Figure 1.--.

Kilts were not normally worn by Irish school children. We note a school few exceptions, but there was nothing like the situation in Scotlans, another country pn the celtic fringe. We see some photographs that look like kilts, but re pre likely the dresses Irish bpys wpre during the 19th and early-20th cwntury. The kilts that Irish dancers and poper wear seem more a 29th century creation than historic Irish fashions.

The 1980s

A HBC reader tells us about his school in the 1980s run by Scottish nuns whih required kilts.

2003

An Irish reader in 2003 reports that there are a few other Irish schools that have a uniform consisting of a sweater, tie, and kilt. A HBC reader knows there are several schools with kilt uniforms as the clerk in a Dublin uniform shop told him. We do not have information on all of the schools, but one school we know about is a Catholic semi-private school. We know that some schools had kilt uniforms in the 1980s. We are less sure about the 1990s. Some schools may have continued the kilt uniform in the 1990s, but some appear to have introduced it in the 2002. We are not sure why these schools have returned to a traditional uniform. Some reports suggest that the schools are trying to address discipline problems. The kilt uniform with a tie and sweater was the evry day uniform for the boys. The girls wear a skirt and sweater. The kilts in the shop were navy and green with a little yellow. They were worn with a green sweater. This did not appear to be the first year for thekilt uniform. Our English reader reports, "They took up the uniform in September. The shop assistant said that the girls uniform has always been the same. They wore a tartan skirt and a sweater. The school asked the shop to get the same tartan in a kilt for the boys. She said that they had ordered the kilts before the summer. They had to measure all the existing students and arrange for the new students to visit for mesurments. They ordered in enough for September, but they stock a range of sizes for replacments and new students who might join midterm. My guess is that the boys are not impressed, but then again its only a uniform. I know if the school that my boys went to decided to change their uniform I would back it. And I don't think my guys would have a problem with that. I wore a kilt for school for 14 weeks and it did not kill me."

A HBC reader reports, "I had lunch in the same town as the school . It is definitely true that the kilt is back, I saw five boys wearing the new uniform along with three girls from the same school. Before I went into the resturant they were hanging out outside the shop beside it, The uniform looked fine although i dont know if the kilts were too long or were worn by the student low but two of them looked longer than the rest. They wore the sweater with the crest, and wool bottle green knee socks, one wore doc martins and the other four wore normal black shoes, to of the boys wore the school overcoat which was again green and knee length with the school crest, one wore a bomber jacket, and the other two just wore the kilt and sweater. They all wore white shirts and no ties. Two were missing kilt pins, although none of them looked scruffy and all were well groomed. All the girls wore jackets, sweaters and the long skirts, two wore socks. I think they were knee socks and the others wore navy tights. I felt a little sorry for the guys as it was a cold day. I saw two guys cycling bikes and a few more were sitting on the school wall. None of them seemed to mind the uniform and it did not seem to matter to them. I went into the shop and there were a few buying cans of softdrinks. I bought a paper and was chatting to the owner of the shop. I mentioned the uniform and he said that they changed it last year, but it had been much the same a few years ago but they went to a new uniform no one liked it. I guess parents and it always looked shabby so they changed back. I was not there very long, as i had a meeting to attend and wanted lunch but I was quite suprised how many were wearing it. Everone from the school looked very well and wore the uniform with pride, There was a group of students from the other school in the town and they looked a bit scruffy. The girls looked ok but the boys did not. The girls wore a grey skirt, white blouse, and maroon top. The boys wore grey pants, white shirt, and maroon sweater. Some had their school crest others had differen shades of maroon and no crest. Some wore jeans, others wore the grey pants, some had ripped knees or patches, some wore the tie, others half wore it. All of the boys wearing the kilt uniform looked more like a uniform and was more consistant."

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Created: February 12, 2003
Last updated: 2:24 PM 2/14/2020