Why Might A Clan NOT Have A Tartan?

[O'Callaghan]

I could muddy the waters by throwing Irish clans into the discussion. There were once many of them, and a couple of dozen of the chiefs were once recognised by the Irish government, even though it is unconstitutional for them to recognise titles of nobility! There is no provision for Irish clan chiefs to recognise tartans, but tartan registries will register any tartan that anyone submits, as long as it is different and they are given a sample. So, naturally there are registered tartans for a fair number of Irish family names, although some of these families were never clans, and many actual Irish clans have no corresponding tartan. Very few of these tartans are readily available at a decent price anyway.

Of course, the tartan mills spread the idea that Irish tartans go by county and not family name, but Irish county tartans are an invention of the mills in the first place! (and not a very old one). OTOH, there is a more authentic tradition of solid colour Irish kilts (usually either dark green or saffron), although it really only goes back to the late 1800s.

And yes, there is a chief of Clan Callaghan, although he lives in Barcelona and his first language is probably Spanish, but only a defunct clan association, albeit when it did exist it was based in Mallow, County Cork (and not in the United States, as most of the Scottish clan associations seem to be). There is also a Callaghan tartan, also not very old, and ScotWeb even sell it, but the chances of an Irish clan chief pronouncing in any way on tartans is close to zero (whether in English, Irish or Spanish, LOL!).