New tartan has arrived!

[MacSimoin]

Thank you all for your kind words...I'm happy to see the MacSimoin tartan receive such praise from "those in the know". People like you lot led me to this site in the first mainly because I needed someone to steer me in the right direction with getting this tartan off the ground. I am grateful especially to Matt Newsome for his generous advice and assistance---his expertise on kilts, kiltmaking and the history of the kilt itself is highly credible and nothing short of amazing.

I realized I'd forgotten to mention the colors in the MacSimoin tartan in my initial post: I should clarify them here as well because there's already been the misconception that a shade/hue of blue exists in the tartan. There is no blue in the color scheme---the MacSimoin tartan colors are green, olive green, dark green, light tan and dark red.

To answer some questions:

When will the first kilt be ready?
Possibly as early as December 2005.

Perhaps a sash or scarf of the new tartan might be sent to Ms. O'Hara?
That's a thought well received though I'd need genuine contact information for Ms. O'Hara. I'd be happy to provide her with either item providing I'm able to find someone who can manufacture sashes and scarves from tartan material.

Thanks again for all your compliments and encouragement.

[macwilkin]

Perhaps a sash or scarf of the new tartan might be sent to Ms. O'Hara?
That's a thought well received though I'd need genuine contact information for Ms. O'Hara. I'd be happy to provide her with either item providing I'm able to find someone who can manufacture sashes and scarves from tartan material.

Try:

http://www.quietmanmovieclub.com/

I believe they have some contact with her. Des McHale is their contact person.

Cheers,

Todd

[MacSimoin]

Todd,

Thanks for the link. I'll keep this handy and contact Des McHale when the time comes.

[MacSimoin]

This message was originally a response to questions Millar had asked me in a PM, but I decided to post my response here so everyone else could read this...hope that's okay.

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The beginning of this ‘labor of love’ (I like the way Millar phrased it), or the story behind it, goes back over twenty years: Though I was raised from childhood well-aware of my 'Irishness', I wasn't truly exposed to the world of genealogy until I was a freshman in high school and had to create a family tree for a biology class project. My teacher was so impressed with the work I put into my family tree that he had it hung in a wall-display case in one of the school’s lobbies where it stayed for nearly ten years. He used to take subsequent classes downstairs to the display case to show them what a family tree should 'look like' (mine was about eleven feet in length). Not to blow my own trumpet, but I was damn proud of it.

Anyway, I eventually got away from further research into my roots (due to work, friends, sports, the military...ie, life in general) and put it all aside; I didn’t dive back into seriously studying (my) genealogy until about five years ago. This time around, I decided to concentrate more on history itself, here in America and Ireland. I’ve since managed to accumulate numerous texts on both subjects, some of which are long out-of-print and quite valuable. However, I certainly claim no expertise of either American or Irish history: Although I’ve learned a lot through self-study there’s still much I’d like to digest before my time on God’s green earth is up.

As I studied the history of the tartan, the leine and other similar garments, I realized there must have been some migration of these garments or at least the idea of a tartan between countries, especially between Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. The discovery of the ‘Ulster’ tartan in 1956 (trews, among other items, were found in County Derry) showed that someone was quite probably wearing a tartan in Ireland---over three hundred years ago. And, with the creation of the Irish County tartans in 1996 (I think that’s the right year), I began to ponder designing a tartan for those who share my own surname and those with similar variants.

Although a few Irish family tartans existed in centuries past (Fitzpatrick, Murphy et al) and newer Irish family tartans have come about in more recent years, I decided that I was going to fulfill my dream and make my own mark in American/Irish history by creating a new Irish family tartan. All of that may sound presumptuous and a bit pompous to some, but it isn’t meant that way at all---I’m just an average guy trying to accomplish something that will hopefully be well-received and respected by future generations to come.

The actual design of the MacSimoin tartan was inspired by both Irish and Scottish tartans (I have a wee bit of the Highlander blood in me as well): the Irish County Cavan tartan and the Campbell tartan. Since my own Irish ancestors emigrated from Cavan, I chose to include earth tones in the tartan design (which I tend to favor anyway), similar to the County Cavan tartan. For the weft and warp, the design was greatly influenced by the Campbell tartan, so I ‘borrowed’ the pattern and altered it until I felt there was a significant difference between the two tartans (MacSimoin and Campbell). The thread counts were later 'fine-tuned' with expert guidance from kiltmaker Matt Newsome.

I chose to use three shades of green (green, dark green and olive green) for two reasons: because of the many shades of green you’ll find in Ireland's landscape and because of the symbolism of the shamrock (ie, clover or trefoil) used in Saint Patrick’s teachings on the Holy Trinity. I chose to use green as the color of the background or field of the tartan because I felt it appropriate for its ‘origin’ (ie, green being a color long associated with Ireland). The light tan simply represents the earth or soil of Ireland---I chose not to use brown because I felt the tartan would look too dark. The use of dark red may seem a bit morose to some but the color is meant to represent the blood spilt by those who’ve given their lives to defend Ireland (no politics involved, just a measure of respect for those who’ve died defending their freedom). My past military experience and the loss of dear friends to the bloodshed of war solidified the decision the use the color.

So, there it is…the birth of the MacSimoin tartan in a nutshell (sorry if it was longwinded). Any further questions or comments, pro or con, are welcome. Thank you.

[millar]

What a great story. I knew a lot of thought and effort went into it. The whole idea of invention/art is fascinating to me. Most people go through life not seeing that there is something missing until the creation.

Also as someone who's name gets mispelled/mispronounced quite a bit, I just want you to know that I think it is a big deal. It is a matter of respect. Cheers.

[MacSimoin]

Thanks again for the compliment and encouragement...that's my story and I'm sticking to it. ;)

I understand/empathize with the spelling 'issue'---personally, my first, middle and last name have been misspelled countless times simply because of the variations that exist for all three names. And as for the 'no big deal' comment I'd posted at the start of this thread, it was no big issue that the tartan name was misspelled on the tag that was attached to the sample. However, you're absolutely right: It is a matter of respect and I will take issue if this happens when the tartan is registered. But, on a more positive note, I don't think that will happen---the people at the Scottish Tartans Authority know what they're doing.