Claíomh members in action.

(First published 4/5/2012) Claíomh(meaning 'sword' in the Irish language) is a military 'living history' group based in Ireland reenacting Late Medieval and Early Modern history spanning the 8th to the 17th centuries, from the first Viking raid of Ireland to the Cromwellian Wars. The 11-year-old group was co-founded by former archaeologist Dave Swift, who in its early years, with fellow history devotees, managed to present at a handful of events. Since then, having lost his previous job in Ireland’s recession several years ago, Swift has focused on generating revenue from Claiomh for himself and his colleagues, appearing in many events every year.

Dave Swift

Swift: Well, first thing to say is that we are not particularly interested in reenactment per se – as in the modern sport of tip-chasing with blunted weapons – that is not our product. Our preferred mediums for live shows are in HEMA (historical European martial arts) inspired choreographies, demonstrations/lectures on Irish history and general military and non-combative living history focusing on the promotion of Ireland’s archaeological record. As such, our events are normally staffed by between one and eight persons – so are not on a particularly big scale. Our regular clients, such as the National Museum of Ireland and the Office of Public Works, are more interested in quality, not quantity.

Having said that, I have been to many large reenactments as a participant in the past – the sorts of events where participant numbers can reach into their thousands, e.g.,Tewkesbury in England or the Fotevikens Museum Summer Market in Sweden. To the best of my memory, the biggest Irish re-enactment in Ireland that I was involved in would have been the Battle of Ferns in 1995, or maybe the Battle of Athy in 1996, but even then there would have been less than 200 combatants on the field. Actually, it is in film work that you get the really big numbers –CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) can still get a run for its money.

 

To strictly answer your question -- with regard to primary documentation -- we would look at such resources as the various Annals of Ireland, for example, The Four Masters, Annals of Ulster, Annals of Inisfallen, Annals of Connacht, et cetera, contemporary English writers like Richard Stanihurst, Barnaby Rich, Henry Sidney, Josias Bodley, et cetera, and other miscellaneous sources, including Giraldus Cambrensis and Captain Cuellar. The Calendar of State Papers relating to Ireland are also hugely important in relation to our study of Ireland in the age of Tudor conquest and plantation. Icelandic Sagas such as Orkneyinga Saga, Njal’s Saga and Laxdaela Saga contain interesting angles on Ireland in the Viking Age. Heroic medieval poems such as Caithréim Thoirdhealbhaigh,  “Triumphs of Turlough,” can provide valuable insights into the military equipment of the Gaelic nobleman. Each piece of evidence is useful based on its own merits and is tailored to the locality or theme of the project at hand. Obviously a lot of the above has to be taken with a large pinch of salt – sometimes a sack full …

Some secondary sources are also worth mentioning -- first and foremost would be Gerald A. Hayes-McCoy -- his influence upon me and many of my contemporaries is incalculable. If I hadn’t read his infectious ‘Irish Battles’ at a young age, I may never have ended up in this line of business. The wonderful English swordsman and researcher Ewart Oakeshott is still, in my opinion, the best introduction on period arms and armour, and the late Mairead Dunlevy’s “Dress In Ireland” remains the most important single volume on Irish historic costume. Released in the 1990s, Gerry Embleton and John Howe’s groundbreaking “The Medieval Soldier” was another influence from a living history, and indeed, a photography, point of view. 

The odd time when a client is looking for a scenario we would provide something of a mini-play. One example of this would be the “Chancing Your Arm” incident, which we conducted at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin last year for Heritage Week, where two of us played the parts of a FitzGerald of Kildare and a Butler of Ormond soldier -- representatives of the two great feuding Anglo-Irish families of the time. The incident ended up with one protagonist extending his arm to the other through a hole in the Chapter House door to shake hands thereby showing his good faith -- hence the term “chancing your arm.” … The door in question -- with hole -- still survives in the cathedral to this day. The original event took place in 1492 but is often overlooked in histories of the period due to the occurrence of a certain other event which took place across the pond.

TheWildGeese.com:  Whom do you like to play?

Swift: Well, we cover a fair stretch of Irish history, so there is a fair bit of choice and there are benefits and disadvantages to them all, I think. I tend to generally prefer to interpret the later part of our remit, that is, the 16^th and 17^th centuries. Most particularly, I like to interpret the Gaelic Irish of the Nine Years War and 1640s eras or else Late Medieval galloglasses – the former for the cut of the jib and ease of wearing and the latter for the uncompromising two-handed weaponry, maille armour and undisputable attitude. I have enjoyed playing both of these roles in our short in-house films – and we hope to do more of these in the future. When playing any role, I prefer to play the part of a common rank-and-file soldier – as opposed to the role of an officer or a famous leader. It’s these unsung, forgotten and voiceless people who died on Irish battlefields that we want to bring to life most of all. Back to my ‘representing the typical’ philosophy …