Collar and Elbow Wrestling
Although it was usually called collar and elbow, it was also called “Coiléar agus Uille” and “Brollaidheacht” as Gaeilge. The latter comes from the word for the front of a shirt and could be translated to “collaring”.
In the 19th century, Brollaidheacht was practised throughout the country - "the chief physical sport of the male population from childhood to mature manhood". Local champions wrestled one another and visitors from other parishes, and wrestling matches between well-known combatants could draw crowds in the tens of thousands.
These matches were won by a “fall”, which meant different things in different areas. In Kildare a wrestler had won if he made his opponent touch the ground with one part of his body above the knees, whereas in Dublin a victor was only declared when three points of his opponent's body touched the ground (usually both shoulders and a hip, or both hips and a shoulder).
These matches were sometimes engaged in without shirts, especially during the hot months, the usual form of collar and elbow wrestling involved both wrestlers wearing jackets or heavy shirts that could withstand a firm grip, pulling around and a throw.
This is similar to other Celtic styles like Cornish wrestling and Breton Gouren. In Dublin, a challenge could be issued by laying a jacket in the centre of the ring and waiting for a contender to step in and put it on.
Given the minimal motion allowed to the hands, Brollaidheacht mostly involved leg techniques. Wrestlers would circle around one another and quickly launch a series of kicks, trips and sweeps to knock their opponent off his feet and slam him into the ground. Some at the time called this exchange “footsparring”.
Here are some styles of attack that were published in a 1900 dictionary of sporting terms from the Irish Department of Education (An Roinn Oideachais). Equivalent Japanese terms are given in parentheses if the reader would like to reference them on youtube.
- Caitheamh thar gualainn, flying mare
- Cor ailt, cor mughdhoirn (múrnáin), ankle throw (similar to Sasae tsurikomi ashi)
- Cor coise, tripping throw
- Cor cromáin, hip throw
- Cor glúine, knee throw
- Cor ioscaide, back-knee trip (similar to Osoto otoshi or Osoto gari)
- Cor sála, back-heel (similar to Kosoto gake)
- Cros-chor ailt (múrnáin), cross-ankle trip (similar to Tai otoshi)
- Cros-más, cross-buttock throw (similar to Harai goshi)
- Glac-coise, leg-lock
- Glas coise, hank (similar to Ōuchi gari)
- Lúbaim, hook
- Más, buttock throw (similar to Tsurikomi goshi)
- Snaidim, click (similar to Kosoto gari)
- Tuisleadh, trip
Today, the modern revival in the once hugely popular sport of collar and elbow is being led by a man called Ruadhán MacFadden, who has invested an enormous amount of time and effort into researching this ancient art form.
He has published a book which may be found here:
https://www.fallenrookpublishing.co.uk/books/irish-collar-and-elbow-wrestling/
And he also sells jackets for collar and elbow. Some tutorials may be found online here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0xDZaX-mNo
Chapter List (click to read):
1. Foreword
2 The Irish Language
3. Reading
4. Making and Shaping
5. The Physical Gael
6. The Warrior Gael
- The Crios Belt
- Open Hand Traditions
- Collar and Elbow Wrestling
- Gaelic Weapons
- Seanbhata
- Seanbhata Basics
- Seanbhata Guards
- Seanbhata Strikes and Blocks
- Seanbhata Close Fighting
- The Heroic Feats
7. Tradition and Culture
8. Organisation
The project will follow in their footsteps along the path laid down by Hyde, O'Conaire, MacNeill, Cusack and many others through sharing news, ideas, articles of Irish cultural interest and more, as well as helping to support Irish language and cultural initiatives. You can find out more about An Claíomh Solais by clicking on the buttons below, or join our team as we begin the great Gaelic restoration!
The Flame Still Burns: The Unbroken Spirit of Gaelic Ireland
There is a fire that has never gone out.
Though winds have blown across our hills and empires have cast their shadows upon our land, the spirit of Gaelic Ireland remains—a living ember in the hearts of her sons and daughters. It is not a myth or memory. It is blood. It is breath. It is the pulse beneath the skin of the nation, ancient and eternal.
Ireland was never just a place. It was, and is, an idea—a sacred trust handed down through generations of warriors, poets, craftsmen, mothers, fathers, and the noble dead. The Gael did not simply inhabit this land&m
Read more...
PH Pearse Letters Awaiting Execution 2
Kilmainham Prison
Dublin
3rd May 1916
My Dearest Mother,
I have been hoping up to now that it would be possible for me to see you again, but it does not seem possible. Goodbye, dear, dear mother. Through you I say goodbye to Wow-Wow, M.B., Willie, Miss Byrne, Miceal, Cousin Maggie and everyone at St Enda’s. I hope and believe that Willie and the St Enda's boys will be safe.
I have written two papers about financial affairs and one about my books, which I want you to get. With them are a few poems which I want added to the poems of mine i
Read more...
PH Pearse Letters Awaiting Execution I
Arbour Hill Barracks,
Dublin,
1st May 1916.
Dearest Mother,
You will, I know, have been longing to hear from me. I don't know how much you have heard since the last note I sent you from the G.P.O.
On Friday evening the post office was set on fire, and we had to abandon it. We dashed into Moore Street, and remained in the houses in Moore Street until Saturday afternoon. We then found that we were surrounded by troops, and that we had practically no food. We decided, in order to avoid further slaughter of the civil population and in the hope of
Read more...
A marvellous description by Liam Bulfin
A marvellous description by Liam Bulfin in United Irishman ar 21 Aibreán 1906. Give us ten such men and English will be a second language in a generation!
“This is Pádraig Ó Dálaigh, General Secretary, a southerner. He can work 12 and 15 hours a day. He has a perfect constitution. With care he may live to eat square meals in the 21st century. He seems to have lived a long time already although his face is under the 30 limit. It is his brain that is old. His heart and all the rest of him are young ...
Under my personal observation he has
Read more...
Mionn
I n-ainm Dé,
Dar Críost a Aon-Ṁac,
Dar Muire a Ċaoṁ-Ṁáṫair,
Dar Pádraic Apstal Gaeḋeal,
Dar dílseaċt Ċuilm Ċille,
Dar clú ar gciniḋ,
Dar crú ar sinnsear,
Dar dúnṁarḃaḋ Aoḋa Ruaiḋ,
Dar bás truaiġṁéileaċ Aoḋa Uí Néill,
Dar oiḋeaḋ Eoġan Ruaiḋ,
Dar mian an tSáirséalaiġ le huċt a ḃáis,
Dar osna éagcoṁlainn an Ġearaltaiġ,
Dar créaċtaiḃ cróil
Read more...
Collapse of the Terror
British Rule's Last Stages
What the Elections Meant
We have seen how in ancient Ireland the people were themselves the guardians of their land, doing all for themselves according to their own laws and customs, as interpreted by the Brehons, which gave them security, prosperity, and national greatness, and how this was upset by the English determination to blot out Irish ways, when came poverty, demoralisation and a false respect for English standards and habits.
The English power to do this rested on military occupation and on econ
Read more...
Recent News
Name Galway's New Pedestrian Bridge in Honour of 1916 Hero Julia Morrissey
An Athenry native, Julia Morrissey, was a key figure in Cumann na mBan's Galway branch. In 1916, she commanded a group of 50 women during Easter week, as part of the rebellion in Galway that was led by Liam Mellows. When Mellows first came to Athenry in 1915, Mor... [more]
Human activity discovered in Ireland 33000 years ago
A REINDEER BONE fragment uncovered in a cave contains a revelation set to dramatically alter the understanding of Irish human history. The bone fragment was found at Castlepook Cave near Doneraile in north Cork where a mammoth bone was discovered in 1972. T... [more]
Wolfe Tones announce anniversary gig
After breaking records at Electric Picnic over the weekend, the Wolfe Tones are set to mark six decades of making music with an anniversary gig in Dublin next year. The Wolfe Tones drew the largest crowd to date to the festival’s Electric Arena on Sunday as a s... [more]
RIA culture night 2023
Come and join us on Culture Night 2023, we will have lots of cultural activities for all ages! Explore the Royal Irish Academy - a hidden Georgian gem tucked away on Dawson Street. View the earliest example of Irish writing - the 6th century Cathach, have a go at som... [more]
More than one million people are actively learning Irish
More than one million people are actively learning Irish on Duolingo according to data from the language app. A recent report (June 2021) listed Irish as the 16th most popular language to learn on the app, with 1.10 million users actively learning the language. ... [more]
United Ireland poll
Linda Ervine places herself in the “don’t know” group when it comes to a united Ireland, saying: “I’m one of those people that will have to be convinced.” Almost one in five voters in Northern Ireland are in the same category, acco... [more]
