The name "kilt" both applies to the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish highlands and the garment worn by Irish pipe bands.
Scottish kilts are known as “The National Dress of Scotland” and are a highly recognized form of dress throughout the world. Kilts have deep cultural and historical roots in the country of Scotland and are a sacred symbol of patriotism and honor for a true Scotsman.
And while the traditional tartan kilt is seen generally as an icon of Scottish culture, many people, especially Americans of Irish heritage, also associate the garment with Ireland as that nation's "traditional dress".
Noted scholar Henry McClintock believes that the idea may have originated with one Eugene O'Curry, Professor of Irish History in the Catholic University of Ireland, who first proposed the idea of the Irish kilt in ancient times in his 1860 Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish.
McClintock also mentions "a well-known antiquarian", Patrick Weston Joyce, who strongly advocated O'Curry's claims in his Social History of Ancient Ireland, which was published in 1903.
Kass McGann cites McClintock's claim that Joyce mistranslated the word "Leine", in reference to an ancient Irish shirt, as "kilt", in her article "Proof against the Existence of an Irish Kilt".
For more info, read Matthew Newsome & Todd Wilkinson's A brief history of Irish kilts & tartans which aims to set the record straight in terms of the origins of the kilt as an Irish garment.
Selecting a tartan can be bewildering at first sight. But choosing is easy and fun once you know how. Here are tips to choosing the right tartan, shared by MacIsaac Kiltmakers.