The Shillelagh!

---

Used as hunting weapons, shillelaghs were essential life support to the Irish peasants of the middle ages.  Every lad searched the hedges diligently for the prime stick which would be his companion for life and when at last he spotted the perfect specimen – he would claim it with the traditional shout, “BE JASUS AND IT’S MINE!”

He would nurture and protect it henceforth until it matured.  When it was ready he would choose a winter’s day when the sap was down and joyously claim his prize!… he would then bear it home with pride and triumph and spend every spare moment until Spring by the peat fire lovingly smoothing the knots and rounding the head.  If part of the shaft had grown too crooked, he would gently soak it and hang it from the cottage rafters weighted with sand until it was shaped right.

From the day the shillelagh was completed until his death, it never left his side… even then it would be placed by his side in his coffin!

So then… as you look upon this most honorable symbol of Irish heritage… reflect on its history and understand that it has been won in a clean, hard-fought contest.