Irish kilt books

[O'Callaghan]

When folks like me say there is no "historical" evidence for "Irish kilts" what we mean is that there is no reason in the historical record to believe that the kilt ever formed part of the native Irish dress. Kilts were not part of Irish fashion. They were never worn by any significant number of Irish men. For a time they were worn by a relatively small sub-set of Irish nationalists in an attempt to define a "national costume" but this was not entirely successful, as the article shows.

You said "it is without historical basis". A correct statement would have been "it WAS without historical basis" in the 19th century. But there is a historical basis now, you see, from those Irish nationalists who wore the kilt in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The facts are not seriously in dispute, but there was still an incorrect statement in your post. Call it nit-picking or even a matter of the grammar police correcting your tense, but I find it too irritating not to say anything.

ETA: Change IS to WAS and I will stop complaining.

[OC Richard]

You said "it is without historical basis"...there is a historical basis now...

If the argument is that "history" is anything prior the the present moment, then I could sew up a kilt out of fuschia neoprene and the moment it is completed it is an historical garment, if you will excuse an absurd example that makes the point.

We all know the facts and we all know what Matt meant, that the kilt had no ancient traditional existence in Ireland.

"History" means an account or record of what happened in the past and sadly there are large chunks of Scotland's and Ireland's past which were never recorded. The costume of Scotland and Ireland is one of those areas and there isn't much "history" to go on. McClintock gathers all the evidence which was available to him at that time.

[macwilkin]

If the argument is that "history" is anything prior the the present moment, then I could sew up a kilt out of fuschia neoprene and the moment it is completed it is an historical garment, if you will excuse an absurd example that makes the point.

We all know the facts and we all know what Matt meant, that the kilt had no ancient traditional existence in Ireland.

"History" means an account or record of what happened in the past and sadly there are large chunks of Scotland's and Ireland's past which were never recorded. The costume of Scotland and Ireland is one of those areas and there isn't much "history" to go on. McClintock gathers all the evidence which was available to him at that time.

Originally, the artist Seán Keating headed up a committee to design a uniform in a suitably modern-but-Celtic style, as was the general artistic bent of the Irish state at the time. Keating’s design called for a saffron léine tunic with six rows of black braid, black cuffs, a blue brat cloak, pantaloons, and a black Balmoral bonnet with saffron feather.



See: http://www.andrewcusack.com/2010/04/...-blue-hussars/

T.

[Chas]

See: http://www.andrewcusack.com/2010/04/...-blue-hussars/

T.

Todd, thanks for the great link. It brought back a lot of memories of my early days in the RAF. It was only about 10 years ago that the RAF closed down its Recruiting Office in Dublin. It was one of the five great prestige postings and much sought after. Happy Days.

Regards

Chas

[O'Callaghan]

If the argument is that "history" is anything prior the the present moment, then I could sew up a kilt out of fuschia neoprene and the moment it is completed it is an historical garment, if you will excuse an absurd example that makes the point.

We all know the facts and we all know what Matt meant, that the kilt had no ancient traditional existence in Ireland.

"History" means an account or record of what happened in the past and sadly there are large chunks of Scotland's and Ireland's past which were never recorded. The costume of Scotland and Ireland is one of those areas and there isn't much "history" to go on. McClintock gathers all the evidence which was available to him at that time.

If you think the 19th century was five minutes ago you must be very old, that's all I can say!