The English border was not far distant ; all of the local castles were strongly held Defending by Edward 's forces Causation ; and , perhaps most important of all , the Lordship of Galloway , the old Balliol patrimony , was adjacent to Carrick , and many of the local families were hostile to King Robert the Bruce and his cause .

When his brothers Thomas and Alexander attempted a landing Self_motion on the shores of Loch Ryan , they met with Come_together disaster Catastrophe at the hands of Dungal MacDougall , the leading Balliol supporter in the area .

In it the Bruce loyalist supporters of King David II of Scotland ( son of Robert the Bruce ) surprised Edward Balliol and his supporters while they were in bed , and completely threw Motion them out of Scotland .

Balliol had seized Arrest the Scottish crown after the Battle Hostile_encounter of Dupplin Moor ( 10–11 August 1332 ) .