Irish tartans...

[Rufus]

The Irish tartans are very interesting. After jonesing for one for some time, I recently received a 13 oz. wool kilt in the County Armagh tartan from KA. Being Borderlanders, this is relative to the familial roots. It looks great with a lovat green jacket.

OH MAN! AM I EVER JEALOUS!!!

I love the Armagh tartan, and it's been one of the few family lines I could trace back with some certainty. If I could afford another kilt, it would definitely be this tartan.

Congrats Mychael, even if it forces me to be a jealous git.

[macwilkin]

I'm wi' you, Jimmy...I've always liked the St. Patrick's Tartan.

I'd like to see a variant of it, or maybe even a new tartan all together, that incorporates "St. Patrick's Blue", which is a light blue colour. Few folks realise that light blue is the traditional & ancient colour associated with St. Patrick -- green only came about in the 19th century with the rise of the Irish nationalist movement.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers'(IBEW) "Sword of Light" Pipe Band has an eye-catching light blue kilt:

http://www.swordoflight.com/

The IBEW is my Dad's union, btw -- I would love to get him one of their patches for his insignia collection!

Cheers,

T.

[seamus]

oi, i'm confused...i always remember hearing that there weren't really irish tartans and that the irish didn't really wear kilts or something. what's the truth in this? do the irish wear kilts for formal at all? sorry for being ignorant!

[macwilkin]

oi, i'm confused...i always remember hearing that there weren't really irish tartans and that the irish didn't really wear kilts or something. what's the truth in this? do the irish wear kilts for formal at all? sorry for being ignorant!

The majority of the Irish tartans were designed in the late 19th and 20th centuries. The Irish Regiments of the British Army really didn't start having kilted pipers until the 19th century as well. The Irish were influenced by the Scottish, especially when it came to regimental "kit". There were some of the Irish wearing kilts as nationalist displays, like Patrick Pearse and others, but they were usually one-coloured kilts (saffron, green, etc.) and not tartan.

See this article:

http://www.angelfire.com/biz2/tommun...andAttire.html

You'll have to scroll down quite a bit, but Tom has a good portion devoted to the Irish kilt.

Cheers,

T.

[Mychael Sporrano]

I love the Armagh tartan, and it's been one of the few family lines I could trace back with some certainty.

Ditto, Rufus. County Armagh is the only tartan I own that has relatively solid ancestor ties, and I will admit that it does feel all the more special because of this. I really like that it gives a nice splash of color to my typically muted, earthy, or darkly colored wardrobe. Plus, it goes with every jacket that I own and should look right smart on both Xmas as well as St. Patty's Day. If you can manage a 33 inch waist Rufus, we can share!

Kinloch Anderson does the best work, don't they? It's one of the places that are well worth the money for the quality of the craftsmanship. I respect each and every one of their trained kiltmakers SO MUCH!

I have to admit that I initially considered buying the kilt from our sponsor, Kiltstore. I really, really, really, considered it. Having already purchased a kilt from KA I had firsthand experience with their excellent workmanship and ultimately decided to go with the known entity. I was not disappointed since the quality is evident. KA doesn't charge that much more really, and you get a nifty little tag sewn into your kilt personalized with your name and date of purchase. I keep picturing someone 50 years from now picking up one of my kits in a thrift shop, and after spying the tag saying something to the effect of," Mychael Morohovich?? That doesn't sound very Scottish!!"


Mychael

[Graham]

I'm thinking I'd like an Irish tartan before St.Pat's Day.

Hey G, if you can get your grubbies on a "Saint Patrick's Tartan" it's absolutely stunning! The Irish National is pretty tame in comparison. If I could afford a Saint Patrick's Kilt, I would jump at it in a heartbeat!!! Unfortunately, I haven't found a source that's even NEAR affordable to me.

Sorry Jimmy, I have no fondness for tartans with a lot of white in them, so St.Paddy's kilt is not for me

[Riverkilt]

Thanks for the great Doyle site. I have a photo of my great great great grandmother Nancy Doyle...a dour look on her aging face. Her father's name was Isaac, which doesn't strike me as Irish.

She married into my Scott line. As of yet don't know for sure how she got to be born in Kentucky in 1818...but Irish heritage is as good a guess as any.

Close enough to claim a sharp looking tartan

Ron