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The Armour of Derricke’s Chieftain
The Irish chieftain pictured in John Derricke’s Image of Ireland (1581) wears a helmet and armour that have never been satisfactorily...
Wilde Irishe
Oct 6, 202221 min read
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Sciath and Starga: 16th Century Gaelic Irish Shields
Gaelic Irish shields in the 16th century seem to have been of two distinct varieties. The general word for shield, sciath, was originally...
Wilde Irishe
Feb 8, 20228 min read
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Irish Ring Pommel Sword: New Insight into Use
The 2014 discovery of a new example of a sixteenth century Irish ring pommel sword has provided fresh insights into this weapon.
Wilde Irishe
Aug 20, 202112 min read
2 comments
The Saffron Shirt, Part 1: Saffron and Silk, Urine and Grease
The Irish saffron shirt (léine croich) and mantle followed a similar trajectory to that of their lineal descendant, Highland dress. ...
Wilde Irishe
Apr 30, 202142 min read
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Donnell O’Hagan’s Company of Shot: 1593
This brief note focusses on details of the organisation, equipment, clothing and training of a typical company of ‘shott’ in the service...
Wilde Irishe
Mar 3, 202124 min read
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Wright’s Chieftains: A Tale of Two Paintings
Two of the most important visual documents of traditional Gaelic dress have been somewhat overlooked, their full value obscured by a...
Wilde Irishe
Feb 2, 202130 min read
3 comments
A Fight With O'Rourke: 1589
This account of the government’s final engagement with Brian na Múrtha O’Rourke provides a vivid picture of the nature of Elizabethan...
Wilde Irishe
Dec 12, 202010 min read
1 comment
Irish Tower Houses: a Spotter’s Guide
Rough men-at-arms, cross-gartered to the knees
Or shod in iron, climbed the narrow stairs
Wilde Irishe
Sep 16, 202012 min read
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O’Donnell’s Kern—A Sixteenth-Century Campfire Tale
So there you have the Circuit of Manannán mac Lir of the tuatha dé danann, who used to be going round Ireland.
Wilde Irishe
Aug 24, 202012 min read
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A Fault as Light as Wind: Braigetóiri?
“Dow knowest an Irishman cannot abide a fart.”
Wilde Irishe
Aug 4, 20205 min read
3 comments
Lucht Tighe—Service Kindreds of Irish Chieftains
The courts of Gaelic regional lords were served by hereditary service kindreds of long standing.
Wilde Irishe
Jul 6, 20206 min read
3 comments
Leinster Clandonnells; the Queen Majestie’s Galloglass
An examination of the lineage, organisation, land holdings, and campaigns of the government galloglass.
Wilde Irishe
May 22, 202011 min read
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Sword Dance of the Irish Kern
The kern in Elizabethan Ireland were said to have a sword dance peculiar to them. What can we learn of its nature?
Wilde Irishe
Apr 23, 20208 min read
1 comment
Irish Domestics: Household of an Irish Chief
Everything in common but the bed.
Wilde Irishe
Apr 11, 202010 min read
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Horseboys: Irish Lackeys, Irish Footmanship—Part 2
“A Teague! A Teague! Well run, Irish!”
Wilde Irishe
Mar 28, 20207 min read
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Horseboys: Irish Lackeys, Irish Footmanship
for so they call their horse-keepers be they never so old knaves
Wilde Irishe
Mar 23, 20204 min read
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Discoveries at Tullyhogue: O’Neill Inauguration Site & Native Settlement
"The traitor is gone to the stone to receive that name."
Wilde Irishe
Feb 20, 20205 min read
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A Rising-Out of MacSweeneys armed “According to the Usage of the Country.”
And it was then that a levy of galloglasses was made on Clann Suibhne, and this is how the levy was made.
Wilde Irishe
Feb 14, 20206 min read
1 comment
Galloglass vs. Redshank: Don’t Fight Over Spilt Milk.
"Fight it out in the fair fields."
Wilde Irishe
Feb 7, 20203 min read
1 comment
A John Derricke Drawing: Hidden in Plain Sight?
It has been regretted that we do not have Derricke’s presumed original drawings, as they would have greater immediacy.
Wilde Irishe
Jan 24, 20204 min read
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