Irish
County Waterford Tartans & Clan
County Waterford is found on the southern coast of Ireland bordering the Atlantic Ocean in the province of Munster. It is informally known as 'The Deise' as some time between the 4th and the 8th century an Irish tribe known as the Deisi were driven from southern county Meath towards the Waterford region. Discover more about County Waterford below.
Who Wears County Waterford 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.
- Alyword
- Barron
- Brodar
- Crowley
- Dennehy
- Foley
- Geary
- Harper
- Henebry
- O'Flahavan
- O'Flannagan
- O'Keane
- O'Mullany
- Ormonde
- Phelan
- Power
- Sherlock
- Wadding
- Wall
- Wyse
County Waterford 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 Waterford Clan Origins & History
Explore the History
How it all started
County Waterford is found on the southern coast of Ireland bordering the Atlantic Ocean in the province of Munster. It is informally known as 'The Deise' as some time between the 4th and the 8th century an Irish tribe known as the Deisi were driven from southern county Meath towards the Waterford region. The county itself was named after Waterford City and it became the Normans stronghold during the 12th century invasions, only second to Dublin in importance. However, during the 16th century, parts of the county were confiscated and given to English settlers but due to a victorious war against Hugh O'Neill the Earl of Tyrone many of them fled shortly afterwards.
What's in the plaid?
The County Waterford plaid is mainly green with stripes of brown, blue and red throughout.
Lismore Castle
Lismore Castle is found in the town of Lismore and was originally build in 1185 by the king-to-be Prince John, for the purpose of guarding the river crossing. The castle later fell into the possession of the Earls of Desmond during the 16th century and it was then passed on to the infamous colonial traveller Richard Boyle who transformed the castle into a magnificent residence. It was then given to the Cavendish family in the 18th century due to marital links who are responsible for the updated Victorian fashionable appearance of the building. The castle today features lavish gardens which are open to the public set within the castle walls, with flowing meadows, elaborate courtyards and ornamental displays stretching across the surrounding area - it really is worth a visit with something to captivate everyone!
The name Waterford comes from the Irish 'Port Láirge' meaning 'Lárag's port'.
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