Irish
County Galway Tartans & Clan
Who Wears County Galway Tartan? - Associated Names
First of all to explain why there are so many tartans, way over 2000 in fact. There are an awful lot of Scottish clans to start with and on top of this each clan can have many different tartans and names associated with it.
- Birmingham
- Blake
- Blighe
- Bohane
- Brennan
- Brown
- Browne
- Buckley
- Butler
- Cahill
- Canavan
- Carey
- Cawley
- Cleary
- Condon
- Considine
- Cooke
- Cusack
- Darcy
- Day
- Deane
- Devaney
- Divilly
- Donnellan
- Doorly
- Doyle
- Dreenan
- Duane
- Egan
- Fahey
- Fahy
- Feeney
- Flaherty
- Foran
- French
- Gilduff
- Gilkelly
- Hannon
- Haverty
- Hynes
- Jennings
- Joyce
- Kenny
- Kirwan
- Larkin
- Lee
- Lennon
- Lynch
- Lyons
- McEgan
- McHenry
- McNevin
- Madded
- Manning
- Mulrooney
- Naughton
- O'Callanan
- O'Canavan
- O'Conealy
- O'Day
- O'Donnellan
- O'Flaherty
- O'Kean
- O'Kelly
- O'Moran
- O'Shaughenessy
- O'Sheehan
- O'Toole
- Page
- Ruane
- Scully
- Skerrell
- Tormey
- Tracy
- Ward
County Galway Tartans
1 variationsEach tartan can have multiple variations, the most common of which are Ancient, Modern, Weathered, Hunting and Dress
About tartan variations
- Ancient
- Modern
- Weathered
- Hunting
- One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if
Ancient Tartan
Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer colours typical of the Ancient tartans, mossy greens and sky blues, a more orangey red and some would say showing off the pattern to much greater effect as as the contrasts are much brighter than the Modern tartans. The pattern or sett remains the same across all variations of a single tartan, and only the shades or tones vary.
Helpful Advice
Post 1860 chemical dyes replaced the natural animal and vegetable dyes and the Modern Tartans were born with their stronger and bolder colours. The soft greens and blues become bottle green and navy blue, reds are scarlet.
Modern Tartan
Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer colours typical of the Ancient tartans. Post 1860 chemical dyes replaced the natural animal and vegetable dyes and the Modern Tartans were born with their stronger and bolder colours. The soft greens and blues become bottle green and navy blue, reds are scarlet.
Helpful Advice
The Modern tartans are often the more subtle combinations such as the classic Black Watch Modern
Weathered Tartan
Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer, more earthy colours typical of the Weathered tartans, reminiscent of bolder colours subjected to wind, rain and sunshine producing beautiful faded tones, olive greens and browns, and very light blues with reds that are more pink than red.
Helpful Advice
Some mills refer to the Weathered tartans as Muted.
Hunting Tartan
The Hunting Tartans are the camouflage tartans and some clans don't have these variations because they are already predominantly green or brown and don't need amendment to blend in with nature's colours. The Black Watch or Gunn tartans are examples of these, whereas a tartan such as the Fraser is predominantly red and would not provide much cover for men out hunting.
Helpful Advice
One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if you need an exact match we suggest you order a swatch to double check.
One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if Tartan
The Dress Tartans were designed as the name suggests for celebrations and highland dance. The sett or pattern of the tartan remains the same and the main colour is changed to white, or extra white is added to the pattern to give it a brighter, more "fancy" appearance. The Scots do like to bend the rules and occasionally instead of white thread, yellow is used and this is where the rather wild MacLeod Dress Modern and Barclay Dress Modern came from.
Helpful Advice
One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if you need an exact match we suggest you order a swatch to double check.
From the Start
County Galway Clan Origins & History
Explore the History
How it all started
County Galway is found on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Connacht. It is believed the first inhabitants of Galway stem back as far as the 5th millennium BC, when it was originally compromised of several kingdoms. It officially became county Galway in 1569. The city of Galway, "The City of Tribes", is a harbouring city, where the River Corrib meets the Atlantic Ocean, and many Vikings settled there during the 12 century Norman invasions. The city fell under the control of Richard de Burgo who built the defensive walls around Galway, by the late 13th century much of the fortification was finished and from then on the town began to grow in prosperity. By the late 14th century, governing powers were transferred to fourteen merchant families in Galway, known as the fourteen tribes; Athy, Blake, Browne, D'Arcy, Deane, Font, French, Joyce, Kirwan, Lynch, Martin, Morris and Skerritt. They had a huge influence across the city and held high levels of political authority and wealth. However, the vibrant and affluent times in Galway came to an end during the Cromwellian conquest when the families were forced to surrender their lands and properties.
What's in the tartan?
The County Galway tartan is mainly red and has yellow, blue and green stripes running throughout.
Lynch Castle
The wealth of the fourteen merchant families at the time of their rule was evident in the buildings they occupied, one being Lynch Castle which is a fortified house with elaborate and complex stonework which was home to the Lynch clan. The stronghold still stands today right in the centre of the city of Galway cornering both Shop Street and Abbeygate Street. The grand limestone structure strays apart from any other surrounding buildings in the city and is the only remaining completed medieval building left in the city. The Lynch's were a highly prominent family during the rule of the merchant tribes and provided Galway with many Mayors and city attributes. The castle still remains under family ownership today and it now serves as the public bank in Galway.
Galway takes its name from the river Gaillimh, meaning 'stony river'.
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