Irish
County Kildare Tartans & Clan
Who Wears County Kildare 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.
- Behan
- Bermingham
- Bradley
- Burke
- Carey
- Colgan
- Cullinane
- Devesey
- Dunn
- Eustace
- Fitzgerald
- Fitzhenry
- McDonnelll
- O'Conner
- O'Kelly
- O'Toole
- Wogan
County Kildare 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 Kildare Clan Origins & History
Explore the History
How it all started
County Kildare is found in the midlands of Ireland just west of the city of Dublin. It is named after the town of Kildare which took its name from a small church built by St. Brigid in the 5th century, which was home to a large religious establishment called Cill-dara. The monastery survived numerous Viking raids throughout the 9th century and the community continuing to expand through the years. Following the Viking invasions, the Fitzgerald clan were given control of the county which contributed to their forceful impression during the Middle Ages. Throughout the Georgian period, Kildare encountered huge prosperity with many grand houses being built, including Castletown House for William Conolly of Donegal. The industrial revolution brought in numerous assets to the region as well including a cotton mill, a distillery, factories, the railway and the construction of the Grand Canal.
What's in the tartan?
The Kildare county tartan is mainly a pale green and running throughout has stripes of blue, yellow and red.
Castletown House
The Palladian country house was built for William Conolly of Donegal in 1722, who was the speaker of the Irish House of Commons at the time. The exquisite building sets a large precedent and is an extraordinary part of Kildare's cultural inheritance and was intended to reflect the power Conolly held. The estate is now home to remarkable paintings, furnishings and object d'art collections as well as the only intact 18th century print room in Ireland. You can visit Castletown House today with self guided tours available around the house as well as visiting the Biodiversity Garden. The venue is available to hire for all kinds of events and it would be just perfect for your magical Irish wedding. Shop our Wedding Outfits and Accessories and our wide variety of Irish Tartans which would help make your day extra special!
The name Kildare comes from the Irish 'Cill Dara', meaning church of the oak.
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