asked if i was irish

[PGH]

I encounter a mixture of people who think I'm Irish or Scottish respectively, and I am of Irish descent, not Scots.

Most Americans encounter Irish pipe bands more often than Scottish ones, and that is probably where they most often see the kilt. Look no further for a reason.

Of course, Republicans (Irish nationalists, not the GOP) adopted the kilt more than a century ago, which IMHO gainsays all the 'no historical basis' folk, i.e. it's their basis for saying that which is actually a bit lacking. I'd say there's no basis atall for saying that the events of the 19th century aren't old enough to be history in the 21st.

That isn't to say it wasn't copied from the Scots, but it's also true that the Scots adapted the kilt from the brat and leine worn by their ancestors who came to Scotland from Ireland. And of course not all the highlanders were of Irish descent, but Ireland is still where the brat and leine came from, whichever way you slice it.

It's true also that the pipes didn't originate in Ireland, but then they didn't originate in Scotland either, but somewhere in the Middle East. If the modern Irish great pipes are based on Scottish ones minus a drone, it's because no-one has a model for the old two-drone pipes that were played in both places before the Scots added a third drone.

Have I missed any of the usual arguments that people raise? Don't think so.

I play in a Scottish bagpipe band in America. Every year we are asked to play "Scotland the Brave" in St Patrick's Day parades. After how many years will "Scotland the Brave" be considered an Irish tune?

Most "Irish" pipe bands in America dress up like Scottish bands. You know, there are pipe bands in England that dress in kilts etc. The difference is nobody in England would claim joint ownership of Scottish heritage because a handful of people in England dressed that way.

Ironically enough, both the traditional Scottish pipe bands and Irish ones in saffron kilts are dressed as facsimiles of British soldiers.

As far as the bagpipe goes, there is no definitive proof of origin. It's just as likely to be central Europe as far east. To my mind, more likely to be central Europe since that is where the greatest variety of bagpipe are found today.

The evidence regarding bagpipes use in the British Isles suggests it reached Scotland and Ireland via England. Yes, England.