Costume and Irish Identity in Ireland (part 2): The Celtic Revival in Ireland

So who were the Celts and why were they so important? Scientists and historians are still debating this one, but as Ireland at the turn-of-the-century understood it, the Celts were an ancient race of purely Irish people. They were known not only through the warriors and kings of Irish mythology (such as Cú Chulainn) but also in historical texts and archaeology, which was just becoming fashionable at that time. In seeking to undo the perceived erosion of Irish culture at the hands of the English, they turned to the noble race of Celts for inspiration. The Gaelic League, formed in 1893 sought the restoration of Gaelic language, music, dance, literature, games and art. They introduced the first feis in 1897 and suggested that the spectators (not the dancers!) wear dress of Irish manufacture or a popular costume of the period based on the ancient dress of the Celts.

This ‘Celtic Costume’ consisted of a brat, or long shawl, and léine, or ankle-length tunic, which was belted at the waste with a crios, or belt. The style suited the women of the early twentieth century just fine and they adopted the costume to fit modern taste and fashions. The brat was worn over or just at the shoulder and fastened with a Tara-style brooch. Embroidered Celtic interlace was featured on both the brat and léine in colorful silk threads on silk poplin or Irish linen. This style of costume was worn to Gaelic League events and gala celebrations, but never in everyday dress.

It was perceived that Celtic men and women would both have worn this style of dress with small variations, but for the men of the Gaelic League - an ankle length ‘dress’ would not do. Thankfully for them, a historian by the name of Eugene O’Curry had translated the word léine to also mean kilt. The kilt had slightly more heroic and masculine overtones (thanks to our Celtic cousins - the Scots) and so it was adopted as the male “Celtic Costume” . In the 1930’s, this same costume would be picked up by Irish dancers male and female, though it was later discounted for lack of any evidence of their existence in Ireland. You can, however, still see some male dancers wearing them today.

In the beginning, Irish dancers wore their ‘Sunday best’, though there existed also a ‘Colleen Bawn’ style, consisting of a flowing cloak with a large hood and a white dress or petticoat. Such a dress was based not on the ancient dress of Celts, but on the peasants of the West coast of Ireland, whose culture was seen as ‘untouched’ by English control. Such a costume, however, was quite difficult to dance in and was deemed not only too ‘stage Irish’ but also a detraction from the dancing. Stage officials banned the use of such costumes sometime around 1930 because of the way it concealed the carriage of the dancers.

The ‘Celtic Costume’, however, fit closer to the body and could hide nothing of a dancer’s flawed performance. It was simple to manufacture, suitably demonstrated a person’s ‘Irishness’ and could be made from Irish material, thus complying with early Oireachtas regulations. Thusly, the ‘Celtic Costume’ began to make the jump from national costume to Irish dancing dress.



Next Week...Sunday Best: Investigating the Origins of Your Costume

Images are courtesy of the John Cullinane Archive of Irish Dance.

An image of a 'Celtic Costume' in use as a dancing dress.

Here we see what we now associate as a typical Irish dance costume, but the memory of the 'Celtic Costume' is still clearly present.