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, brat 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 the mid 17th century. During the 16th-century Tudor conquest of Ireland, the Dublin Castle administration prohibited many of Ireland’s clothing traditions. A series of photos captured by French photographers Marguerite Mespoulet and Madeleine Mignon-Alba in 1913 included images of Irish people in later clothing. Some of these photos were taken in Claddagh.

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.