Irish
County Wexford Tartans & Clan
County Wexford lies on the south east coast of Ireland and looks out over St George's Channel. The area has early evidence of human life stemming as far back as the Neolithic period or even earlier, with dolmens standing at Ballybrittas on Bree Hill. Discover more about County Wexford below.
Who Wears County Wexford 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.
- Ambrose
- Bollard
- Browne
- Cavanaugh
- Codd
- Colclough
- Corrigan
- Devereaux
- Devereux
- Doran
- Esmond
- Fitzharris
- Fitzhenry
- Fitzstephen
- French
- Garvey
- Hartley
- Hayes
- Hore
- Keating
- Keogh
- Larkin
- Luffnan
- Lynam
- McMurrough
- Murphy
- Myler
- Redmond
- Rossiter
- Sinnott
- Stafford
- Sutton
- Wadding
- Walsh
County Wexford 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 Wexford Clan Origins & History
Explore the History
How it all started
County Wexford lies on the south east coast of Ireland and looks out over St George's Channel. The area has early evidence of human life stemming as far back as the Neolithic period or even earlier, with dolmens standing at Ballybrittas on Bree Hill. Evidence from the Bronze Age is however far more widespread with cist burials and numerous standing stones in various locations across the region. The Vikings invaded and settled in Wexford towards the end of the 9th century and less than two centuries later the Normans seized Ireland which was followed by the colonisation of the Anglo-Normans. However, by the 14th century, native Irish began to regain some of their territory, primarily under the Kavanagh dynasty but the area was yet again invaded and captured by the English under Oliver Cromwell in the mid-17th century. County Wexford was also home to the most important sight during the Irish rebellion in the late 18th century at the Battle of Oulart Hill which resulted in a rebellion victory.
What's in the tartan?
The County Wexford tartan is mainly a forest green had has black, white and gold accents throughout.
Enniscorthy Castle
The medieval fortress is found in the heart of the town of Enniscorthy and was home to the Norman invaders during 12th century. The first stone castle was built by the French Knight Philip De Prendergast, with his descendants staying at the castle until Art Kavanagh attacked Enniscorthy Castle in his attempt to regain his land in the late 14th century. The Kavanagh dynasty then centred at the castle until 1536 when they were forced to surrender the castle to the Saxons. By the time Oliver Cromwell arrived in Ireland in the 17th century, the castle was captured by his troops and was used as a prison during the 1798 Irish Rebellion. Today, the castle is home to a new visitor experience which showcases the long history of the town and features interactive exhibitions as well as offering spectacular views of Enniscorthy and the surrounding Wexford countryside!
The name Wexford comes from the Irish 'Waesfjord', meaning 'inlet of the mud-flats'.
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