I want to thank Bernard Leddy for bringing the idea to my attention. Make sure to watch the entire video to learn more about him. Producing these videos is a dream, and I couldn't do it without your support. Every like, comment, and subscription means the world to me; sharing these with your peers, family, and friends is so valuable and a massive contribution. If you can further help me continue this mission and expand my capacity to make higher-quality content for you, I encourage you to visit my website www.bertiebrosnanfilms.com. There, you will find where you can purchase my novella, merch and donation links, which are the greatest ways you can contribute. And you can leave super thanks on these comments, too. I will pin the biggest one here with your comment! Thanks again, much love, Bertie! 🙏
When talking about Blackthorn, Sloe, it would have been nice to actually shown a picture of it, not other trees. The reason btw. why sloe is used is because they grow from runner roots and because of that forms this thick knob. Ghe bush/tree is fairly low and thus has lots of knots from side branches, which makes them though and prevents splitting.
I find nothing offensive in you video. I thank you for posting it. In a time where European governments are going out of their way to disarm their populations, for our own safety, of course, 🤨 yes right... reminding us of our own martial arts, our martial heritage, and the solutions individual peoples found for this problem, is of great intrest to those few left with a bit of backbone to the man. Or woman. Again, thanks.💙🇩🇪
@canavar1435 you should see the sloe/blackthorn on my land. Many are over 30ft and some of the largest pushing on for many 45-50ft. The corps were I cuf my sticks from is a different thing.
Several years ago, I had some medical issues and had to start walking with a cane. Being 6'2" and 300 lbs., I needed something strong. While shopping online, I noticed the Cold Steel Shillelagh made of some sort of near unbreakable composite. It was on sale, so I got one and started using it. Some months later I moved into an apartment building that was for disabled veterans. It was a rough neighborhood and there was a young guy (25ish) that would hang around outside the building and harass the disabled veterans. He had a teardrop tattoo next to his left eye and everyone called him "Scary Gary". One day Scary Gary decided to bark up my tree and try to start a fight. He pulled out a police-style telescoping baton and approached me in a rapid and aggressive manner. I then proceeded to beat Scary Gary like a pinata with that shillelagh. The last any of us ever saw of Scary Gary was of him running down the street screaming "you broke my arm! you broke my f@*king arm!". Irish stick fighting is a martial art. the end
Could you please send me the address for a walking stick r cudgel I'm in Dublin and with all the foreigners and a bad leg myself oh if you notice a cudgel and a native American war club are very much alike thank you my Irish brother but I need some thing like urs but I'm only 511 not as big as you 😅
As someone who has been teaching bataireacht in Ireland for well over a decade there will always be many road blocks to Irish people getting involved. Its a big part of why i started my channel to show the martial and historical side of it.
Subed …my grandad was a wicklow man making the shtick ,do you know anyone making them per height, buy one in a shop there not personal, Rooneys from Shilalagh made them, so it’s a family history..
American Irish. Erin is in the Heart. Been practicing Bataireacht since boyhood. The technique can be applied to sword, axe and knife. Collar and elbow throws. Etc. My favorite tool. Especially since I'm old and stairs have become my nemesis🤪. Erin Go Bragh ☘️
Yeah I've had old timers bring up this, but I took it as something else mainly with canes. Down south where I be and over to the mountains the Ole Ruff N Tumble has been prevalent for many generations..Come to think of it my Granddad carried one perhaps shorter and was quick to administer a beatin to the dogs, myself and others 😂
US - Irish diaspora. Thanks for the video. Appreciate the comments about how we in the States might come across, but it’s from a place of love for our heritage. Some, though, is from anti Irish racism. There was a time when the most signage you’d see would be “no Irish need apply”!!! Glad things have changed for the better. And I’m surprised to hear this amazing martial art is not more well known in Ireland.
I never have any issue with the common person in USA, I love Americans, it's the systems we live in, and their rulers. Same with England in that context.
Very interesting lecture. I’m a Mexican American and have a touch of Irish from my mothers side. Always have been proud of it too. ☘ As for the music you mentioned, it comes from Mississippi Drum and Fife of Othar Turner. The song played in Gangs of New York is called Shimmy She Wobble. Warmest greetings from the San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA. Thanks for sharing.
I'm not Irish. I'm English. I'm here because as you describe in your intro here I have felt a strong mimetic connection to stick fighting. It just happened one day. I was in the woods. I found a stick and started flowing with it. It's great. Then I went home and found a wealth of information online about English,Scottish and French quarterstaff techniques. Now I 've found some Irish moves too. Great stuff. These Irish techniques work well with everyday walking sticks or the average stick you might just pick up as opposed to a quarterstaff you might go hiking with. In that way shillelagh fighting lends itself most readily to everyday confrontations.
The Irish had 3 fighting arts. 1st was wrestling, at one time Irish wrestling was the most popular sport in the USA. Judo probably has a bunch of throws based on it as Judo is only a recent martial arts. You grabbed people by the collar and then controlled their elbow, kicked at their legs, and transitioned into throws and pins. These fights were so popular in the USA because you could go full blast in them and the chance of injury was small, the most youd end up with is bruised shins maybe. You won by pinning different parts of the other persons back down. The 3rd style was axe fighting. The axe was about the same size as these sticks but instead of a knob at the end there was a small axe head. You'd control the axe a lot like in this stick fighting you see in the video. The 2nd was stick fighting, I mention this after the axe fighting to show you that stick fighting was a non lethal version of their lethal axe fighting. This is basically one of the reasons the Irish became known as brawlers, all 3 of their fighting styles were for on the street, every day, defense.. start a fight in a pub, and they grab you and grapple you to the ground, get more serious and the stick comes out, you might get more injured here.. pull out a knife, and they would pull out an axe. They would rarely use shields or armour, but were known to have armour on one hand if they were going to fight a sword. The idea being is they would grab your sword and then swing their axe down, you would raise your shield, the bar of the axe would hit the top endge of the sheild, but the part that sticks out a the top of the axe would come down below the guard line and hit your head. We dont know a lot about the axe fighting other than they were able to split open helmets if you were wearing one, had a ferocious strong swing, and were documented as killing charging horses with single axe blows sending the horse head over heels... so its probable to get as strong as them at swinging an axe or stick youd have to spend your life doing it, and although we can guess the techniques, we have lost how just amazingly strong these old stick fighters would have been swinging sticks. Even in England the sticks would have been swung with strength that takes a long time to pick up. Like english long bow, their muscles developed different from a lifetime of pulling the bow.
European martial arts are underappreciated. We focus exclusively on Asian martial arts (minus the martial arts of India). European, African, Native American, Indian, basically every regional martial art gets overshadowed by China, Japan (Okinawa), and Korea. I'm glad people are bringing new awareness about these fighting traditions.
Absolutely, 100% agree. Even the label 'Martial Art' is Asian in origin and can feel a little strange when speaking of European and Irish fighting styles.
@@BertieBrosnan the term "martial art" does indeed associate heavily with Asian fighting styles. It's translation means "arts of Mars" which links it to the Roman god of war, indicating that this term could and very much should be linked to European combat styles.
My response to Asian Martial Arts homers is very simple...how would an unarmored samurai with just his katana fair in the back streets of Milan in 1514 CE against an unarmored Italian swordsman with a rapier? Or stand off 100 Samurai versus 100 Galloglas? I think it is a bad day for the Samurai all the way around.
@@mysteryfist that is an interesting take. I like this line of reasoning. Since I read Klauswitz, I had thought of Martial art as Millitary art. But Art of the War God is much more loquacious. Thank you for this opinion! Good luck out there.
I'm willing to argue that all Eastern martial arts have their roots in the Indus Valley. " Why did the mad monk travel East? Planting flowers in spring Bhodisifa responds , I know not " The traveling teacher took the practice of mindfulness yoga east , and became the various martial schools over the past 3000 years. Europe's primary martial skills are often not even recognized as such but both Pancreas and Boxing have European roots, and both are very good schools of combat.
A lot of people don't understand that every culture has a fighting style. I had a chance to study kali, a double wielded blade fighting system. Came across some amazing European styles, too. Hema mostly. People don't realize how great sword craft was and how influential from East to West and West to East blending into a human fighting system that works everywhere and is for everyone. Great work.
I learned bataireacht in 2007 in Ireland from my teacher Mr. Ramsey. I've been teaching it for more than 15 years now, and heading the style I was taught which we name Antrim Bata, for the county where it was preserved. I teach it on a weekly basis in Ottawa, Canada, but I've taught in many other countries over the years, including Ireland, where I am proud to say that we now have a study group under Nathan Featherstone (aka Rambling Kern). I've observed a lot of what you are saying here in this video. There are many people who feel great enthusiasm for bataireacht, but also many that respond with great negativity, even hostility. Partly because of lack of awareness, but also, as you note, how the practice became so intensely repressed and reviled that many have integrated the worst elements of propaganda that were used to describe it. I made a presentation last year to an Irish language camp. Some of the attendees were Irish immigrants and came to the presentation with very strong negative ideas about bata. The thing that really shifted their views though were excerpts of newspapers from the 18th and 19th century, describing how some Irish people used shillelaghs to fight off British press gangs, slavers and criminals. This made them realize that, not only shillelaghs were also used to do good, but that they were potent weapons in their right. I never considered this, but many people perceive the shillelagh as some fairly harmless and ridiculous stick, capable only of inflicting pain to other Irish people, and not a real weapon that one could use for self defense or even war. If bataireacht want to have a future, it must present itself in a way that breaks those preconceived judgements, and not feed into the usual stereotypes. The community is growing, Antrim Bata is now taught in seven different countries, but with this growth comes challenges. People have tried to imitate what we teach, and pass it off as authentic and traditional. Those can do great damage to the image and reputation of this martial art. It's very important for the Bata scene to come together to portray what we truly are.
I’m a big Shillelagh fan from Australia. Always had an interest in them since receiving my first crack with one from my Father in law from Belfast, when I was 16. I’ve trained in the many arts for a long time and will definitely keep an eye out I’m 55 now and there’s 4 of them on my front porch, and for all intents and purposes, they are just sticks to the untrained eye. Cheers mate.
As a young native Californian, I had a dad who had 3 Shillelagh, (one from his grandfather, one from his father and his own). My father was an Irish American who could still speak Irish with his grandmother. I thought I was the only one who knew what a shillelagh was.
I'm 24, grew up in rural Wicklow, I made my first shillelagh when I was still a child. Me and my friends would absolutely bate one another in our "stick war". Great memories. I still make them, along with staves. I have a couple drying atm, takes years. I have used all different woods, but blackthorn really is different, as heavy as a metal pole and impossible to snap when cured. I keep two in my bedroom LOL. The tradition is not completely dead amongst the youth, outside the city anyway, look at the hurl, how often do young lads "forget" their sliotar? I would much prefer the boys carrying sticks rather than knives, which is more common nowadays unfortunately. I love my culture and heritage. I won't let it die. If anyone is interested in cutting some blackthorn, between now and January is your window, no foliage and the sap has gone to the root. Good luck!
Very interesting and informative documentary on Irish culture and history of stick fighting. Thank God for the Irish as 18th century re-enactor I have studied the battles of Kings Mountain and Cow pens The Irish preserved and won both battles. As a retired soldier hand to hand combat is less likely to happen not that it can’t happen. So too persevere a fighting art in a sense persevered history. Cheers from Colorado.
That was very educational and enjoyable as an Irish person living not far from shillelagh i never knew it's true reason, like most i thought a hard wearing walking stick, finding out that Ireland has it own ancient Martial arts called batariacht in my 5th decade is amazing, im so thankful for learning more about my heritage and customs, your correct about alot of good Irish customs and games seen as bad bc of the british occupation banning our language religion even education you can't work and learn, all this needs to be brought back into the Irish mainstream again, with globalization immigration, migrants etc, it's gonna get harder to hang onto our true Irish Heritage ☘️💚
I got chills listening to this. I live in Buffalo, New York. My great grandparents can here from Carrie. We've always had his shillehlagh hanging on the wall. Hear in Buffalo we have a massive amount of people from Ireland here. I've always wanted to visit and I will with my children. I'd love to learn this martial art.
Western boxing and Wrestling are very prevalent in the U.S. how ever they have become sport. There are a few places and people that still teach folk style wrestling and Catch as Catch can. Some people still dirty box bare knuckle. I think as these were passed down mostly in family and friend groups was not as codified as traditional Asian martial arts.
@@marcoeire44Muay Thai is one of the most advantageous allround fighting sports you can do, and is a good base for MMA. The clinch game is even akin to types of stand up wrestling. Only thing missing is a proper ground submission skills.
Love the video, but love hearing your voice even more! It reminds me of my grandmother! I barely knew her as she died when I was young. I wish I could have learned some Irish from her! My father apparently knew some, but died before I was born.
A very powerful video that has changed how i see the country i was born and raised in. I'm 37, and very able, but for some reason i now need a blackthorn 'walking stick' ;) Thanks for making these for me Bertie! ian
Weldone raising awareness of our real culture and heritage. Our ancestors left us with an identity to cherish, we must bring that identity back to modern Ireland.
I'm a north German guy of almost 63 years of age. Some years ago I came across the shillelagh here on YT and watched a couple of clips about it. I like the fact, that the Irish people had used it to bypass the arms restrictions of the British colonizers back in the day. Today, many people in Germany and undoubtedly in other European countries as well, are facing the neccessity to have some kind of option of a defense weapon against the imported violence and knife-crime on our streets , that presently spreads across our lands like wildfire, whereas more and more of such means are rendered illegal for us citizens by our politicians and governments. Because of this I've been searching for a suitable blackthorn stick since to try and make a shilleleagh(well,sort of)by myself, but haven't been lucky so far to find one , though, being an ardent angler, I spend a lot of time in the outdoors. Last summer I've harvested a stave of another, to me unknown, wood, which has a 90° bend perfectly suited to make up for the handle of a walking stick. This stick currently dries out in my basement and when it would have lost enough moisture , I'm going to start working on it. I'm planning on a steel tip and a lead-loaded handle portion, not like a genuine shilleleagh though, but nevertheless inspired by this piece of the Irish culture and history. And walking sticks are not illegal to carry, not even in Germany , at least not for now. Thanks a bunch for this most interesting documentary, cheers from northern Germany
I remember seeing a hedge in a park in Hamburg that had really interesting wood and I bet it would make good fighting sticks. Might even be blackthorn because it was dark with thorns. It was in a park next to the U bahn stop Kellinghusenstrasse, please forgive me if I spelled it wrong. I don't know if you're close to Hamburg and it might be bad to get caught cutting the hedge. But I hope that helps.
@@comfortablynumb9342 Thanks a bunch for chiming in, in fact I live in the eastern rural vicinity of Hamburg. But surely I would not take the risk to roam the city parks with a foldable handsaw, might even get prosecuted for violating the crazy new weapon restrictions🤣🤣. I really prefer to stay in the countryside these days , cities don't mean nothing to me anymore.
@61diemai I would love to see where you live. Hamburg was a lot of fun in 2001-02 when I went a couple times. I went to Braunschweig and der Autostadt and Berlin too on my first trip. I really liked Germany. I still have my leather pants from der Reeperbahn.
@@comfortablynumb9342 I live in a small town east of Hamburg, just 36kms from the city, the fast train just takes 19min to HH-Hauptbahnhof, by car one would use about 30 to 45 min ,depending on route and traffic. When I was young during the 70's and 80's, I used to like the big city as well , also the Reeperbahn , used to go to a psychedelic diso club there named "Grünspan" located ath the "Große Freiheit",a side street of the Reeperbahn. I even used to fish the Alster lake on occassion during later years, but there are more rural fishing waters located in Hamburg's southeast, a landscape looking a bit like the Netherlands though located on Hamburg premises just 20 min. from the heart of the city. But today, as I grow older, I do not like the city anymore , as it changed too much for my liking and became more and more overcrowded. Same goes for Berlin , being at least three times larger than Hamburg. I've been there for just one day during my entire life, drove in there to care of the business, I came for and afterwards drove back home again and I did not like it.
I’ve made a couple from blackthorn the last few years. My Nana had one when I was little. The wood is so heavy that I don’t know how all of the fighting didn’t end in cracked skulls. Good video mate cheers.
I LIVED IN KINGSCOURT IN CAVAN and learned from a couple of oul lads that the last faction fight happened at the fair day in the late thirties early forties i dont have evidence …some one in Cavan could the local. Papers ..great report
I have needed the use of a stick for many years now and fell in love with Irish Blackthorn some years ago now. I have several types of Shillelagh from thin to pretty thick. The outdoor market here in NE Scotland is a good place to find old sticks that have been hidden away for years.
I personally think shillelaghs are awesome! I am of Irish descent, my great grandmother being from Belfast, and I have a fascination with connecting to the unattainable; to honour and respect my ancestors by keeping their memories, names and traditions alive. I can understand how the current Irish feel mocked by depictions of adults dressed like leprechauns and dancing a jig. After all, I'm Canadian, and we have no shortage of own stereotypes to contend with, not to mention when my pasty-skinned self goes to visit distant cousins at Pow Wows on reserves. But people drawn to videos like this are mostly interested in the history and practice of bataireacht, than dressing up like the Lucky Charms mascots and making a fool of themselves. I am also planning on harvesting my own blackthorn and making a shillelagh of my own, as my legs struggle to carry me at times, and there's nothing more beautiful than a proper shillelagh cane. And having martial knowledge is never a bad idea either. It is funny though that our modern world has turned the term "martial arts" into a very focused term, from only certain ethnicities; when in reality, every group of humans has had to defend itself against other humans. As such, elite (or sometimes peasant) fighters were trained with their cultures weapons (or tools), and developed their own martial arts. Even a seemingly unified group, like the French, occupied such a large portion of land and for such a long time, that variants of martial combative techniques evolved to better suit the people, terrain and weapons used
Enjoyed your video, first time seeing your channel. Keep them coming, our kids are not taught Irish history as we were. It's important especially now when so much that makes us Irish is being distorted or diluted, ignored and forgotten. So please, thanks.
When my ancestors came over to Canada in 1840-50 they brought 3 things, the Bible, a jar with pieces of the cross in water, and the shelalie and when they landed they took the shelalie saying it was a weapon. It was never talked about after that
I commented many months ago on a channel with what's going on in your country and since you have been disarmed the classic Irish walking stick should be standard fare as a show of solidarity and as self-defense which is your god-given right of defense . This is a wonderful video and should be viewed by everyone Blessings to my Irish cousins coming at you from the mountains of Southern Oregon
I started Doyle style in the US last year under Tom Moore who learned from Glen Doyle from Canada and it's been great. Glen was the first to teach the style outside the family after he got permission from his father to do so. A very practical martial art.
Hello from Lanett Alabama on the Chattahoochee River. I'm really enjoying the video.Thank you for the time and effort you put into it. I intend to subscribe when it's over. I watched a fellow do a demonstration of this very interesting martial art. Iv made several canes for my Dad. 2 of them had the large burrel knot that after I debarked and seasoned up in the attic over a year. With the very intent of them also being a means of self-defense if needed. Did you know the knife company Cold Steel makes what they call The Irish Blackthorn walking Stick.From photos It looks like its really made from the wood but is actually made from a very dence and strong poly resin or similar very tough material. I look forward to watching more of your channel. Have a good one, Brother 👍
This just came up on my feed and I’ve watched 2 minutes of the video and I think I love it. Well done getting this out. My family are native to Donegal, my father learned this from an old boy, who used to sweep people off their feet with the shillelagh for the craíc. He saw this old boy at this in town and quizzed him. I learned it too and have taught my son. The cutting and curing of a bata is an important part of the journey. It stems from sword fighting and was… haha.. you’re just covering it now as I’m typing. Great video. Edit to add: I’ve just cooled down a moment. My dad tells me there’s a lad in Fermanagh teaching Fir bata (?) Batairacht (?) It’s very similar to single stick Escrima from the Philippines but uses perhaps a more brutal knockout style given the heavier bata. Keep it alive lads.
Im a Gael born on Tyneside. I bought a (Blackthorn) Shillelagh from Ireland a year ago. Iv watched a few videos on Irish stick fighting. This video is excelent. My history. ERIN GO BRAGH. ☘️
I found one at a gun show in Florida of all places. The guy basically gave it away because I was the first person in years to have an interest in it. It was cool to run into you again on the net brother! Fourteen!
Oh have we communicated before Mo Chara? Hey great to hear you got a good deal. I paid 120 quid for my Shillelagh. It's a beauty tho. Yes 14 to you too!
Cummins and Ryan of Holly Cross, Tipperary descendant here. My Great Great Grandmothers family were involved in these fights. There's also a Shillelagh sitting nicely in my office :)
Texan here. I have carried a stick my whole life. I made them as a kid. No one taught me. I grew up in a tough neighborhood. With a stick I never felt alone. I can take it anywhere, even on an airplane. No one questions it. Go Ireland.
Thanks for bringing this to light. Im a yank with Scottish and Irish lineage. I get so sick of the Americanized version of not only Irish identity but also my Alban heritage. Some how Americans have had their ancestry commercialized and stolen from them. I will be buying the stick fighting books by Hurley and following your content to start teaching my grandkids on how to protect themselves with a wee stick.
@BertieBrosnan yet fools fall for the cartoon way of thinking about their own heritage. Be it Saint Patrick's day, Cinco de Mayo, Thanksgiving, you name it. We Americans have fallen for the media made caricature of culture. I see it as the stripping away of our ancestry and heritage. We as Americans are taught to be a melting pot so we have no greater culture and all those cultures that have been brought here are green shamrocks, sombreros, chef boyardy and Mario, and groundskeeper Willie.
Class video, I never heard about the faction fighting with Shillelaghs. We had loads of them in my house growing up. I knew they were weapon of some sort. This was a very informative video, well presented. New subscriber mo chara.
This was outstanding ! I love the people involved they are wonderful human beings ! God bless the righteous Irish with mercy and peace health and happiness Amen 🙏🏻
Just found ur channel, lookin forward ta watchin the rest of ur film's,, was gettin inta bataireacht a good few yr's back, but somehow fell by the wayside, So thank's for the reminder, Great Stuff!
Absolutely fantastic, you've inspired me to learn more as I'm using a Shillelagh due to bad spinal issues. I'm also going to check out John Hurley's book. I'll figure out which of the 5 have actual exercises and methods of Bataireacht. Slainte, and keep up the great work
Perhaps look into the history of Strokestown, "town of the blows." Given its proximity to Rathcroghan, perhaps it was the location of a bataraicht school or contest.
The company Cold Steel has been producing a hardened plastic Irish fighting stick shillelagh made to look like black thorn wood for at least ten or more years.
As an American, I feel the pang of knowing my ancestors achieved what they did through colonization and exploitation. A large part of my heritage is English, through Texas. I have slavers just a few generations back. Is it any wonder that we focus on our ancestors as a means of redemption? I have Irish ancestry and that is by far the part of my blood that I'm most proud of, even though it represents a minority place in my family history. Thanks for this channel, you have a new subscriber.
I've heard of this but haven't found anyone bringing it back to the surface. Also your grammar sounds very familiar to people I know here in the American South. The ole Dis & Dat talk😂Thanks cousin!
When i was younger there was a Irish wrestler in WWE his name was Finley. He portrayed a bad guy (a heel) and he would come out to the ring with a shillelagh, and use it to win matches. The announcers would always talk about the shillelagh, as a kid i would always say shillelagh because i thought it sounded funny being pronounced (sha lay lee). Its cool to see this video talking about the significance of the shillelagh to Irish people because as an American kid i just thought it was a WWE thing with the wrestler Finley😂.
When Fudal Japan ended, the Edo period lasted 400 years and a lot of martial arts were kept alive through text. Kanō Jigorō revived martial arts in Japan through educational institutions and competition.
A little thing about the "fighting irish" point. The team was made to pay homage to when irish immigrants stood up and faught agaisnt the KKK in America. Its sad that the history of that has been lost and turned into a caricature but that's where that came from.
Talking about this with my mother last night,,who grew up in turloughmore. (Burke family)said the fair of turloughmore was always a brutal event every year and was banned for years.. I'm not exactly an old man. 39. But I remember when the fair finally came back for a short period. It came back in the terms of a blood bath only using hurleys and fists or barstools instead. There was 3 prosperous pub's in 1 small area and they literally were safe spots for certain groups of people to keep them apart. But never worked. Fair hasn't been seen here in about 25 years or so..
I prefer the Irish name Bataireacht, over stick fighting. It adds a touch of mystique. If Taekwondo was called the art of kick and punch, it would never have caught on outside of Asia. Reviving our Gaeilic heritage is an important part of de-colonialization. In Rwanda, they have given the world "umuganda" which in Rwandese heritage is voluntary community work. Bataireacht! I like it. Also, I would really like if we had a minister for arts who would hold a competition, inviting historians and architects to imagine how Irish architecture might have evolved over time and the commission the winning designs to be built. It would be like the project in France where they built a medieval castle using traditional methods but obviously, our indiginous heritage is not Norman so the winning designs would not be castles or English colonial houses but reimagined round towers and ring forts which might have evolved into something different and of course more modern with each passing century of the last millennium. These could gradually be built retrospectively throughout the country, using existing castles and colonial houses for construction material. Time, would give them the history they need to become authentic.
Great history stuff! I walk with a cane, a Cold Steel City Stick that is really just a small mace with an 18 oz solid metal top. Its not because I need one, its just in todays world a bit of medieval martial art when you can't or don't carry a firearm is an advantage. I've been in some form of martial art since age 11, even at 63 I would love to deep dive into Bataireacht. And for older people that might be, next to a firearm, a very good way of training how to use a cane effectively in a self-defense situation.
Thankyou for your work here Ireland doesn't need people telling us what to do . As you say Gaelic Ireland was never conquered by the Roman Empire, managed to defeat the Vikings and most importantly survived the Protestant ascendancy won a war of independence against Great Britain and ended the excessive power of the Catholic church. We need to remember who we are a distinct people who can stand proudly in the assembly of Nations who have a right to maintain our historical identity so yeah imma check out the stick fighting I dont think ill be disappointed nice one sir and thankyou
I made my own Fighting stick from ancient Scottish bog wood We call Iron Wood it’s a truly amazing wood and I’m telling you I could kill a Man easily with one swing into the temple,cranium,kneck all instant kills ! Those black thorn Fighting Sticks are absolutely brutal I’ve wielded Black thorn against 2mm aluminium and the plate metal will stands no chance . The injury sustained would mean bouts could be fatal or single fight careers with fighters getting wrecked in one match . In real World settings it’s just not possible to insure something so dangerous when death is so assured.
I love my history but im prioritising hurling b4 this (great video i didnt even know about Bataireacht at all before this) Tá an focail ana aisteach lol
I read a book once called 'The last of the name' by Charles mc Glinchey and many times in it does it mention the likes of 'he was a fine young man and handy with the stick' or 'they were good with a stick'. I wasnt sure what they meant but now i do.. thanks and great video.. the man the book was about was the last of his family and he said 'when i am buried the grave will be covered and never opened again for i am the last of the name' a great book about life in inishowen, co Donegal in the late 1700s early 1800s..
I always wanted a real blackthorn shillelagh. I got the cold steel made from the impact resistant plastic. But i always wanted a real one. Can't afford one. How come a stick has to be so expensive? I'm descended from the Melvin family of ireland, a surname of the scottish Melvilles. So i always felt a connection to scottland and Ireland but i haven't done enough to learn my roots. It's time that i start learning my harritage.
In the late 90s a group of us were doing lots of research into the history and records of Irish stick fighting. Ken Pfrenger was point man on the project. Several of us have been teaching the various sticks to small groups here and there. The walking stick size Bata and the cipin or small stick, a larger cudgel that is more like four or a bit more feet long. And a rabbit stick more for throwing. There is a lot of valuable info out there that we found. The easiest mention of it that we find is in a tenth century text Melbreitha. We also know that at least one family had a related practic and used by the women for defense that used a rock in a stocking. Ken died some years ago but a number of us have kept practicing and teaching. In the early oughts Ken and I did a demonstration at an international martial arts convention. We are not related to the Doyle school out of Canada and our grips etc look a bit different.
I was thinking about doing some videos covering the basic grips, strikes and parries that we did because they line up more with the sources from the nineteenth century and some of the earlier stuff and differ considerably from the Doyle school. @@BertieBrosnan
As an Irish American im proude of my heritage and as disabled combat veteran im always looking for a good multi use walking stick tmand the fact that it can be used for self defence just makes itperfect so if i could get a link to a shop that has real blackthorn walking sticks it would be much appreciated
I want to thank Bernard Leddy for bringing the idea to my attention. Make sure to watch the entire video to learn more about him. Producing these videos is a dream, and I couldn't do it without your support. Every like, comment, and subscription means the world to me; sharing these with your peers, family, and friends is so valuable and a massive contribution. If you can further help me continue this mission and expand my capacity to make higher-quality content for you, I encourage you to visit my website www.bertiebrosnanfilms.com. There, you will find where you can purchase my novella, merch and donation links, which are the greatest ways you can contribute. And you can leave super thanks on these comments, too. I will pin the biggest one here with your comment! Thanks again, much love, Bertie! 🙏
What are the round balls for sale in the early part of the video
When talking about Blackthorn, Sloe, it would have been nice to actually shown a picture of it, not other trees. The reason btw. why sloe is used is because they grow from runner roots and because of that forms this thick knob. Ghe bush/tree is fairly low and thus has lots of knots from side branches, which makes them though and prevents splitting.
I find nothing offensive in you video. I thank you for posting it. In a time where European governments are going out of their way to disarm their populations, for our own safety, of course, 🤨 yes right... reminding us of our own martial arts, our martial heritage, and the solutions individual peoples found for this problem, is of great intrest to those few left with a bit of backbone to the man. Or woman. Again, thanks.💙🇩🇪
@@canavar1435I'm always learning, noted. Thank you.
@canavar1435 you should see the sloe/blackthorn on my land. Many are over 30ft and some of the largest pushing on for many 45-50ft. The corps were I cuf my sticks from is a different thing.
Several years ago, I had some medical issues and had to start walking with a cane. Being 6'2" and 300 lbs., I needed something strong. While shopping online, I noticed the Cold Steel Shillelagh made of some sort of near unbreakable composite. It was on sale, so I got one and started using it. Some months later I moved into an apartment building that was for disabled veterans. It was a rough neighborhood and there was a young guy (25ish) that would hang around outside the building and harass the disabled veterans. He had a teardrop tattoo next to his left eye and everyone called him "Scary Gary". One day Scary Gary decided to bark up my tree and try to start a fight. He pulled out a police-style telescoping baton and approached me in a rapid and aggressive manner. I then proceeded to beat Scary Gary like a pinata with that shillelagh. The last any of us ever saw of Scary Gary was of him running down the street screaming "you broke my arm! you broke my f@*king arm!". Irish stick fighting is a martial art.
the end
Nice, love it!
LEGEND
Could you please send me the address for a walking stick r cudgel I'm in Dublin and with all the foreigners and a bad leg myself oh if you notice a cudgel and a native American war club are very much alike thank you my Irish brother but I need some thing like urs but I'm only 511 not as big as you 😅
The biggest mistake we made was letting in the Catholic church and any foreign religions we had our own druids and our brehon laws
Fecking church spoiling every thing 😅
As someone who has been teaching bataireacht in Ireland for well over a decade there will always be many road blocks to Irish people getting involved. Its a big part of why i started my channel to show the martial and historical side of it.
Subed …my grandad was a wicklow man making the shtick ,do you know anyone making them per height, buy one in a shop there not personal, Rooneys from Shilalagh made them, so it’s a family history..
Who did you learn from?
What are you raving about "roadblocks"?
Get a grip, boyo.
Has Ireland got a medieval full metal mma team. They need to
Do you think hurley has preserved some fighting techniques?
American Irish. Erin is in the Heart. Been practicing Bataireacht since boyhood. The technique can be applied to sword, axe and knife. Collar and elbow throws. Etc. My favorite tool. Especially since I'm old and stairs have become my nemesis🤪. Erin Go Bragh ☘️
That's class, go raibh míle maith agat 🇮🇪
Yeah I've had old timers bring up this, but I took it as something else mainly with canes. Down south where I be and over to the mountains the Ole Ruff N Tumble has been prevalent for many generations..Come to think of it my Granddad carried one perhaps shorter and was quick to administer a beatin to the dogs, myself and others 😂
all fighting arts and their weapons should be respected and keep alive. This is a very beautiful video on this unique fighting stick and style.
100%
US - Irish diaspora. Thanks for the video. Appreciate the comments about how we in the States might come across, but it’s from a place of love for our heritage. Some, though, is from anti Irish racism. There was a time when the most signage you’d see would be “no Irish need apply”!!! Glad things have changed for the better. And I’m surprised to hear this amazing martial art is not more well known in Ireland.
I never have any issue with the common person in USA, I love Americans, it's the systems we live in, and their rulers. Same with England in that context.
Very interesting lecture. I’m a Mexican American and have a touch of Irish from my mothers side. Always have been proud of it too. ☘ As for the music you mentioned, it comes from Mississippi Drum and Fife of Othar Turner. The song played in Gangs of New York is called Shimmy She Wobble. Warmest greetings from the San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA. Thanks for sharing.
Oh nice, thank you bro. Love Mexican culture, want to visit.
I'm not Irish. I'm English. I'm here because as you describe in your intro here I have felt a strong mimetic connection to stick fighting. It just happened one day. I was in the woods. I found a stick and started flowing with it. It's great. Then I went home and found a wealth of information online about English,Scottish and French quarterstaff techniques. Now I 've found some Irish moves too. Great stuff. These Irish techniques work well with everyday walking sticks or the average stick you might just pick up as opposed to a quarterstaff you might go hiking with. In that way shillelagh fighting lends itself most readily to everyday confrontations.
Class, I love that.
B@@BertieBrosnansingle stick
The Irish had 3 fighting arts. 1st was wrestling, at one time Irish wrestling was the most popular sport in the USA. Judo probably has a bunch of throws based on it as Judo is only a recent martial arts. You grabbed people by the collar and then controlled their elbow, kicked at their legs, and transitioned into throws and pins. These fights were so popular in the USA because you could go full blast in them and the chance of injury was small, the most youd end up with is bruised shins maybe. You won by pinning different parts of the other persons back down.
The 3rd style was axe fighting. The axe was about the same size as these sticks but instead of a knob at the end there was a small axe head. You'd control the axe a lot like in this stick fighting you see in the video.
The 2nd was stick fighting, I mention this after the axe fighting to show you that stick fighting was a non lethal version of their lethal axe fighting.
This is basically one of the reasons the Irish became known as brawlers, all 3 of their fighting styles were for on the street, every day, defense.. start a fight in a pub, and they grab you and grapple you to the ground, get more serious and the stick comes out, you might get more injured here.. pull out a knife, and they would pull out an axe. They would rarely use shields or armour, but were known to have armour on one hand if they were going to fight a sword. The idea being is they would grab your sword and then swing their axe down, you would raise your shield, the bar of the axe would hit the top endge of the sheild, but the part that sticks out a the top of the axe would come down below the guard line and hit your head. We dont know a lot about the axe fighting other than they were able to split open helmets if you were wearing one, had a ferocious strong swing, and were documented as killing charging horses with single axe blows sending the horse head over heels... so its probable to get as strong as them at swinging an axe or stick youd have to spend your life doing it, and although we can guess the techniques, we have lost how just amazingly strong these old stick fighters would have been swinging sticks. Even in England the sticks would have been swung with strength that takes a long time to pick up. Like english long bow, their muscles developed different from a lifetime of pulling the bow.
@@geroutathat A wealth of information, thankyou. 😎
@@geroutathatdon't forget darts and javelins.
European martial arts are underappreciated. We focus exclusively on Asian martial arts (minus the martial arts of India). European, African, Native American, Indian, basically every regional martial art gets overshadowed by China, Japan (Okinawa), and Korea. I'm glad people are bringing new awareness about these fighting traditions.
Absolutely, 100% agree. Even the label 'Martial Art' is Asian in origin and can feel a little strange when speaking of European and Irish fighting styles.
@@BertieBrosnan the term "martial art" does indeed associate heavily with Asian fighting styles. It's translation means "arts of Mars" which links it to the Roman god of war, indicating that this term could and very much should be linked to European combat styles.
My response to Asian Martial Arts homers is very simple...how would an unarmored samurai with just his katana fair in the back streets of Milan in 1514 CE against an unarmored Italian swordsman with a rapier? Or stand off 100 Samurai versus 100 Galloglas? I think it is a bad day for the Samurai all the way around.
@@mysteryfist that is an interesting take. I like this line of reasoning. Since I read Klauswitz, I had thought of Martial art as Millitary art.
But Art of the War God is much more loquacious. Thank you for this opinion!
Good luck out there.
I'm willing to argue that all Eastern martial arts have their roots in the Indus Valley.
" Why did the mad monk travel East?
Planting flowers in spring Bhodisifa responds , I know not "
The traveling teacher took the practice of mindfulness yoga east , and became the various martial schools over the past 3000 years.
Europe's primary martial skills are often not even recognized as such but both Pancreas and Boxing have European roots, and both are very good schools of combat.
A lot of people don't understand that every culture has a fighting style. I had a chance to study kali, a double wielded blade fighting system. Came across some amazing European styles, too. Hema mostly. People don't realize how great sword craft was and how influential from East to West and West to East blending into a human fighting system that works everywhere and is for everyone. Great work.
Thank you for bringing up this knowledge. I know about kali (philipine stick fighting method) but never knew about irish bataireacht before this.
I learned bataireacht in 2007 in Ireland from my teacher Mr. Ramsey. I've been teaching it for more than 15 years now, and heading the style I was taught which we name Antrim Bata, for the county where it was preserved. I teach it on a weekly basis in Ottawa, Canada, but I've taught in many other countries over the years, including Ireland, where I am proud to say that we now have a study group under Nathan Featherstone (aka Rambling Kern). I've observed a lot of what you are saying here in this video. There are many people who feel great enthusiasm for bataireacht, but also many that respond with great negativity, even hostility. Partly because of lack of awareness, but also, as you note, how the practice became so intensely repressed and reviled that many have integrated the worst elements of propaganda that were used to describe it.
I made a presentation last year to an Irish language camp. Some of the attendees were Irish immigrants and came to the presentation with very strong negative ideas about bata. The thing that really shifted their views though were excerpts of newspapers from the 18th and 19th century, describing how some Irish people used shillelaghs to fight off British press gangs, slavers and criminals. This made them realize that, not only shillelaghs were also used to do good, but that they were potent weapons in their right. I never considered this, but many people perceive the shillelagh as some fairly harmless and ridiculous stick, capable only of inflicting pain to other Irish people, and not a real weapon that one could use for self defense or even war. If bataireacht want to have a future, it must present itself in a way that breaks those preconceived judgements, and not feed into the usual stereotypes. The community is growing, Antrim Bata is now taught in seven different countries, but with this growth comes challenges. People have tried to imitate what we teach, and pass it off as authentic and traditional. Those can do great damage to the image and reputation of this martial art. It's very important for the Bata scene to come together to portray what we truly are.
Thanks so much for sharing this 🙏 I appreciate your thoughts on the topic.
Thanks for keeping it alive my bruh. Good stuff.
I’m a big Shillelagh fan from Australia. Always had an interest in them since receiving my first crack with one from my Father in law from Belfast, when I was 16. I’ve trained in the many arts for a long time and will definitely keep an eye out I’m 55 now and there’s 4 of them on my front porch, and for all intents and purposes, they are just sticks to the untrained eye. Cheers mate.
Front porch, eh? Nice of you to supply weapons for intruders.
Most welcome, thank you 😊
As a young native Californian, I had a dad who had 3 Shillelagh, (one from his grandfather, one from his father and his own). My father was an Irish American who could still speak Irish with his grandmother. I thought I was the only one who knew what a shillelagh was.
I'm 24, grew up in rural Wicklow, I made my first shillelagh when I was still a child. Me and my friends would absolutely bate one another in our "stick war". Great memories.
I still make them, along with staves. I have a couple drying atm, takes years. I have used all different woods, but blackthorn really is different, as heavy as a metal pole and impossible to snap when cured.
I keep two in my bedroom LOL.
The tradition is not completely dead amongst the youth, outside the city anyway, look at the hurl, how often do young lads "forget" their sliotar?
I would much prefer the boys carrying sticks rather than knives, which is more common nowadays unfortunately.
I love my culture and heritage. I won't let it die.
If anyone is interested in cutting some blackthorn, between now and January is your window, no foliage and the sap has gone to the root. Good luck!
Absolutely love this, thank you for sharing 👏
I believe lots of baseball bats are sold too and no balls bought lol
Very interesting and informative documentary on Irish culture and history of stick fighting. Thank God for the Irish as 18th century re-enactor I have studied the battles of Kings Mountain and Cow pens The Irish preserved and won both battles.
As a retired soldier hand to hand combat is less likely to happen not that it can’t happen. So too persevere a fighting art in a sense persevered history.
Cheers from Colorado.
Love this, thanks so much! 🙏
That was very educational and enjoyable as an Irish person living not far from shillelagh i never knew it's true reason, like most i thought a hard wearing walking stick, finding out that Ireland has it own ancient Martial arts called batariacht in my 5th decade is amazing, im so thankful for learning more about my heritage and customs, your correct about alot of good Irish customs and games seen as bad bc of the british occupation banning our language religion even education you can't work and learn, all this needs to be brought back into the Irish mainstream again, with globalization immigration, migrants etc, it's gonna get harder to hang onto our true Irish Heritage ☘️💚
I'm glad you got something valuable from this, my pleasure 🙏
Our country is lost to immigration. 😢
Absolutely loved this documentary! The way it brought Irish history to life with such depth and authenticity was amazing.
Thank you so much, Beatriz!
Uma conterrânea por aqui! Um salve de Curitiba 🤘
I got chills listening to this. I live in Buffalo, New York. My great grandparents can here from Carrie. We've always had his shillehlagh hanging on the wall. Hear in Buffalo we have a massive amount of people from Ireland here. I've always wanted to visit and I will with my children. I'd love to learn this martial art.
Great vid, i have my great grandfathers shillelagh, 140 yrs old and yes i train with it.
When it comes to martial arts I'm disappointed that people don't touch enough on Western biased styles but yet eastern styles are so popular
Absolutely, a major reason to do this video 🙏
Western boxing and Wrestling are very prevalent in the U.S. how ever they have become sport. There are a few places and people that still teach folk style wrestling and Catch as Catch can. Some people still dirty box bare knuckle. I think as these were passed down mostly in family and friend groups was not as codified as traditional Asian martial arts.
Catch wrestling actually had a profound influence on what we call 'jiu jitsu' actually.
well we invented guns so i guess we win
@@marcoeire44Muay Thai is one of the most advantageous allround fighting sports you can do, and is a good base for MMA. The clinch game is even akin to types of stand up wrestling. Only thing missing is a proper ground submission skills.
I've enjoyed reading The Forgotten Prince! Love this Documentary on Irish Stick fighting! Great channel Bertie!
Oh that's absolutely brilliant news. I'm delighted to hear this! 🙏
Love the video, but love hearing your voice even more! It reminds me of my grandmother! I barely knew her as she died when I was young. I wish I could have learned some Irish from her! My father apparently knew some, but died before I was born.
🙏
A very powerful video that has changed how i see the country i was born and raised in. I'm 37, and very able, but for some reason i now need a blackthorn 'walking stick' ;)
Thanks for making these for me Bertie!
ian
Love it 🙏
Weldone raising awareness of our real culture and heritage. Our ancestors left us with an identity to cherish, we must bring that identity back to modern Ireland.
Absolutely 💯
I'm a north German guy of almost 63 years of age.
Some years ago I came across the shillelagh here on YT and watched a couple of clips about it.
I like the fact, that the Irish people had used it to bypass the arms restrictions of the British colonizers back in the day.
Today, many people in Germany and undoubtedly in other European countries as well, are facing the neccessity to have some kind of option of a defense weapon against the imported violence and knife-crime on our streets , that presently spreads across our lands like wildfire, whereas more and more of such means are rendered illegal for us citizens by our politicians and governments.
Because of this I've been searching for a suitable blackthorn stick since to try and make a shilleleagh(well,sort of)by myself, but haven't been lucky so far to find one , though, being an ardent angler, I spend a lot of time in the outdoors.
Last summer I've harvested a stave of another, to me unknown, wood, which has a 90° bend perfectly suited to make up for the handle of a walking stick.
This stick currently dries out in my basement and when it would have lost enough moisture , I'm going to start working on it.
I'm planning on a steel tip and a lead-loaded handle portion, not like a genuine shilleleagh though, but nevertheless inspired by this piece of the Irish culture and history.
And walking sticks are not illegal to carry, not even in Germany , at least not for now.
Thanks a bunch for this most interesting documentary, cheers from northern Germany
Thanks for sharing 👍
I remember seeing a hedge in a park in Hamburg that had really interesting wood and I bet it would make good fighting sticks. Might even be blackthorn because it was dark with thorns. It was in a park next to the U bahn stop Kellinghusenstrasse, please forgive me if I spelled it wrong. I don't know if you're close to Hamburg and it might be bad to get caught cutting the hedge. But I hope that helps.
@@comfortablynumb9342
Thanks a bunch for chiming in, in fact I live in the eastern rural vicinity of Hamburg.
But surely I would not take the risk to roam the city parks with a foldable handsaw, might even get prosecuted for violating the crazy new weapon restrictions🤣🤣.
I really prefer to stay in the countryside these days , cities don't mean nothing to me anymore.
@61diemai I would love to see where you live. Hamburg was a lot of fun in 2001-02 when I went a couple times. I went to Braunschweig and der Autostadt and Berlin too on my first trip. I really liked Germany. I still have my leather pants from der Reeperbahn.
@@comfortablynumb9342
I live in a small town east of Hamburg, just 36kms from the city, the fast train just takes 19min to HH-Hauptbahnhof, by car one would use about 30 to 45 min ,depending on route and traffic.
When I was young during the 70's and 80's, I used to like the big city as well , also the Reeperbahn , used to go to a psychedelic diso club there named "Grünspan" located ath the "Große Freiheit",a side street of the Reeperbahn.
I even used to fish the Alster lake on occassion during later years, but there are more rural fishing waters located in Hamburg's southeast, a landscape looking a bit like the Netherlands though located on Hamburg premises just 20 min. from the heart of the city.
But today, as I grow older, I do not like the city anymore , as it changed too much for my liking and became more and more overcrowded.
Same goes for Berlin , being at least three times larger than Hamburg.
I've been there for just one day during my entire life, drove in there to care of the business, I came for and afterwards drove back home again and I did not like it.
I’ve made a couple from blackthorn the last few years. My Nana had one when I was little. The wood is so heavy that I don’t know how all of the fighting didn’t end in cracked skulls. Good video mate cheers.
I LIVED IN KINGSCOURT IN CAVAN and learned from a couple of oul lads that the last faction fight happened at the fair day in the late thirties early forties i dont have evidence …some one in Cavan could the local. Papers ..great report
I have needed the use of a stick for many years now and fell in love with Irish Blackthorn some years ago now.
I have several types of Shillelagh from thin to pretty thick.
The outdoor market here in NE Scotland is a good place to find old sticks that have been hidden away for years.
I just sent for an old Sapele stick that has a very nice turned handle in one piece.
Cant help myself now.:}
Great history story thanks
Glad you enjoyed it
I personally think shillelaghs are awesome! I am of Irish descent, my great grandmother being from Belfast, and I have a fascination with connecting to the unattainable; to honour and respect my ancestors by keeping their memories, names and traditions alive.
I can understand how the current Irish feel mocked by depictions of adults dressed like leprechauns and dancing a jig.
After all, I'm Canadian, and we have no shortage of own stereotypes to contend with, not to mention when my pasty-skinned self goes to visit distant cousins at Pow Wows on reserves.
But people drawn to videos like this are mostly interested in the history and practice of bataireacht, than dressing up like the Lucky Charms mascots and making a fool of themselves.
I am also planning on harvesting my own blackthorn and making a shillelagh of my own, as my legs struggle to carry me at times, and there's nothing more beautiful than a proper shillelagh cane. And having martial knowledge is never a bad idea either.
It is funny though that our modern world has turned the term "martial arts" into a very focused term, from only certain ethnicities; when in reality, every group of humans has had to defend itself against other humans. As such, elite (or sometimes peasant) fighters were trained with their cultures weapons (or tools), and developed their own martial arts. Even a seemingly unified group, like the French, occupied such a large portion of land and for such a long time, that variants of martial combative techniques evolved to better suit the people, terrain and weapons used
Only came across stick fighting in the last week. I had heard of the faction fighting but not
Bataireacht. Great video.
Glad you enjoyed
Enjoyed your video, first time seeing your channel. Keep them coming, our kids are not taught Irish history as we were. It's important especially now when so much that makes us Irish is being distorted or diluted, ignored and forgotten. So please, thanks.
You are most welcome 🙏
When my ancestors came over to Canada in 1840-50 they brought 3 things, the Bible, a jar with pieces of the cross in water, and the shelalie and when they landed they took the shelalie saying it was a weapon. It was never talked about after that
Descended from NY Irish. We still have a shillelagh from them.
Thanks for a great video.
Wonderful
I commented many months ago on a channel with what's going on in your country and since you have been disarmed the classic Irish walking stick should be standard fare as a show of solidarity and as self-defense which is your god-given right of defense . This is a wonderful video and should be viewed by everyone Blessings to my Irish cousins coming at you from the mountains of Southern Oregon
My great-grandfather an ulcer used to carry a sheleighly everywhere he went
An Ulcer 😂😂
I started Doyle style in the US last year under Tom Moore who learned from Glen Doyle from Canada and it's been great. Glen was the first to teach the style outside the family after he got permission from his father to do so. A very practical martial art.
Yes, I've heard great things. Love it!
Hello from Lanett Alabama on the Chattahoochee River. I'm really enjoying the video.Thank you for the time and effort you put into it. I intend to subscribe when it's over. I watched a fellow do a demonstration of this very interesting martial art. Iv made several canes for my Dad. 2 of them had the large burrel knot that after I debarked and seasoned up in the attic over a year. With the very intent of them also being a means of self-defense if needed. Did you know the knife company Cold Steel makes what they call The Irish Blackthorn walking Stick.From photos It looks like its really made from the wood but is actually made from a very dence and strong poly resin or similar very tough material. I look forward to watching more of your channel. Have a good one, Brother 👍
Thanks for watching and the sub, I appreciate it 🙏
This just came up on my feed and I’ve watched 2 minutes of the video and I think I love it. Well done getting this out. My family are native to Donegal, my father learned this from an old boy, who used to sweep people off their feet with the shillelagh for the craíc. He saw this old boy at this in town and quizzed him. I learned it too and have taught my son. The cutting and curing of a bata is an important part of the journey. It stems from sword fighting and was… haha.. you’re just covering it now as I’m typing. Great video.
Edit to add: I’ve just cooled down a moment. My dad tells me there’s a lad in Fermanagh teaching Fir bata (?) Batairacht (?)
It’s very similar to single stick Escrima from the Philippines but uses perhaps a more brutal knockout style given the heavier bata. Keep it alive lads.
Brilliant, glad you are enjoying it and inspiring some thought!
Im a Gael born on Tyneside. I bought a (Blackthorn) Shillelagh from Ireland a year ago. Iv watched a few videos on Irish stick fighting. This video is excelent. My history. ERIN GO BRAGH. ☘️
I found one at a gun show in Florida of all places. The guy basically gave it away because I was the first person in years to have an interest in it. It was cool to run into you again on the net brother! Fourteen!
This is awesome to hear, go raibh maith agat 🇮🇪
Oh have we communicated before Mo Chara? Hey great to hear you got a good deal. I paid 120 quid for my Shillelagh. It's a beauty tho. Yes 14 to you too!
@@BertieBrosnanThank you Mo Chara. 👍
@Occident. yeah we've spoken before, though I can't remember which channel it was. Radical Liberation maybe? Or STJ? Regardless, always a pleasure.
Love this video. We all need to know, & understand our history, and engage our cultures.
Thank you 😊
Cummins and Ryan of Holly Cross, Tipperary descendant here. My Great Great Grandmothers family were involved in these fights. There's also a Shillelagh sitting nicely in my office :)
Nice 😊
Great stuff mate, please keep it coming. Regards and respect from an Aussie with mostly Irish ancestry.
Thanks, will do!
Thank you for this
Remember the design and shape of the Shillelagh stick is related to the design and shape of an Irish Hurling stick.
Didn't know that, thanks for watching.
Texan here.
I have carried a stick my whole life.
I made them as a kid.
No one taught me.
I grew up in a tough neighborhood.
With a stick I never felt alone.
I can take it anywhere, even on an airplane.
No one questions it.
Go Ireland.
Thanks for bringing this to light. Im a yank with Scottish and Irish lineage. I get so sick of the Americanized version of not only Irish identity but also my Alban heritage. Some how Americans have had their ancestry commercialized and stolen from them. I will be buying the stick fighting books by Hurley and following your content to start teaching my grandkids on how to protect themselves with a wee stick.
Remember regular Americans aren't the main issue, it's the systems we all live in that corrupt our thinking.
@BertieBrosnan yet fools fall for the cartoon way of thinking about their own heritage. Be it Saint Patrick's day, Cinco de Mayo, Thanksgiving, you name it. We Americans have fallen for the media made caricature of culture. I see it as the stripping away of our ancestry and heritage. We as Americans are taught to be a melting pot so we have no greater culture and all those cultures that have been brought here are green shamrocks, sombreros, chef boyardy and Mario, and groundskeeper Willie.
Class video, I never heard about the faction fighting with Shillelaghs. We had loads of them in my house growing up. I knew they were weapon of some sort.
This was a very informative video, well presented.
New subscriber mo chara.
Go raibh míle maith agat, mo chara 🇮🇪
Thank you
Excellent work Bertie, enjoyed that, maith thu 👏
Go raibh míle maith agat, a chara 🇮🇪
This was outstanding !
I love the people involved they are wonderful human beings !
God bless the righteous Irish with mercy and peace health and happiness Amen 🙏🏻
Thank you very much 😊
I am a Dal gCais and I enjoyed this video. Thank you for doing the video.
The old stick does okay against swords. Very surprising how versatile it actually is.
🫡
Great stuff lad .....thank you
Glad you enjoyed it
Really good show . Glad I found it and I subbed to see what else you'll be doing in future.
Awesome, thank you!
Just found ur channel, lookin forward ta watchin the rest of ur film's,, was gettin inta bataireacht a good few yr's back, but somehow fell by the wayside, So thank's for the reminder, Great Stuff!
I appreciate it bro 💯
Very enjoyable viewing, cheers Bertie
Thank you very much 😊
Very interesting. Thank you.
Awesome segment...continued success!
I am from a very prominent Irish family and I love to learn as much about Ireland as I can.
Welcome 🙏 🇮🇪
Absolutely fantastic, you've inspired me to learn more as I'm using a Shillelagh due to bad spinal issues. I'm also going to check out John Hurley's book. I'll figure out which of the 5 have actual exercises and methods of Bataireacht. Slainte, and keep up the great work
Amazing 👏
Perhaps look into the history of Strokestown, "town of the blows." Given its proximity to Rathcroghan, perhaps it was the location of a bataraicht school or contest.
Interesting
Wonderful video! Spreading the word about Bataireacht is always good to see, especially when it comes to the Doyle style lol
Glad you enjoyed it! And yes the Doyles are the goats 🙌
Wonderful job on the video brother, thank you
Thank you so much 🙏
Great video. Well thought out. I'm intreged.
You and me both!
I`m a Aussie of Irish descent mate and we know of it over here
As mentioned, "it isn't widely known!" Hence the video! 🙏
The company Cold Steel has been producing a hardened plastic Irish fighting stick shillelagh made to look like black thorn wood for at least ten or more years.
As an American, I feel the pang of knowing my ancestors achieved what they did through colonization and exploitation. A large part of my heritage is English, through Texas. I have slavers just a few generations back. Is it any wonder that we focus on our ancestors as a means of redemption? I have Irish ancestry and that is by far the part of my blood that I'm most proud of, even though it represents a minority place in my family history. Thanks for this channel, you have a new subscriber.
Brilliant post what a refreshing change 💚
Thank you so much 👍
This is amazing and inspired my own character in my book thank yiu and i want to read your book
Hey they are selling fast, go to SHOP at www.bertiebrosnanfilms.com to find all links!
Awesome video. I'd suggest making your own shillelagh too. I swear, there's something about putting your own energy into its creation.
It's time to watch Gangs of New York again. Such a good movie
Absolutely 💯
Many thanks!
I've heard of this but haven't found anyone bringing it back to the surface. Also your grammar sounds very familiar to people I know here in the American South. The ole Dis & Dat talk😂Thanks cousin!
When i was younger there was a Irish wrestler in WWE his name was Finley. He portrayed a bad guy (a heel) and he would come out to the ring with a shillelagh, and use it to win matches. The announcers would always talk about the shillelagh, as a kid i would always say shillelagh because i thought it sounded funny being pronounced (sha lay lee). Its cool to see this video talking about the significance of the shillelagh to Irish people because as an American kid i just thought it was a WWE thing with the wrestler Finley😂.
So you enhanced my points on the Americanisation of the Shillelagh. 😊
When Fudal Japan ended, the Edo period lasted 400 years and a lot of martial arts were kept alive through text. Kanō Jigorō revived martial arts in Japan through educational institutions and competition.
A little thing about the "fighting irish" point. The team was made to pay homage to when irish immigrants stood up and faught agaisnt the KKK in America. Its sad that the history of that has been lost and turned into a caricature but that's where that came from.
those rules to faction fighting should make a comeback
Thanks for sharing 😊
Thank you 😊
Thank you for sharing
excellent, educational and informative
Wonderful, thank you 😊
yeah, when anyone told me in Dublin that they were going to 'batter me' I didn't think they were going to deep-fry me in dough.
😅
2 other sacred woods had been used to make a shillelagh are oak and ash. Thanks for this video.
Blackthorn also as mentioned in the video.
Talking about this with my mother last night,,who grew up in turloughmore. (Burke family)said the fair of turloughmore was always a brutal event every year and was banned for years.. I'm not exactly an old man. 39. But I remember when the fair finally came back for a short period. It came back in the terms of a blood bath only using hurleys and fists or barstools instead. There was 3 prosperous pub's in 1 small area and they literally were safe spots for certain groups of people to keep them apart. But never worked. Fair hasn't been seen here in about 25 years or so..
Thanks for sharing, 39 is definitely not old 😊
Thanks for this story my man..ould enough for telling history stories about the area😋🤣
I prefer the Irish name Bataireacht, over stick fighting. It adds a touch of mystique. If Taekwondo was called the art of kick and punch, it would never have caught on outside of Asia. Reviving our Gaeilic heritage is an important part of de-colonialization. In Rwanda, they have given the world "umuganda" which in Rwandese heritage is voluntary community work. Bataireacht! I like it. Also, I would really like if we had a minister for arts who would hold a competition, inviting historians and architects to imagine how Irish architecture might have evolved over time and the commission the winning designs to be built. It would be like the project in France where they built a medieval castle using traditional methods but obviously, our indiginous heritage is not Norman so the winning designs would not be castles or English colonial houses but reimagined round towers and ring forts which might have evolved into something different and of course more modern with each passing century of the last millennium. These could gradually be built retrospectively throughout the country, using existing castles and colonial houses for construction material. Time, would give them the history they need to become authentic.
Thanks for this, yes BATAIREACHT is a powerful word! 🇮🇪
Yes you make a great point there. It's important we use the proper Gael name. Bataireacht.
Great history stuff! I walk with a cane, a Cold Steel City Stick that is really just a small mace with an 18 oz solid metal top. Its not because I need one, its just in todays world a bit of medieval martial art when you can't or don't carry a firearm is an advantage. I've been in some form of martial art since age 11, even at 63 I would love to deep dive into Bataireacht. And for older people that might be, next to a firearm, a very good way of training how to use a cane effectively in a self-defense situation.
Thankyou for your work here Ireland doesn't need people telling us what to do . As you say Gaelic Ireland was never conquered by the Roman Empire, managed to defeat the Vikings and most importantly survived the Protestant ascendancy won a war of independence against Great Britain and ended the excessive power of the Catholic church. We need to remember who we are a distinct people who can stand proudly in the assembly of Nations who have a right to maintain our historical identity so yeah imma check out the stick fighting I dont think ill be disappointed nice one sir and thankyou
Wonderful stuff, mo chara 🇮🇪🫡
There’s also a 2 handed system too of this
I found it very interesting ! (Although being a Northern Norwegian). I have become a follower of your channel 😅
You are very welcome here, Ireland has Norwegian influences as you may know.
Must get myself a Shillelagh.
Me too ✋️
I made my own Fighting stick from ancient Scottish bog wood We call Iron Wood it’s a truly amazing wood and I’m telling you I could kill a Man easily with one swing into the temple,cranium,kneck all instant kills !
Those black thorn Fighting Sticks are absolutely brutal I’ve wielded Black thorn against 2mm aluminium and the plate metal will stands no chance .
The injury sustained would mean bouts could be fatal or single fight careers with fighters getting wrecked in one match .
In real World settings it’s just not possible to insure something so dangerous when death is so assured.
Right 👍
Thanks for sharing, don't mess with the Scots, too.
I love my history but im prioritising hurling b4 this (great video i didnt even know about Bataireacht at all before this) Tá an focail ana aisteach lol
Fair play!
As an Irish Doyle descendant maternal side, I approve of this video
High praise, thank you 😊
Very cool
Thanks bro
I read a book once called 'The last of the name' by Charles mc Glinchey and many times in it does it mention the likes of 'he was a fine young man and handy with the stick' or 'they were good with a stick'. I wasnt sure what they meant but now i do.. thanks and great video.. the man the book was about was the last of his family and he said 'when i am buried the grave will be covered and never opened again for i am the last of the name' a great book about life in inishowen, co Donegal in the late 1700s early 1800s..
Very interesting, thank you 😊
Well done, Sir.
I believe I have a book , on cane Fighting. I am going to
go read it .
I always wanted a real blackthorn shillelagh. I got the cold steel made from the impact resistant plastic. But i always wanted a real one. Can't afford one. How come a stick has to be so expensive? I'm descended from the Melvin family of ireland, a surname of the scottish Melvilles. So i always felt a connection to scottland and Ireland but i haven't done enough to learn my roots. It's time that i start learning my harritage.
I'm sure there are Shillelagh going for approximately 100-200 euros.
In the late 90s a group of us were doing lots of research into the history and records of Irish stick fighting.
Ken Pfrenger was point man on the project.
Several of us have been teaching the various sticks to small groups here and there.
The walking stick size Bata and the cipin or small stick, a larger cudgel that is more like four or a bit more feet long. And a rabbit stick more for throwing.
There is a lot of valuable info out there that we found.
The easiest mention of it that we find is in a tenth century text Melbreitha.
We also know that at least one family had a related practic and used by the women for defense that used a rock in a stocking.
Ken died some years ago but a number of us have kept practicing and teaching.
In the early oughts Ken and I did a demonstration at an international martial arts convention.
We are not related to the Doyle school out of Canada and our grips etc look a bit different.
Thanks for sharing 👍
I was thinking about doing some videos covering the basic grips, strikes and parries that we did because they line up more with the sources from the nineteenth century and some of the earlier stuff and differ considerably from the Doyle school. @@BertieBrosnan
As an Irish American im proude of my heritage and as disabled combat veteran im always looking for a good multi use walking stick tmand the fact that it can be used for self defence just makes itperfect so if i could get a link to a shop that has real blackthorn walking sticks it would be much appreciated