To kilt or not to kilt: A St. Paddy's Day conundrum

[Clockwork John]

Wear a kilt if you want, don't wear one if you don't. I, for one, will not be kilted. I'll be wearing my Irish Rugby track jacket, green braces(suspenders), and Guinness logo flat cap. I plan on celebrating like a true hooligan.

After all, I'm just as proud of my Irish heritage as I am of my Scots.

[Andrewson]

If I was going to a St Patrick's Day celebration I'd certainly wear the kilt. I'm not Irish. I'm Scottish. When my Irish friends are celebrating their nationality I'd want to be showing off mine too.

I have been in Oslo twice on the Norwegian National Day (17 May) when they all seem to don their national costume. Both times I proudly wore the kilt and everybody I met seemed to think that was the appropriate thing for me to do.

[Donnie]

Any excuse is a good excuse for wearing a kilt. My brother-in-law and I will be in our kilts for his annual (he's very Irish) pub crawl around Annapolis, MD.
I guess I should say hi to everyone, I haven't posted on this forum since 2005. But, I'm back and doing well, just been busy. Life sometimes gets in the way, doesn't it?

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Okay, so St. Patrick's Day is the national holiday of Ireland and kilts are the Scottish national dress.

I think that pretty much answers your question. It's their day, so let them have it without any sort of competition for the spotlight. To me, wearing a kilt on Paddy's Day would be the same as showing up on St. Andrew's Day wearing a green bowler, fake red whiskers, and a tee-shirt that said "Kiss Me, I'm Irish". Er, just a tad outta place...

And like Chef said, I can't stand a pub crowded with amateurs.

[Makeitstop]

Most of my friends only see me in a kilt, so if I see any of them on st paddy's I will probably wear pants just to screw with them.

I see no good reason not to wear a kilt, aside from not wanting to answer questions. If anything, you can use the opportunity to set some people straight. Or lie to them, that's fun too.


And I could be wrong about this, as I am no expert, but don't bagpipes have a longer history with the irish than the kilt does?

[Larry124]

Depends on where you go and how late you stay.

I can think of two establishments nearby that draw Irish-Americans and Irish immigrants where the bar crowd might view the kilt as a non-Irish (or even un-Irish) garment. Even saffron or green might be seen as having “connotations”.

And a half-dozen other places where a kilt in a tartan such as Irish National would be welcome as part of the celebration.

I intend to wear the kilt on that day but I don’t yet know where.

Guess I’ll have to extensively scout out some possibilities.
(At least that’s the excuse I’ll give the wife…)

[Woodsheal]

I'll be wearing my kilt in the Forde (Irish family) tartan on St. Patrick's Day. No, kilts are not Irish in terms of antiquity, origins, etc. But, in terms of modern association, there is enough of a tradition of Irish kilt wearing to justify it nowadays. Many folks now look upon the kilt as "Celtic" as opposed to "Scottish." Inaccurate, but prevalent... so wear it!

[Zardoz]

I am primarly Irish by blood, St.Patricks Day is MY holiday! I'll be wearing mine!



Ireland currently has a population of about 4 million folks.
For comparison, there are about 2.5 Million people in Houston TX.

There are 50 Million people in the U.S. that identify as being of Irish or Ulster-Scots heritage. Some estimate almost 6 million people have at least one grandparent of Irish heritage.

[slohairt]

Wear a saffron kilt. They're worn on both sides of the border, so I'm not really sure what connotations there would be? (Except perhaps contradictory ones?) True, the saffron kilt is not really the national dress of Ireland, but it's the closest we've got at the moment. A hundred years or more is enough for something to be considered a tradition, I should think. Unless, of course, you want to go out barefoot in a léine, ionar jacket, and brat, you can see why the saffron kilt is considered by some to be the de facto national garment for now.

If it helps any, I wore a kilt during Oktoberfest!

[SteveB]

Gentlepeople,
I fully intend to be kilted in Irish National tartan, Flashes, and necktie. Baseball hat reads "Irish National Stud" from Co. Kildare of (C)horse. I will frequent a few local pubs, and otherwise watch Amateur Drinking Day from a safe seat at the bar. But then, I wear a kilt every day, and most people see it as part of my identity. If the weather here in Boston ( sometimes known as Ireland's next parish West) permits, there will be about twenty of us kilties invading the local pubs together, with a kilted dinner to help hold the Guinness down.