Claíomh

mh' in Ireland in 2001 and currently has members from Dublin, Cork and Galway. Of foremost interest to the group are impressions of military personnel of Irish Gaelic lineage c.1480-1660 - from Irish participation in the Battle of Stoke Field in England in 1487 and up to and including the Irish Confederate & Cromwellian Wars fought from the 1640’s to the early 1650's. Within the late medieval period, particular interest is focused on the heavy infantry galloglasses or gallóglaigh who were originally of Norse-Highland descent, although whose ranks were by sixteenth-century times largely filled by native Irishmen. Other regular interpretations include seasonal 'Redshank' mercenaries from the Scots Highlands/Western Isles, those of Anglo-Irish - or 'Old English' - extraction in Ireland and Anglo-Scots Borderers of the Elizabethan era. Claíomh uses only the highest quality re-constructed artefacts available and many of our reproduced weapons are based upon the unique originals kept in the national collections of both jurisdictions - north and south - on the island of Ireland. In the interest of maintaining high standards of authenticity it is necessary that all plate armours are specially commissioned as individual pieces. All mail is rivetted according to the styles in use in Late Medieval Ireland and contemporary Europe. Where possible all period clothing is faithfully based upon surviving remnants of original woollen and linen garments which have been preserved at various Irish bog sites such as Killery (Co. Similarly shoes and the other various leather trappings are painstakingly remade with the same level of attention to detail. Where archaeological data is not available, contemporary artwork in unison with relevant source documentation is drawn upon - albeit, with an appropriate quantity of caution. Claíomh serves a diverse client-base in various capacities. Events frequently taken on by the membership include corporate events, press releases, private functions, on-site heritage interpretions, parades, clan-rallies, ceremonial guard, in-school/college education and television/film work. Claíomh provides demonstrations as historical/archaeological interpreters and as dramatic stunt-fighters.