Quote Originally Posted by thescot View Post
But as I was reading above, I recalled the movie The Quiet Man with John Wayne in which in at least one scene there is a kid wearing a kilt and balmoral (or tam, I'm not sure which). I think it was in fact a bit part for Patrick Wayne, the Duke's son.

Since that was set in early 20th century, was that somewhat out of place, or had the kilt been somewhat adopted there as well? Or was it the costume director's whimsy? Remember that the movie was not set in Northern Ireland, so I don't think it was a matter of Scots-Irish custom. Maybe Beloit Piper can help us out with this whole Irish Question. (Sounds like a politcal discussion from the 19th century, no?)
Not wishing really to open a can of worms, but an Irish kilt in the early 20th century is not an anachronism, with the caveat that it would almost certainly have been either solid green or solid saffron at that time. If it was a tartan kilt, then yes, that would be an anachronism. I'm not sure what type of kilt was shown in that film, though.

As for the tam, if it was a tam and not a caubeen, then it was out of place, period. Glengarries are sometimes worn by Irish pipers, but AFAIK were not in that time period, and tams are Scottish, period. OTOH, a caubeen is virtually the same thing with no tourie.