Irish clothing

Traditional Irish clothing is the traditional attire which would have been worn historically by Irish people in Ireland. Such clothing among the men included the léine, brat and triúbhas while the women wore the leine, bart and gúna. These were the traditional items for centuries and are still worn today by a small number of enthusiasts. However, these items were at their height in the medieval period and went into a slow decline after. During the 16th-century Tudor conquest of Ireland, the Dublin Castle administration prohibited many of Ireland’s clothing traditions.^[1] A series of photos captured by French photographers Marguerite Mespoulet and Madeleine Mignon-Alba in 1913 included images of Irish people in traditional clothing. Some of these photos were taken in Claddagh, a town thought to have retained much of its traditional attire.^[2]

Irish dancers in traditional costumes at the Festival de Confolens in France, 1998

Aran jumpers were invented in the early 20th century and are not regarded as true traditional attire. Irish Tweed is a woven fabric that has been fashionable for centuries and used for the manufacture of the brat predominantly. In the past, much weaving was done in the home, with the fabric being delivered to a broker. Today, a few mills exist around Ireland which re-create this tweed in the traditional manner. Donegal is the heartland of Irish tweed and Donegal tweed is better known than other Irish tweeds.

History

Dutch watercolour (c. 1575) of "Irish in the service of the late king Henry (VIII)" depicting a léine.

Arms, Armour, and Dress in Ireland a.d. 1521., an illustration by Albrecht Dürer found in the 1914 book Muiredach, abbot of Monasterboice, 890-923 A. D.; his life and surroundings

Little is known about Irish apparel before the twelfth century. Historians believe that the early inhabitants of Ireland dressed in wool cloth, although some argue that garments made of animal skins were more prevalent. By the thirteenth century, the Irish were bundling themselves in mantles, which are coats made of wool cloth. Most mantles were composed of small scraps of cloth sewn together, although the wealthy were able to afford mantles made from a single but very large piece of cloth.

Cloaks called bratanna (singular: brat), on the other hand, would signify wealth if they were made from several different colours. Beneath these bratanna, they wore léinte (singular: léine), long linen tunics that extended to the ground but were gathered into pleats and belted so that they fell to the knees (the excess material was allowed to hang down at the waist and cover the belt, as can be seen in the Dutch painting illustration). The léine was very wide at the bottom and narrow on top. Likewise, the léine's sleeves were narrow at the upper arms but widened greatly at the elbows. The sleeves were open to allow the lower arm to emerge, but hung down behind the elbow to the knee or sometimes as far as the ground in more ceremonial garb. Léinte were saffron-yellow (léine croich, 'saffron shirt'. The léine was worn throughout Gaelic culture, including in western Scotland, up until the late 16th century. In Ireland, traditional Gaelic dress, including the léine, was banned by the Dublin Castle administration.

Another garment, known as an inar, was a jacket, pleated at either beneath the breast, or at the waist, with split sleeves. Woodcarvings seem to indicate that inar were richly decorated, possibly through embroidery. In winter, a cota mór was added beneath the brat; this was a greatcoat made of thick wool, with a small standup collar and sleeves that unbuttoned below the elbow to allow the long sleeves of the léine to come through. Less is known of the early apparel of the Irish women and children. It is likely that the earliest female inhabitants of Ireland also donned léinte which looked similar (if not identical) to those of their male counterparts. By the fifteenth century, women were wearing long dresses made from wool cloth, often decorated with ribbons and other accessories. Finally, it must be stated that the Kinsale Cloak, Aran sweaters, Galway Shawl, Irish dancing costume, the Ulster Coat and especially the kilt, are not part of traditional Irish attire.

Gallery

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  Muiredach's High Cross (9th century) clearly depicting the Irish léine and mantles. Shoes or brogues and pants were also commonplace in Ireland since the early medieval period long before the Anglo-Normans came to Ireland.
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  The Irish Girl by Ford Maxon Brown, 1860
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  An Irish colleen in traditional dress, c.1890
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  Vintage Galway shawl with its fringe removed
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  An Irishman in County Galway, 1902
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  A Market Square in Galway, circa 1910
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  William Gibson, 2nd Baron Ashbourne (1929) adopted "Irish dress" during the Gaelic revival