Cork County Ireland Tartan Collection
Cork County Ireland Tartan Collection
Celebrate County Cork with an Irish district tartan — the Rebel County, largest of them all, running from the harbour of Cobh to the last headland at Mizen.
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About the County Cork Tartan
The Cork tartan is one of a complete set of thirty-two Irish county tartans designed by Polly Wittering for the House of Edgar of Perth in the 1990s. It is a district tartan — it belongs to the county rather than to any family, so anyone with a Cork connection may wear it.
These county setts are modern designs, not ancient patterns, and are not formally sanctioned by the counties themselves. Their place has been won by adoption, above all among the enormous Cork diaspora, for whom a county tartan names the exact ground their people came from.
Cork Tartan Pattern and Colours
The sett is built on warm reds and greens with darker lines — the red long associated with the Rebel County, set against the green of a county of river valleys, dairy pasture and wooded demesnes.
County Cork Heritage
Cork is the largest of the Irish counties, stretching from the Blackwater in the north to Mizen Head, the southernmost point of Ireland. Cork city grew on marshy islands in the River Lee, and its second harbour at Cobh was for a century the great emigrant port — the last sight of Ireland for well over a million people, and the last port of call of the Titanic in 1912.
The county carries a long Gaelic inheritance: MacCarthy country in the south and west, O'Keeffe country in Duhallow, and the Norman families of the city who became, in the old phrase, more Irish than the Irish. Blarney Castle, Kinsale harbour, Bantry Bay and the wild peninsulas of the west all lie within its bounds, and Cork people have called it the Rebel County since the fifteenth century.
Who Is This Collection For?
This collection is made for those born or descended in County Cork, city and west Cork families, MacCarthy, O'Keeffe and Munster kin, Cobh emigrant descendants and anyone who wants an Irish tartan that names their own county.
- ✓ County Cork families
- ✓ Cork city and west Cork roots
- ✓ Cobh and emigrant heritage
- ✓ Munster Gaelic kin
- ✓ Irish ancestry gifts
- ✓ Warm red and green style
How to Wear Cork Tartan
Cork tartan works well across caps, shirts, hoodies, scarves, ties, jackets, blankets and keepsake gifts. Its warm red palette makes a bold statement for everyday wear, family gatherings and county occasions alike.
County Cork Tartan FAQ
Quick answers about the Cork county tartan, who may wear it and where it comes from.
Is the Cork tartan a clan tartan?
No — it is a district tartan for the county, so anyone with a Cork connection may wear it.
Who designed the Irish county tartans?
Polly Wittering, for the House of Edgar of Perth, who produced a complete set of thirty-two in the 1990s.
Why is Cork called the Rebel County?
The name goes back to the fifteenth century and the city's support for a claimant to the English throne; Cork people have worn it proudly ever since.
What is Cobh known for?
It was the great emigrant port of Ireland, the last sight of home for over a million people, and the Titanic's final port of call in 1912.
Which Gaelic families held Cork?
Among others the MacCarthys in the south and west and the O'Keeffes in Duhallow, alongside the old Norman families of the city.
Who can wear the Cork tartan?
Anyone with roots in or affection for County Cork — it belongs to the place, not to a family.
Wear the County Cork Tartan
Discover Cork county tartan clothing, accessories and gifts — the red of the Rebel County and the green of the Lee valley.
View Cork Tartan Clothing