Irish Tartans?

[Celtic Cyclist]

I am a proud owner of the Cork. Fabric is from House of Edgar. Stunning!

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Todd-- didn't think for a moment that you were "downing" Irish tartans. My point was that because there isn't any central (or local for that matter) "tartan authority" in Ireland that there was no way an Irish tartan could be "official".

Frankly, the real situation is that nobody in Ireland really cares about kilts or tartans, and some (and this includes a few of the Irish Chiefs) are positively "anti" the whole kilt/tartan thing. My attitude is that wearing Irish tartan to proclaim your heritage is a whole lot less offensive than the culturally embarrassing Paddy Whackery you see most of the Irish diaspora trotting around in on St. Patrick's Day.

I don't know... call me a fuddy duddy if you will, but I'd much rather see someone in a kilt than dressed up like the Leprechaun on a box of Lucky Charms.

[macwilkin]

Todd-- didn't think for a moment that you were "downing" Irish tartans. My point was that because there isn't any central (or local for that matter) "tartan authority" in Ireland that there was no way an Irish tartan could be "official".

Frankly, the real situation is that nobody in Ireland really cares about kilts or tartans, and some (and this includes a few of the Irish Chiefs) are positively "anti" the whole kilt/tartan thing. My attitude is that wearing Irish tartan to proclaim your heritage is a whole lot less offensive than the culturally embarrassing Paddy Whackery you see most of the Irish diaspora trotting around in on St. Patrick's Day.

I don't know... call me a fuddy duddy if you will, but I'd much rather see someone in a kilt than dressed up like the Leprechaun on a box of Lucky Charms.

Okay, I see where you're coming from.

And I agree with you 100% about the "paddy whackery" business! I'll have to remember that one. :mrgreen:

T.

[BoldHighlander]

Frankly, the real situation is that nobody in Ireland really cares about kilts or tartans

Well, that isn't entirely true. I'd agree that the majority of the population doesn't care, but there is a grassroots (albeit small) group called the Irish Kilt Club seeking to make the kilt the national dress.

This is their website & egroup:

http://www.somebody.to/irishkiltclub.htm

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/irishk...guid=309956929

[Mr. MacDougall]

That web page hasn't been updated since '04, and the mailing list doesn't seem to be more than barely ticking over. I suspect it's not much of a movement.

[macwilkin]

That web page hasn't been updated since '04, and the mailing list doesn't seem to be more than barely ticking over. I suspect it's not much of a movement.

It's my understanding that one of the founding members is very ill, so you might cut them a little slack.

T.

[McClef]

I wore my House of Edgar County Antrim in Ireland and it went down well.

It might be no more Irish than the name but it's a lovely tartan and in the end it's what counts - a tartan will always be liked (or disliked) more than the name it bears.

[BoldHighlander]

That web page hasn't been updated since '04, and the mailing list doesn't seem to be more than barely ticking over. I suspect it's not much of a movement.

It's my understanding that one of the founding members is very ill, so you might cut them a little slack.

T.

I believe you are correct on the founder being very ill, at least I know he has been.

As for the list not being very active, perhaps not, but as an associate (I'm not a full member) I do receive quarterly newsletters that show otherwise.

[Mr. MacDougall]

It's my understanding that one of the founding members is very ill, so you might cut them a little slack.

First of all, I'm very sorry this person is ill. I deal with illness, and people who are ill, on a daily basis, so I do understand the meaning and implication of it.

Secondly, my original comment was an observation, not an attack. I have nothing invested in the question of the kilt in Ireland, so it's not my intent to denigrate it, or the movement. I'm simply observing that it doesn't seem to be very active.

Third, I'd like to note that if one person is that important to a movement, it probably isn't much of a movement. But I'm willing to admit I could be wrong about that, since it's obviously important to you, and, as previously mentioned, it's not important, either way, to me. So, sure... all the slack you like.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

[FONT="Georgia"][COLOR="DarkGreen"][B]there is a grassroots (albeit small) group called the Irish Kilt Club seeking to make the kilt the national dress.

There is also a small group that wants to return to Brehon Law.

The thing is, more than half the Irish population is under 25 years of age. These young people see themselves as European, as opposed to the traditional view of fifty years ago when the Irish tended to see themselves in a very limited sense as "Irish".

In the seventy-odd years since independence the Irish people have moved far beyond a false sense of "post-colonialism", and now rightly see themselves as a modern and highly progressive country. As the ethnic composition of the nation shifts due to immigration from the former European east-bloc, as well as an influx of Chinese and Third World peoples, there may be-- at some point in the distant future-- a searching for a cultural identity that would embrace tartan and kilts.

My own view is that this is more likely to be caused by the 60 million in the Irish diaspora, than a populist movement in Ireland.