Irish
County Dublin Tartans & Clan
Who Wears County Dublin 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.
- Baggot
- Bates
- Brady
- Casey
- Cullen
- Fagen
- Fitzwilliam
- Harold
- Hennessy
- Plunkett
- Preston
- Ronan
- Segrave
- St Lawrence
- Talbot
- Tyrell
County Dublin 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 Dublin Clan Origins & History
How it all started
County Dublin sits on the east coast of Ireland and consists of area surrounding capital city of Dublin which is home to around a third of Irelands population. The city was founded by the Vikings who initially settled in the area during the 8th century where is 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 of the British Isles, Trinity College, which was founded by Queen Elizabeth I.
What's in the plaid?
The County Dublin plaid is mainly green with burgundy, red and black stripes running throughout.
Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle was firstly built in the early 13th century by the Vikings and since served as the primary residence for the English and later the British monarchy in Ireland. After a fire in the late 17th century, much of the medieval castle was destroyed but once it was rebuilt it attained a largely Georgian style with most of the castle you see today having obvious features from this period. The new structure included a number of grand reception rooms, known as the State Apartments, which accommodated many large state occasions including balls, banquets and regal ceremonies. Dublin Castle is very well situated for visiting on foot and is just a short walk from Trinity College and the city centre. It is one of Ireland's most treasured places which is steeped in history making it most definitely worth a look!
The name Dublin comes from the Irish 'Dubhlinn', meaning 'black pool'.
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