![making shillelagh making shillelagh](https://dygtyjqp7pi0m.cloudfront.net/i/13024/14163602_1.jpg)
I’m a martial artist interested in stick fighting styles. Better yet, if you find yourself in Ireland, make the pilgrimage and meet the master himself and his lovely family. If you’re looking for a Shillelagh stick of any type, do yourself a favor and check out the Olde Shillelagh Shop. They were covered in scratches, had nowhere near the attention to detail that Liam’s Olde Shillelagh shop’s wares exhibited, and though they looked the part from a cursory glance, I had the distinct feeling that these cheap knock-offs might shatter like an old dried stick should you feel the need to use it for its intended purpose, which of course is knocking the heads of English imperialist invaders. As an American who celebrates independence from those same imperialists every year, only the real thing is good enough for me. I picked one up to examine it with my newfound expert eye and could immediately see that these were low-quality mass-produced items made for the typical tourist. In one of the many stores, I came across a bin of “real” Irish Shillelaghs. Later that day we went back to Dublin to do some touristy stuff and typical vacation shopping. In fact, I would say that it took me about two days to acclimate to the world of Irish country roads, six-leggers and all. The trip home was possibly even more beautiful than the trip there, and now that I had hours of experience driving in the land of one-lane roads devoid of any markings that might help me remember which side to drive on, I handled the twisting lanes with ease. I have enough trouble being detained without trying to get archaic weapons through security in a foreign country. I decided that I would have them all shipped home since as much as the idea of claiming, “What this old thing? That’s just my walking stick!” might work for a single Shillelagh walking stick, the five foot staff and lead-loaded fighting stick might be another matter entirely. As stated above, there is only one “convenience” store in town with a single ATM which boldly states that it will only dispense a maximum of €120 after also telling you that it only dispenses €50 notes.
![making shillelagh making shillelagh](https://66.media.tumblr.com/fac7dad7cfdd73e40b153f11549467a7/tumblr_oywnhyMZ2w1rd4pxuo10_1280.jpg)
Since the shop is so remote and most of the sales are likely done online, they do not take credit cards in the shop. Liz took our picture with some of our newfound blackthorn treasures, and I even took a picture of the owners posing with my staff as well as some shots of the rows and rows of beautiful Shillelagh sticks, though I sadly lost some of those pics to the fickle gods of digital photography memory cards.įair warning to anyone else who makes the pilgrimage to visit the master Shillelagh stick-maker: bring cash.