Irish Tartans
©2008 Matthew A. C. Newsome, GTS, FSA Scot
originally published in The Scottish Banner, March 2008
Last
month in this space we dealt with the topic of English district tartans.
March being the month of St. Patrick’s Day, it seems fitting to give the
Irish their due. I cannot tell you how many times I have been stopped
walking down America’s city streets in my kilt and asked, “Are you
Irish?” Why this association of kilts with Ireland? One cannot simply
chalk it up to geographical ignorance (though that is no doubt part of
it). Most major cities in the USA have annual St. Patrick Day parades,
especially those with a large Irish-American population. And these
parades invariably feature kilted pipe bands. So the kilt is thought of
as Irish in many people’s minds.
Of course the kilt is a Scottish
garment, through and through! The association of the kilt with Ireland
comes mainly from the large percentage of Scottish immigrants into
Northern Ireland since the seventeenth century (the so called “Scots
Irish” or Ulster Scots). In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,
the solid-color kilt (saffron or emerald green) was adopted as a symbol of
Gaelic Irish nationalism, which is why many Irish pipers today can be seen
in solid kilts. The Irish regiments of the British Army also adopted the
saffron kilt as a duty uniform for their pipe bands, and Irish regiments
in the British, Canadian and South African armies still wear kilts, as
well as pipers with the Republic of Ireland's Defense Forces.
But the use of the kilt in Ireland is
not the topic I wish to address this month. Rather, I want to discuss the
various Irish tartans that are gaining in popularity. For the most part,
these tartans are regional, and of relatively recent origin.
The most well known of the Irish
tartans are the county tartans designed by Polly Wittering for the House
of Edgar around 1996. This line includes tartans for all 32 Irish
counties as well as the Irish National tartan. Identification with one’s
county of origin has always been strong among the Irish diaspora.
Consequently these tartans have proven extremely popular, especially with
those of Irish descent currently living in North America. It is important
to note, however, that none of these tartans are formally recognized by
the counties for which they are named.
Around the same time Lochcarron of
Scotland released a line of tartans named for the Irish provinces (Connaught,
Leinster, Munster and Ulster). In addition to these, they produced a
Connemara tartan (for that region in West Connaught), and three “All
Ireland” tartans of various colors. Like the Irish County tartans, these
are all new designs, with the exception of the Ulster.
More recently still, English based
Marton Mills has created a line of tartans called “County Crest” tartans.
There are 32 tartans named for the Irish counties, with colors taken from
the heraldic arms of each. It would seem that the popularity of Irish
tartans continues to grow.
The only Irish district tartan that
is truly historic is the Ulster tartan. This iconic tartan is based on
fabric unearthed in 1956 on a farm in Dungiven. A suit of clothing was
found dating to c. 1600-1650. According to textile expert Audrey Henshall,
of the Edinburgh Museum of Antiquities, who examined the outfit, the cloth
was most likely woven in Donegal, but exported to Scotland to be made into
Highland trews. In 1958 a reconstruction of the outfit was made and put
on display in the Ulster Museum. Sometime in the 1970s the tartan was
recorded by the Scottish Tartans Society as the “Ulster” tartan, and it
has remained popular ever since.
Because of the centuries spent buried
in peat, the tartan had been stained a rather brownish color. Textile
experts suggest that the original colors were most likely red, green, and
yellow. The Ulster tartan today is woven in both the original colors as
well as the brown tones of cloth as it appeared when unearthed.
Although most people think of Irish
tartans as being designated by district, there are some Irish family name
tartans, as well. Though some of these are legitimate and recognized by
some authority, the majority are fashion designs, and some are downright
bogus in origin! Space does not allow us a comprehensive study, but a few
representative examples will suffice.
One popular Irish family tartan is
that of Clan Cian, also called O’Carroll. This was designed by Ralph and
Patricia Saunders for the Clan Cian of Ely in 1983, and is recorded with
the Chief Herald of Ireland. There is an active Clan Cian Society that
uses and promotes this tartan, so its provenance is well documented.
The same cannot be said for many
other Irish family tartans. Many, such as Forde, O’Keefe, and O’Farrell,
among others, have long been attributed to a text called Clans
Originaux, said to have been published in Parish in 1880. Little was
known of this book other than it was housed at Pendleton Mills in Oregon,
and supposedly contained the earliest examples of Irish family tartans.
Research in 2003 by the Scottish Tartans Authority revealed, however, that
Clans Originaux was not a published book, but rather a sample book
containing examples of tartan cloth (like those found in many tartan shops
today). Further, they discovered that the 185 tartans included were all
Scottish tartans – not an Irish name among them!
So where did these Irish name tartans
come from? They were originally recorded by William H. Johnston after a
trip to Pendleton Mills in the 1970s. Pendleton has many other tartan
sample books in their selection, and these Irish tartans may very well
have come from one of them. Removing Clans Originaux from the
equation, the next oldest date for these Irish name tartans puts them in
the 1960s and 70s. And quite a number of them are recognizable variants
of traditional Scottish designs.
For example, both the O’Keefe tartan
mentioned above, and the well known Irish Tara or Murphy tartan (datable
only to 1967), are color changes of the MacLean of Duart tartan. Another
Irish tartan, the Clodagh, was supposedly found in a bog, like the
historic Ulster tartan. This cannot be proven, however, and the actual
earliest known date for it is 1970. It is a color change of the Royal
Stewart tartan.
Other Irish name tartans based on the
Royal Stewart include the O’Farrell and the Shaughnessy. There seems to
have been a market during that time for Irish name tartans produced to
order. A woolen mill receives a request for an “O’Malley” tartan and one
is quickly created by switching a few colors of a preexisting Scottish
design. What the customer doesn’t know won’t hurt him!
Today people are still producing new
Irish family name tartans, most of which could strictly be considered
“personal” tartans or “fashion” tartans, the exception being those backed
by a recognized head of family, such as the Cian. The Irish County
tartans remain the most popular.
PICTURE: The Ulster tartan.
