Hey everybody,

I am ashamed to say that I know very little about Irish and Scottish history IN Ireland and Scotland. I can talk for days about the Irish-American experience, but I can talk about about 5 seconds about Irish history. Therefore, I wanted to ask my wonderfully knowledgeable boardmates if they could share with me some information about what role the kilt plays (if any role at all) in Ireland and if the Irish ever wore them, or why Irish-Americans wear them to represent Ireland.

The kilt has always seemed like a Scottish garment to me and when I put on my tartan, I wear it to represent my Scottish heritage, but I have my skirt made with County Derry tartan--an Irish tartan. To me, it was made to represent both sides of my heritage. However, another member pointed out a piece of history that I forgot about: that Irish and Scottish relations were not always friendly and that got the wheels in my brain turning and I wondered if the kilt, or wearing the kilt, was ever affected by that.

Basically, all rambling aside, I was wondering if the Irish wear kilts at all. Is wearing a kilt on St. Patricks Day misrepresenting Ireland by wearing a garment predominantly Scottish? At the end of the day, my Derry tartan skirt is still beloved by me and I wouldnt trade it for any other tartan, but I always love learning a bit about history. Forgive my ignorance as it's truly a bit embarrassing.