Kirkin' of the Tartan

[macwilkin]

slainte

It has come to my attention, principally through reading and very informal research that the practice of kirkin' the tartan was likewise a practice among the Highlanders and the Irish Catholic who had intermarried and hid oput in the Highlands, being principally Jacobites, all. [In the Highlands today there are still strong intermarriage histories between Scots and Irish Catholic. one cannot walk in the upper Highlands and not hear the very distinct Irish Gaelic brogue blending with the Scots burr; it is musical] There is an old song Mo Ghile Mear [My gallant Darling] a song about Prince Charles Edward Stewart of whom the irish Catholics were great supporters and who fought at Culloden moor on his behalf. It is still sung today, especially with passion in some "Republican circles" So it has come to me by inference that this practice existed among them too, though to much lesser degree. i have referred to this in an epic poem I penned some years ago. i make no pitch here; I am principally an historian in this.

dia duit
CPO Bull
Anchor's Away/Semper Fi

To echo Gilmore's post, if you have reliable sources that document such a claim, a number of us in the Scottish-American community would love to see them.

All of the evidence so far credits the late Dr. Peter Marshall, pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church and Chaplain of the US Senate with devising the Kirkin' ceremony during the Second World War as a way to raise funds for war relief.

Also, just as a factual point, not all Highlanders were Roman Catholic; many of those who favoured the Jacobite cause were Episcopalians, as the Episcopal Church was being persecuted by the Kirk in the years after the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

Regards,

Todd