I was watching police bagpipers on TV the other day, and it seemed to me that the uniform they wear looks more like something a Scots might wear - something from the Black Watch maybe. Is this simply common to both cultures or is there a more direct and recent reason?
There would appear to be a range of Irish tartans , organised by counties rather than clans, as in Scotland. According to this site:
It was in the 19th century that many of the Scots tartans were renewed or designed.
Ah, yes, the so-called “Irish Kilt”. It was introduced by the English: McClintock, H. F., Old Irish and Highland Dress, and that of the Isle of Man, 1 vols., Second and Enlarged edn. (Dundalk: Dundalgan Press (W. Tempest) Ltd, 1950).
The wear of kilts (and belted plaids) among “Irish”-flavored groups is a 20th-century invention.
And it’s not done in Ireland. The only time you’ll see a kilt in Ireland is when the Scots are over here for a rugby match and they’re out on the pull the night before the match or there’s a American pipe band in our Paddy’s day parade.