Quote Originally Posted by cajunscot View Post
I think most folks who are "in the know" about the Irish and kilts would agree with the statement that it goes back to the 19th century -- in fact, it's pretty much a given that the Irish adoption of Highland attire began at the end of the 19th and early 20th century -- it's the claim that the Irish wore kilts before that time that "they" have problems with.

T. (The pedantic pedagogue)
I'm in agreement with Todd, all the way, with this one. I would add, however, that in the century or so that he is referring to, kilt wearing in Ireland was viewed by the Irish as an eccentricity (most likely the creation of the Anglo-Irish gentry) and rarely, if ever, actually worn by your average Irishman who regarded (and still regards) the kilt as "Scottish".

Yes, I know that the kilt is worn by pipe bands in the Irish defense forces. But in accepting this fact one has to remember that virtually all of the "traditions" of the Irish military-- and this includes the kilt-- were adapted from the British after independence.

No one, on this forum or elsewhere, has ever produced a shred of evidence to show that, aside from a few eccentrics, some dancers, and the post-1921 Irish army pipe bands, there is any real historical evidence to suggest the kilt was an item of everyday wear in Ireland at any time.

If someone wants to wear a kilt in an "Irish" tartan, that's fine by me. Just don't dress it up in some kind of specious pseudo-history and try to pass it off as the garb of ancient Hibernia.