#Irish shillelagh movie#

Instead of a knobby head to do battle, the handle and shaft contain a flask. Then I think about my great-grandfather's walking stick.

#Irish shillelagh movie#

An example Irish faction fighting can be seen in the movie Gangs of New York. While back in Ireland, often large crowds gathered at religious observations, fairs and wakes consisting of clans or political groups where faction fighting often would occur. His creator gave him a walking stick and made him a master of single-stick fighting. Other traditional options in Ireland include: holly, hawthorn/whitethorn, hazel, chestnut, apple, and oak. Irish Shillelagh Style 'Handmade 33' Knobby Handle & Shaft Walking Stick'. Blackthorn is the king of woods for traditional Irish shillelaghs, but ash is a close second. Brass Designer Polish Eagle Head Handle Cane Wooden Spiral Carved Walking Stick. Another example of this is the character Sherlock Holmes. The classic shillelagh is a one-piece, knobbed, walking stick made from a single sapling or tree branch, often with the bark still attached. It was not uncommon for Irishmen to carry their stick wherever they went. All our sticks are hand crafted using traditional methods, there not mass produced they take time. As they grew older, carrying a stick was seen as a rite of passage into manhood. Celtic Crafts 4U make and supply genuine top quality Irish walking sticks and shillelaghs through our web site at New stock added every week so keep checking site for something different. Folklorist Padraic Colum asserts that young Irish boys were taught and skilled in the traditions of the bata. It is suggested that our word 'bat' and 'baton' come from this word.īrilliant! Here is the correlation between a walking stick and fighting stick. Bata, from the Gaelic, means fighting stick. A shorter version, a cudgel or bata, does exist. The length of a shillelagh should be from your wrist to the ground, with a slight bend in the elbow. The wood was placed in manure or covered with butter and cured in a chimney to ensure the wood would not split during drying. The knobby bit with its broken thorns are some of its desired traits. Blackthorn is a more sturdy wood, having thorns and a large root-knob. Both woods have great significance in the Celtic world. Blackthorn then became the preferred material. However, over time, oak had been felled and exported. Traditionally the canes or walking stick were made out of oak. However, shillelagh became a generic term for any Irish walking stick. The name Shillelagh comes from a forest in Co. I hadn't heard this, which means I needed to find out more.

Some of her customers had told her shillelaghs, or walking sticks, were used as weapons and did I know this. I was speaking with Jackie the bartender the other day and she said she had a story and question for me. 'It is extraordinary what a lot of knocking about a sturdy Irishman can put up with, and what whacks he can receive without any apparent damage.' R.G.