Travelling to Ireland

[Andy Proffitt]

Get rain gear and sturdy walking shoes.

[Woodsman]

I was in Ireland about two months back with Barleyjuice and went about kilted some of the time and had no bad experiences whatsoever, even in the pubs. Spent time in Dublin, Killarney, and Galway, and got even more compliments/questions than I do in the states.

Get a good waterproof hat and jacket and wear a heavy kilt pin - it gets windy!

Thanks for sharing the encouraging experience. With the first responses I received on this thread I was feeling a little discouraged. Now I feel a little more encourged.

Any experience with location for a kilt pin on a USAKilt casual. Above the patch?

[ehiker]

Woodsman,

Wear a kilt, not because you're Irish or Scottish or whatever nationality you want to claim, but because you want to wear a kilt.

Simple as that.

I'm trying to make wearing some of my kilts be just like wearing a pair of cargo shorts or jeans - no big deal and nothing to make much ado of.

I was wearing my Survivor UK last night at a woodworking function and another guild member approached me and asked if I was Irish or Scottish.

My reply was, "Does it matter?"

I'm married to a Campbell and can barely trace some Irish heritage; I'm mostly English and German.

But who cares? I enjoy wearing the kilt, so I wear the kilt. Why pigeonhole myself even further by saying I wear it because of what some piece of land they were on when one of my ancestors was born?

You want to wear a kilt in Ireland? Then be an American lad who wears a kilt - for fun, for comfort, for whatever - in Ireland.

My two cents, for what it's worth.

[Woodsman]

Thanks ehiker, I like that attitude. I too like the feeling of wearing a kilt when I have it on and forget that I'm even wearing it. I'll take your advice and wear the kilt (as I damn well please) and report back, hopefully with some grand photos from Ireland.

Woodsman,

Wear a kilt, not because you're Irish or Scottish or whatever nationality you want to claim, but because you want to wear a kilt.

Simple as that.

I'm trying to make wearing some of my kilts be just like wearing a pair of cargo shorts or jeans - no big deal and nothing to make much ado of.

I was wearing my Survivor UK last night at a woodworking function and another guild member approached me and asked if I was Irish or Scottish.

My reply was, "Does it matter?"

I'm married to a Campbell and can barely trace some Irish heritage; I'm mostly English and German.

But who cares? I enjoy wearing the kilt, so I wear the kilt. Why pigeonhole myself even further by saying I wear it because of what some piece of land they were on when one of my ancestors was born?

You want to wear a kilt in Ireland? Then be an American lad who wears a kilt - for fun, for comfort, for whatever - in Ireland.

My two cents, for what it's worth.

[CMcG]

<snip> But who cares? I enjoy wearing the kilt, so I wear the kilt. Why pigeonhole myself even further by saying I wear it because of what some piece of land they were on when one of my ancestors was born?

<snip> I'll take your advice and wear the kilt (as I damn well please) and report back, hopefully with some grand photos from Ireland.

I realize that was a rhetorical question, ehiker, but it is one that deserves an answer. The Scots care. The kilt is an important symbol of their national identity and some (many?) of them don't take it too kindly when other people wear it as they "damn well please."

Don't get me wrong, I fully support Woodsman's desire to wear a kilt in Ireland or anywhere else. One cannot, however, ignore the origins of the kilt and the meanings it has for other people, even if one chooses to wear it without regard for those things.

I look forwarded to kilted photos from Ireland!

[ehiker]

I realize that was a rhetorical question, ehiker, but it is one that deserves an answer. The Scots care. The kilt is an important symbol of their national identity and some (many?) of them don't take it too kindly when other people wear it as they "damn well please."

Don't get me wrong, I fully support Woodsman's desire to wear a kilt in Ireland or anywhere else. One cannot, however, ignore the origins of the kilt and the meanings it has for other people, even if one chooses to wear it without regard for those things.

I look forwarded to kilted photos from Ireland!

I'm sorry if you construed a lack of respect for the kilt in reading my statement. That wasn't my intent.

I do indeed revere and respect the kilt and its origins. I love and respect my wife's family and her heritage.

I'm simply saying that you can't go through life worrying about offending every person you might run into. So I don't.

I won't further de-rail Woodsman's thread with any other comments.

[Woodsman]

CMcG,
Ditto for me on that. I wear the kilt with respect and with pride. Although of Irish descent I'm proud too to be representing Scotland by wearing the kilt -I'm well aware of it's origins. The "Damn well please" was more directed to the non-believers. I suppose my fascination with the kilt comes from my pride in all celtic nations and helping perpetuate that culture. I like to think of myself as belonging to part of that history.