#Shillelagh weapon license#

But it developed into its style of hitting rather than a slicing motion. The style of fighting was based on fencing originally. Irish factions (similar to gangs) would spar against each other with a more violent style of Bataireacht. Think of Shillelagh Law as a safer sword fight and done so for sport during festivities.īut as with any competition, it can take on a more sinister role. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Bataireact was the name for a common form of Irish stick fighting. The shorter the cane, the more powerful weapon it becomes, referred to as a bata or cudgel. Measuring from the ground up, should be elbow high. These heavier versions are known as preloaded or loaded sticks, respectively.Īnd lastly, the length of your stick should fit your height. If made with heavy Blackthorn, there is no need to add weight. Some will hollow out the hitting end and fill it with heavy molten metal. When the stick finishes curing in the smoke, it is buried in dung to keep it moist and prevent cracking. Then the stick is placed up a chimney or over a fire to be cured, like a piece of meat.

According to Irish Central, a thick knobby stick with the bark intact is slathered in whiskey butter. I was surprised by all that goes into making an authentic Shillelagh. The Irish fighting stick has a leather wrist strap. In essence, a Shillelagh is a thick, knotty walking stick or cane made from Blackthorn or oak. The Shillelagh is said to come from the village of Shillelagh in County Wicklow, which was abundant with oak trees. So how do you pronounce Shillelagh? It rhymes with ukulele and consists of three syllables: shill-lay-lee. They complete your traditional styles of Gaelic wear with your clothes and accessories from The Celtic Croft. Shillelaghs are a popular gift store item in Ireland. In Irish, it translates to “descendants of Éalach,” and the Gaelic know a shillelagh as a bata or fighting stick. Shillelagh comes from the words sail éille, translated into English means thonged willow-stick. What in the world is a Shillelagh? It’s an Irish fighting stick. Barbara points to the letter they received the day earlier from ComEd, though she now wonders if that, too, was part of the scam.I’ll refrain from telling my off-colored joke about what’s under a kilt and a Shillelagh. Even their children, they say, ask them why they let the first man inside. The couple acknowledged they feel somewhat chagrined that they didn’t catch on right away that they were victims of a scammer. “They just scared the heck out of us,” Barbara said. The Donovans say they still aren’t quite sure what, if anything, the burglars stole, but they do know their pillowcase was taken and their bedroom drawers had been removed and rummaged through. Niles police, in their report of the incident, categorized what happened to the Donovans as a “ruse entry,” a common scam in which thieves, posing as utility workers, landscapers, other types of workers or neighbors, approach a home and lure the residents outside or into another part of the house while their partners sneak in and search for jewelry, cash and other small valuables.

#Shillelagh weapon license#

In all the excitement, and due to the darkening skies, Donovan acknowledged he was unable to get the license plate number or the make and model of the SUV. In the meantime, Barbara Donovan said she was on the phone to police, who arrived shortly after the intruders fled the scene. “I managed to get a good swing at the windshield and the rear window,” he said. Barefoot, he approached the SUV they had parked in his driveway and began hitting it with the walking stick. He followed his partners in crime outside, but Donovan continued his pursuit. Shouting and swinging the shillelagh, Dan Donovan said he struck the man in the back of the head with the end of the walking stick, but he didn’t drop the pillowcase. One of the men was carrying what Donovan recognized to be a pillowcase from bedroom. “So I picked up the Irish shillelagh and that turned out to be the equalizer because I managed to chase them out of the house.”

“I was trying to find some type of persuasive weapon,” Donovan said. That’s when he grabbed his grandfather’s shillelagh, which was propped up in the corner of the couple’s dining room. “I started chasing them to get them out of my house,” Dan Donovan said.