Irish
County Carlow Tartans & Clan
County Carlow is found in the southeast of Ireland in the province of Leinster, with the town of Carlow itself lying on the River Barrow. The county takes its nickname "The Dolmen County" from a huge megalithic portal tomb built between 4000 & 3000 BC called Brownshill Dolmen. Carlow Town is twinned with both Tempe, Arizona, and Dole, France.
Who Wears County Carlow 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.
- Bolger
- Cahill
- Carew
- Collins
- Fortune
- Gahan
- Hayden
- Kinsella
- O'Cavanagh
- O'Doyle
- Ryan
County Carlow 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 Carlow Clan Origins & History
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How it all started
County Carlow is found in south east of Ireland in the province of Leinster, with the town of Carlow itself lying on the River Barrow. The area is believed to have been inhabited for thousands of years with numerous standing stones, bullauns and cairns from the megalithic period marking the landscape. The territories were historically ruled by the O'Ryan, O'Nolan and the Kinsella clans and by the 11th century the Kinsella dynasty established themselves as the Kings of Leinster. The town was established by the Normans in 1207 and the county was shirred afterwards marking it as one of Ireland's oldest counties. The area then became the seat of power for both the Kingdom of Leinster as well as the Lordship of Ireland in the 14th century, but by 1650 Carlow was seized as part of the Cromwellian conquest and was taken by the English forces. In the 18th century, the county was also the site of the Battle of Carlow which was an act of Irish rebellion which bitterly resulted in their defeat.
What's in the plaid?
The County Carlow plaid was designed in 1996 and is predominantly black with green accents running throughout.
Carlow Castle
Carlow Castle lies on the eastern banks of the River Barrow near the town centre. The now standing ruin is believed to have been built by William de Marshal at the time of the Normans and was the first castle of its kind in Ireland designed as a towered keep. The building acted as a strong military fortress which was strategically situated at the confluence of the rivers with it withstanding multiple attacks between the 15th and 17th centuries. The castle remnants are open to the public today allowing visitors to walk the same steps as some of the most important historic figures during the Ango-Norman period and explore deeper into County Carlow's heritage.
The name Carlow comes from the Irish 'Ceatharlach', meaning 'place of cattle'.
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