![]() ![]() 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. Another example of this is the character Sherlock Holmes. It was not uncommon for Irishmen to carry their stick wherever they went. As they grew older, carrying a stick was seen as a rite of passage into manhood. 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. ![]()
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