Irish Tartans?

[RockyR]

For a tartan to be considered "official" in the STA (Scottish Tartans Authority), it has to have the approval of the "thing" it's claiming to represent since a new rule in 2003 or 2004. There are MANY tartans that were "grandfathered" in b/c they already used the name PRE 2003.

For Instance: Ikleman # 5 AKA "the German National Tartan". When I tried to register my German tartans, I asked if I could call mine "Germany's National" or something like that... I was told that I could NOT name it that unless I had the tartan officially approved by the governing body of Germany (their Government).

If I'm making a tartan for a specific group or organization or company, I have to have that company / group / organization's PERMISSION to do an "official sounding" tartan in their name.

Bottom line... since the new STA "rule" in 2003/4, it's much tougher to name a tartan an "official sounding" name without the approval of the thing you're trying to represent. That's a GOOD thing as it adds (or maintains) the integrity of the tartans on record.