Irish Tartans
Matthew Newsome, GTS, ©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.
Originally published the Scottish Banner, March 2008.
