Irish
MacGuire Tartans & Clan
The Maguire clan were the Kings of county Fermanagh from the 13th to 17th century. The MacGuire name translates to “son of Odhar” who according to legend is great-grandson of Cormac mac Airt, a semi-mythical high king of Ireland in the 3rd century. In later history, the family went through a troubling period during the 9-Year War as Hugh MacGuire the head of the family was betrayed by his kinsman Connor MacGuire who took the Queens side instead of the rebels. The Queens forces offered him all of Hugh's lands but when the queens forces won, they only gave him 12 acres. Connors grandson also named Conner went against their family politics and sided with Confederate Ireland, which got him execute and the family lands attainted.
Macguire 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
MacGuire Clan Origins & History
Explore the History
How it all started
The Maguire clan were the Kings of county Fermanagh from the 13th to 17th century. The MacGuire name translates to “son of Odhar” who according to legend is great-grandson of Cormac mac Airt, a semi-mythical high king of Ireland in the 3rd century. In later history, the family went through a troubling period during the 9-Year War as Hugh MacGuire the head of the family was betrayed by his kinsman Connor MacGuire who took the Queens side instead of the rebels. The Queens forces offered him all of Hugh's lands but when the queens forces won, they only gave him 12 acres. Connors grandson also named Conner went against their family politics and sided with Confederate Ireland, which got him execute and the family lands attainted.
what's in the tartan?
This tartan is mainly red with green and white also running throughout.
Enniskillen castle
The seat of MacGuire Kingdom within county Fermanagh is Enniskillen castle situated beside the river Erne. The castle was built in 1428 by Hugh Maguire. This castle did not just stay with the Maguires throughout the castles history as the castle was besieged by both the Dowdall’s and the O’Donnell’s. The Maguires were also famed for their private navy who policed the lough. This became useful when the king caught wind on an army coming towards the castle and the king became fearful for his people. So he decided to send half of his people to Scotland where they started the MacQuarrie clan. The castle went on to become British army barracks before being transformed into a museum.
The Maguire clan motto is "Justitia et Fortitudo Invincibilia Sunt", which is Latin for "Justice and Fortitude Are Invincible"
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