Irish
Leinster Tartans & Clan
Leinster 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
Leinster Clan Origins & History
Explore the History
How it all started
The province of Leinster is situated in the southeast of the Republic of Ireland and consists of counties Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow. The name Leinster derives from the Irish Laigin, which was the name of the main tribe which once centred in the area. The tribes in Leinster were all brought together by Ugaine More who was believed to have been the first historic king of Leinster during the 7th century BC. Later, during the 5th century, the emerging O'Neill clans from Connacht conquered areas of Meath and Offaly from the tribes of the Laigin and therefore in the process became their traditional rivals. Leinster includes the majority of counties which were controlled by the English during the 16th century and the expansion of the province during this period took back the ancient kingdom of Mide, with the last major border change happening in the early 17th century after the creation of County Wicklow.
What's in the tartan?
The Leinster Green tartan is mainly green and blue with stripes of red, gold and black running throughout.
The City of Dublin
Dublin is the capital of the Republic of Ireland so is the major city in the Leinster province as well. The city was founded by the Vikings who initially settled in the area during the 8th century where it became one of their most important bases. By the time of the Norman invasions in the 12th century, Dublin became the capital of the English Lordship of Ireland and developed into a city containing two grand cathedrals as well as Dublin Castle. The city remained fairly stagnant in the following hundreds of years but by the 16th and the 17th centuries, it was transformed by the many upheavals across Ireland. During the Tudor conquest, it began to prosper in wealth and riches with the city also possessing one of the oldest universities in the British Isles, Trinity College, which was founded by Queen Elizabeth I.
The first part of the name Leinster comes from the Irish 'Laigin', which was the the name of the main ancient tribe in the area; with the latter part coming from the Irish 'tír', meaning 'territory'.
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