Ancient Irish high king Tighearnmas reigned for seventy – five years.
He is said to have been the first chieftain who attempted to smelt gold in Ireland.
He initiated the use of colours as an indication of rank, ie slaves had one colour,
Peasants /kern (yomanry) had two colours, nobles five colours, and Ollamh/poets/royalty had six colours,
NB. The four masters however ascribe this to Eochaidh Eadghadhach.
The use of colours in Ireland is the origin of the scotch plaid.
Scottish highland culture influenced by early Irish culture
as the name Scot is the early name for the Irish,the Irish kingdom
in Scotland the area of argyle meaning little Ireland
One of the earliest races to come to Ireland the "fir bolgs" meaning
men of bags from the leather bags with which they were compelled to
carry reference to early sporran the fir bolgs only came to Ireland
The fir bolgs originate from Greece who themselves have their own kilt
The original skirtlike tunics in Ireland had stripes to denote rank
which later developed into the plaid
Ancient plaid parchments found in Irish bogs date as old as
any found in Scotland and have no connection or equivalent with any
Scottish clan tartan
Irish clans have their own tartans,i.e. Tara,Kennedy,Murphy,forde,
Murray,Fitzpatrick (prince of ossary x 5 plaids), Butler, Bradley, Casey Donnelly, Quinn, O'shaugnessy, Doyle, Finnigan, Regan, Fitzgerald, Flynn, Sullivan, Gallgher, Kelly, McCarthy.
Irish clans can be directly traced back to the 5th century whereas
Scottish clans can be traced back to 12th century
Ancient racial mix of cultures in Ireland i.e. Danes,Saxons,Norman,
etc had a result of clans influenced by indigenous cultural tribes
Irish were noted right back to roman times for
their love of colourfull dress indeed the Anglo/Norman's regarded
the "wild Irish" as dressing above their station ????hello!!
1645 at battle of killsyth Scotland montrose instructed his warriors
mostly Irish over to help to put away their plaids and knot their
tunics/leines to fight.
N.B.;their was a regular exchange of warriors to and from each country
in terms of political pull/tributes/kinship
October 1562 description by English historian Camden on the Irish
chieftain Shane O'Neill at the court of Elizabeth 11 and his escort
of warriors (Irish/Scots gallowglass) he refers to long hair,saffron
dyed leines/tunics,fur mantles and wielding axes
N.B.,Scottish gallowglasses soldiers had a profound influence on Irish
culture
1594 lughaidh O'Cleary in Scotland distinguished the Irish from his
Scot hibredians by their colourfull dress
Nicholas d'arfelle ambassador to king Louis x11 of France to James
king of Scotland in a letter to his master wrote the Scots like
the Irish wear a large full coloured saffron leine with a garment
wrapped around the waist and tied with a belt and hangs to the
knee
Tartan found in Irish bog in dungivan dated 1500-1650
Boys in Gaelic league wore kilts in Victorian times
1880 hon. Bernard Fitzpatrick wore kilt in house of commons as MP
of portarlington and he was a leading member of the Gaelic league
Pierce O'Mahony 1850-1931 home rule MP wore saffron kilt,black coat
green cape
Douglas hyde founder of Gaelic league wore the Irish kilt
Eamon Ceannt who was executed for his part in the 1916 rising
was married in a kilt
The Irish kern(non professional soldiers) wore wrap around leine
tunics and brats as described in a 16th century print "Irish
chieftains" in the Ashmolean museum oxford U.K.,which were worn
both in Ireland and Scotland and which later developed into the
kilt
The leine croiche was a large shirt worn in battle by the Irish kern
"wild Irish" and Scottish highlander soldiers could be worn as
heavily pleated as possible to provide protection against sword
blows and for the self funded wild Irish a lot cheaper than armour
and allows more freedom of movement in battle or on the run
in the highlands or in bogs
Irish pipe bands wear kilts
Irish cultural dancers wore kilts
The Irish army band wear the traditional military saffron kilt
as well as Irish regiments of the British army
The word kilt is actually from the Norse meaning to tuck up a
garment, many Vikings who settled in Ireland wore kilts e.g.
Magnus Barelegs
A mans dress found in the bogs of kilcommon Tipperary dated to
16th/17th century had tartan in it
The court dress "the houppelonde" was adopted by the Irish
described thus; 25-35 yards of linen"pleats on pleats their
pleated are as thicke as pleats may lie, which was another
development of wild Irish dress
The Irish Clann system due to the statutes of kilkenny did not
develope to the extent as it did in Scotland, so their are no rules as to what one can wear,
but typical plaids have the Irish military saffron,green, white and orange along with
colours of the clanns coated arms, or their clann tartanor county tartan as below
