Irish kilt books

[flairball]

As I recall from a thread here some years ago the use of kilts in Ireland was always connected to politics, or the military. In a nutshell, as I remember it, the politicians from northern Ireland adopted kilt wearing as a way to stand out in parliament. Likewise, Irish regiments of the British military also followed the Scottish design and wore kilts to differentiate themselves from the English regiments. And as has been discussed in this thread, an Irish nationalist movement adopted the klt, and tried to encourage its wearing.

These things do not however make up a cultural tradition of kilt wearing in Ireland, but a history of kilt use in Ireland. In every case the kilt was used to make a statement, as a uniform. That statement would be understood by the Irish, and anyone seen wearing a kilt would be associated with the movement or military. The kilt was not ever accepted as cultural Irish dress, however. To be accepted as a cultural form of Irish dress it would have to be accepted by those who chose not to wear it, and not just seen as a statement.

Of course, none of this means that you can't just wear a kilt because you like it.

[macwilkin]

As I recall from a thread here some years ago the use of kilts in Ireland was always connected to politics, or the military. In a nutshell, as I remember it, the politicians from northern Ireland adopted kilt wearing as a way to stand out in parliament. Likewise, Irish regiments of the British military also followed the Scottish design and wore kilts to differentiate themselves from the English regiments. And as has been discussed in this thread, an Irish nationalist movement adopted the klt, and tried to encourage its wearing.

These things do not however make up a cultural tradition of kilt wearing in Ireland, but a history of kilt use in Ireland. In every case the kilt was used to make a statement, as a uniform. That statement would be understood by the Irish, and anyone seen wearing a kilt would be associated with the movement or military. The kilt was not ever accepted as cultural Irish dress, however. To be accepted as a cultural form of Irish dress it would have to be accepted by those who chose not to wear it, and not just seen as a statement.

Of course, none of this means that you can't just wear a kilt because you like it.

Spot on, with one slight disagreement. For the Irish regiments of the British Commonwealth, and to a lesser degree the Irish Defence Forces, the kilt did beome part of their regimental culture. Regiments do have their own particular totems and talismen, and the various Irish regiments that maintained pipe bands (only one regiment, the Canadian Irish Regiment, adopted kilts for all ranks, not just musicians) the kilt is now a part of regimental culture and tradition. It's a very minor point, though. A uniform can become part of a sub-culture, and one that is very strongly defended -- witness the recent attempt by the MoD to take away the "golden threads" of regimental cap badges & hackles in the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

As Matt has mentioned before, our article on the subject is a good starting point. It is by no means the definitive source on the subject, and is certainly a work in progress:

http://scottishtartans.org/irish_kilts.htm

Regards,

Todd