True Irish national tartan?

**McCafferty** · 22nd January 19, 10:24 AM

Can someone please tell me which is the "True" Irish national tartan or can the colors change because of the weavers?

Thanks

**Steve Ashton** · 22nd January 19, 10:28 AM

There are two Tartans which are commonly mistaken.

The Irish National

And Ireland's National

Can you tell us which one you are interested in?

**McCafferty** · 22nd January 19, 10:46 AM

I can see the differences in the weave in the two pictures you posted.(thanks)
Do the different tartans you posted have different meanings?

What started my quest for answers was from the site below.
https://store.stillwaterkilts.com/irishkilts.html

Thanks

**Steve Ashton** · 22nd January 19, 11:44 AM

There is a common misunderstanding about the age and meaning behind Tartans. Yes Tartans have names. We have to call them somthing.

Yes, the colors were chosen for a reason. Sometimes that reason is just that the person who designed the Tartan liked those colors.

No, Red does not mean spilled blood and yellow does not mean cowardice. It is not some code or hidden meaning.

The Irish National Tartan was designed in 1996 and is listed in the Scottish Register of Tartan with this explanation.

Conceived and designed by Polly Wittering of House of Edgar in association with John and Joan (Jo) Nisbet of Piper's Cove in New Jersey USA.

The Ireland's National Tartan was designed in 2003 and is listed in the Scottish Register of Tartan with this explanation.

Designed by Viking Technology Limited (now Tartan Web Scotland Ltd) in 2005 as one of a set of Irish County and Irish National tartans. Ownership transferred to USA Kilts Inc in Dec 2012.

**McCafferty** · 22nd January 19, 02:04 PM

Steve,
Thank you for the help.
I think I'm slowly wrapping my head around this.

**Tarheel** · 22nd January 19, 03:39 PM

The article (link) is produced by Stillwater Kilts. They seem to bring attention to synthetic materials that are not a wool cloth in the official tartan colors. I see a marketing tool to guide the consumer toward quality fabric from their store.

As far as your own choice, Steve has given you the best explanations to work with. The rest is up to you. Cheers and good shopping.

**Dollander** · 22nd January 19, 06:14 PM

That Stillwater page is differentiating their Irish National fabric licensed by House of Edgar from the knockoff "Irish" kilts from less reputable retailers, not from the Ireland's National owned by USA Kilts. Neither tartan has any official status; those are simply the names they've been given. There are similarly-unofficial "national" tartans for Scotland, Wales, the US, and numerous other countries. So if your intent is to honor your Irish heritage, either one is equally valid.

**Geoff Withnell** · 23rd January 19, 05:03 AM

Originally Posted by Tarheel

The article (link) is produced by Stillwater Kilts. They seem to bring attention to synthetic materials that are not a wool cloth in the official tartan colors. I see a marketing tool to guide the consumer toward quality fabric from their store.

As far as your own choice, Steve has given you the best explanations to work with. The rest is up to you. Cheers and good shopping.

I am curious as to what you mean by "official tartan colors"?

**Tarheel** · 23rd January 19, 05:29 AM

Originally Posted by Geoff Withnell

I am curious as to what you mean by "official tartan colors"?

When I looked at the photo of the link offered by the OP, I see different colored fabrics. I believe the synthetic fabrics used a different dye from the wool cloth. I made a leap to conclusion, that Stillwater was stating the wool fabric is real and the synthetic was not the official color.

Should I have used registered color?

**Geoff Withnell** · 23rd January 19, 05:34 AM

Originally Posted by Tarheel

When I looked at the photo of the link offered by the OP, I see different colored fabrics. I believe the synthetic fabrics used a different dye from the wool cloth. I made a leap to conclusion, that Stillwater was stating the wool fabric is real and the synthetic was not the official color.

Well, in my understanding, there is no "official color". The tartan register shows the different colors, but different weavers are free to use different shades of those colors, without making the resulting cloth any less the same tartan. Of course, where new tartans are under copyright, the copyright owner is also free to allow only certain shades, or certain fabrics, or for that matter only certain weavers in the production of their intellectual property.