Irish Tartan vs Scottish Tartan: What's the difference?

Irish Heritage Tartan in 16oz Acrylic

When one thinks of a kilt, 9/10 times thoughts go to the Scottish Highlands, bagpipes, and the most intimidating question, "What clan are you?" The average person thinks they cannot wear a kilt unless they know what clan they are descendent from, if any at all. However, this is of course not true, as not all tartans represent clans, and the wearing of kilts isn't heavily clan-regulated. Irish tartan kilts are a perfect example of this, as we'll soon read below.

Scottish tartans are known for their long history of representing clan names and organizations. Irish tartans, however, are comparatively more recent. About 20 years before Ireland restored its independence from the United Kingdom in 1922, many Irishmen started to wear the kilt as a symbol of national dress. Tartans specific to Ireland didn't fully develop until the 1990s. In 1996, due to increased demand, a Scottish Mill by the name of House of Edgar designed a range of tartans for the old 32 Irish counties as well as an Irish national tartan. Since then, other Scottish mills have created more Irish tartans beyond just the county names within Ireland, to include Connaught, Leinster, and Munster. Name tartans for Irish families are only a very recent practice (2000s onward), and boast big names such as Doyle, O'Neill, and Kelly.

So, don't feel ashamed if you want to wear an Irish or even Scottish tartan kilt if you're not sure of your ancestry. Kilt wearing is for anyone and everyone, and by wearing one of our fabulous kilts, you're honoring decades, or even centuries, of beautiful Celtic culture and traditions.