My husband wants to buy a kilt while in Ireland....either buy it there or at least get measured, have it made & shipped home when done....any suggestions on where we can do this? We will be in Dublin, County Mayo, Dingle area & Shannon.....thanks for any suggestions....

I think you need to re-focus: kilts are Scottish (and a Victorian caprice rather than something truly traditional).

So why do pipers, both in the Republic army, and in British regiments drawing on Irish and Irish-origin communities, wear kilts?

Because the Scots took them there - to Ulster initially.

They are now worn by many "Celtic" peoples (the six Celtic nations plus some in Portugal and Spain).

Oh and most Irish kilts are in fact made in Scotland. I assume you can buy them somewhere in Ireland though you may stand more chance in the US where they are far more popular.

I saw some at Bunratty Woolen Mills shop (in Bunratty)....they were on a sale rack and I didn't investigate but they may have been for children. Worth looking into; perhaps online first.

"Because the Scots took them there - to Ulster initially"

So?

Christianity, potatoes and the English language were introduced to Ireland by Englishmen. Doesn't make them unIrish - or prevent us from being better at them than those with genes originating on the wrong side of the Irish Sea

For most of our history, we've left that "if it wasn't invented here, we want nothing to do with it" nonsense to lesser nations. Till someone invented the Gaelic Athletic Association.

I would think it as least as easy to get them in the US.

Which tartan does he want - or isn't he really entitled to any of them?

(My background is partly Irish but there's some Wallace in there somewhere and in high school I had a Wallace skirt/kilt.)

flanneruk asked: "So why do pipers, both in the Republic army, and in British regiments drawing on Irish and Irish-origin communities, wear kilts?"

They go with the bagpipes, which were also inflicted on the world by the Scots.

We Irish give you the uileann pipes, which are quite unsuited to marching bands.

.
http://www.kilts-n-stuff.com/

http://www.scotweb.co.uk/kilts

Easy enough to buy online, and likely, can find places here in States to buy in person.

WOW! There is no sense of adventure here.

While I don't know about Ireland my uncle bought his in Scotland and buying it was half the fun. The internet or some generic American store would not have been the adventure that he recalls so.. hope OPs husband has fun!

I don't know and other than the entertainment value of reading flanneruk and Padraig debate I'm only curious if your husband is planning to wear it?

I've read that there are men in Seattle who have started a kilt wearing trend. Is it catching on?

My husband fully intends to wear it on special occasions. I'm not sure about the "entitlement" comment, but his family is from County Mayo & I know the counties each have an identifying plaid....yes, it would be easier to buy it online but I think it would mean alot more if he was able to get it there....funny how a simple innocent question garners such hostile comments....no wonder our world is always at war...

Hostile? I'm biting my tongue here. The "simple innocent question" incorporates a basic misunderstanding about Ireland.

There is no such thing as a county plaid in Ireland, nor a clan plaid; anybody who tells you otherwise is trying to get money from you on a shoddy deal [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/shoddy]. If your husband wants a garment that allows him identify with Mayo, he could buy a football jersey in the colours of the county team: http://www.thegaastore.com/Mayo-Jers...-p/onlc028.htm

The Irish attitude is that real men don't wear skirts.

Padraig, I don't think she was writing to you. The "entitlement" comment was a little strong. It seems odd to think that if one grew up in the US and never set foot in the "old country" that we could have any entitlement. My husband's family is from Ireland but he is an American.

Mimar, reporting from Seattle. You see the occasional man in a kilt, often enough to not get all excited. And last month I took a photo of a man in a kilt in Paris.

(Personally I think kilts are very masculine.)

Mimar, you know how one thing leads to the other on the internet. After seeing this last night, I ended up on utilikilts.com for quite a while. If I were a young woman, I'd want to live in Seattle! Those guys are very masculine.

It's a little known fact that the kilt actually originated in Barbados.

The American Indian guys started the mini skirt

LOL! A heated debate about kilts.

http://irish-nationalism.net/showthr...he-Celts/page2

http://www.libraryireland.com/Social...II-XVIII-3.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilt#Kilts_in_Ireland

http://www.mcginleyclan.org/nativeclothing.htm

http://www.fabricsireland.com/tartans.htm

I don't car what nationality this guy is or whether the kilt is Scottish, Irish or Swedish: http://tinyurl.com/3s8wn5u