Irish
County Roscommon Tartans & Clan
County Roscommon lies in the north of Ireland in the province of Connacht just above the county of Galway. Roscommon is believed to have been the home of the mythical Queen Medb and was also the seat of the Kings of Connacht as well as the High Kings of Ireland for some time, who all sited at Rathcroghan near the town of Tulsk. Discover more about Roscommon below.
Who Wears County Roscommon 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.
- Breslin
- Carr
- Casey
- Concannon
- Conry
- Copeland
- Crawford
- Culhane
- Dillon
- Duignan
- Fallon
- Finnerty
- Lavan
- McDermott
- McDowell
- McEoin
- McGeraghty
- McGlynn
- McGreevey
- McKeogh
- McManus
- McQuilly
- McWeeney
- Mulready
- Norton
- O'Bierne
- O'Connor
- O'Duffy
- O'Fihelly
- O'Flynn
- O'Mulrenin
County Roscommon 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 Roscommon Clan Origins and History
Explore the History
How it all started
County Roscommon lies in the north of Ireland in the province of Connacht just above the county of Galway. Roscommon is believed to have been the home of the mythical Queen Medb and was also the seat of the Kings of Connacht as well as the High Kings of Ireland for some time, who all sited at Rathcroghan near the town of Tulsk. The county itself began to establish its roots during the Middle Ages at the time of the division of the Kingdom of Connacht, where it was retained by King John. The area was let out to the native kings of Connacht when it eventually established itself as the county Roscommon, and during the Tudor establishment in the late 16th century it expanded to the south western boundary along the River Suck.
What's in the tartan?
The county Roscommon tartan is mainly orange and blue with stripes or yellow, purple and black running throughout.
Rathcroghan
Otherwise known as the Ancient Capital of Connacht, Rathcroghan is one of the oldest and biggest unexcavated sites across Europe which covers over 240 identified archaeological settlements and travels back over five and a half thousand years in human history. It is home to a number of ancient burial mounds from the Bronze and Iron Age to settlement sites, to stone standings, as well as some complex pre historic earthworks. If you ever visit the ancient landscape you will be able to tread in the footsteps of the medieval Queen Medb and uncover numerous stories and tales of legendary warriors and kings from many centuries ago!
The name Roscommon comes from the Irish 'Ros Comáin', meaning 'Saint Coman's Wood'.
Explore More...
