Irish
County Cork Tartans & Clan
Who Wears County Cork 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.
- Agnew
- Ahern
- Barret
- Barrett
- Barry
- Bateman
- Begg
- Begley
- Boland
- Bradshaw
- Brody
- Burke
- Cagney
- Callaghan
- Canty
- Coakley
- Coffey
- Coleman
- Collins
- Condron
- Corcoran
- Cosgrave
- Costello
- Courtney
- Cowley
- Coyle
- Cronin
- Crowe
- Cruise
- Curran
- Dargan
- Deasey
- Decourcy
- Dinneen
- Donnegan
- Donoghue
- Dowdall
- Driscoll
- Dugan
- Fitzgerald
- Goggin
- Harrington
- Hartigan
- Hartnett
- Healy
- Hennigan
- Horgan
- Kearney
- Lucy
- Lyons
- McAuliffe
- McCarthy
- McDonough
- McSheehy
- McSherry
- McSweeny
- Murphy
- Nangle
- Noonan
- O'Callaghan
- O'Curry
- O'Daly
- O'Deheny
- O'Donovan
- O'Driscoll
- O'Hoolaghan
- O'Hurley
- O'Keeffe
- O'Leary
- O'Looney
- O'Mahany
- O'Mahony
- O'Regan
- O'Riordan
- O'Ronayne
- O'Scannell
- O'Sullivan
- O'Tourney
- Roche
- Rynne
- Tuohy
County Cork 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
- Dress
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.
Dress 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 Cork Clan Origins and History
Explore the History
How it all started
County Cork is the largest and second most populous county in Ireland covering the majority of the south west, and is widely known for its defiance. Many assume the nickname 'the rebel county' refers to its role in the War of Independence, however, Cork has a long history of challenging holds to power. It initially began as a religious community founded by St. Finbarr during the sixth century, with the modern day city found during the 9th century upon the arrival of the Vikings. Following the Norman invasions, the Fitzgerald clan came to prominence, which was when Cork began to earn its infamous nickname.
After King Henry VII seized the throne in 1485, Gerald Fitzgerald (the unofficial king of Ireland), supported the claim that the Earl of Warwick was the rightful heir to the throne and declared a rebellion. Although this failed, a further uprising was held against the king after a man named Perkin Warbeck arrived in Cork claiming to be another true successor, making the English monarchy establish the county's ironic label. Cork sited plenty more revolts throughout the centuries, but to much dismay further assured English control. The county then became an entourage of Irish nationalism after playing a large role during the Irish War of Independence, which further built on their colloquial motto!
What's in the tartan?
The County Cork tartan is mainly Blue with stripes on green, yellow and fuchsia running throughout the pattern.
St. Fin Barre's Cathedral
The city of Cork is widely known for St. Fin Barre's Cathedral which is a neo-Gothic structure with splendid stained glass windows, tall spires and marble mosaics. The cathedral stands on the site where the city was found during the 7th century on the south side of the River Lee and has been a place of worship ever since. It was founded by St. Finbarr of Cork when the county was a monastic settlement and was built from locally sourced stone. It has had numerous refurbishments over the centuries with the building hosting more than 1,260 sculptures, a particularly elaborate stage and even a 24 pound cannonball, which is a heirloom of the Siege of Cork in 1690. Today, you can take guided tours to delve into the rich history of the city allowing you to marvel at the wonders of this historic attraction.
Cork is of Irish and Gaelic origin, and the meaning is "swamp, marsh".
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