Bataireacht

Bataireacht (from the Irish "bata", meaning stick) is the term traditionally applied to various forms of Irish stick fighting. Today the word bataireacht is being used among both Irish and English language speakers to distinguish between traditional and non-traditional stick-fighting styles.

Definition

Bataireacht is a term used to describe the various stickfighting "martial arts" of Ireland. The term is found in all Irish language dictionaries including that of Dineen. [cite book
last = Dinneen
first = Patrick S
title = Foclóir Gaedhilge agus Béarla/Irish-English Dictionary
publisher = Irish Texts Society, Dublin
year = 1904] Researcher and author John W. Hurley is attributed with reintroducing the term into modern usage among English speakers through his many articles and books.

"Bata" (or "bhata" depending upon context), is a general term which can mean any kind of stick. The actual "bata" or stick used for bataireacht is often referred to as a "Sail-Éille" or phonetically in English as "shillelagh". The word "cudgel" is also used in period texts. Traditionally, blackthorn, oak, ash and hazel were the most common types of woods used to make shillelagh fighting sticks. [cite book
last = Hurley
first = John W.
title = The Shillelagh Makers Handbook
publisher = Caravat Press
year = 2007] In the 19th century bataireacht became associated with Irish gang or "faction" fighting. Some evidence exists which indicates that, prior to the 19th Century, the term had been used to refer to a form of stick-fencing used to train Irish soldiers in broadsword and sabre techniques. [cite book
last = O'Donnell
first = Patrick D.
title = The Irish Faction Fighters Of The 19th Century
publisher = Anvil Press
year = 1975]

History

The Irish have used various sticks and cudgels as weapons of self-defense for centuries. [cite book
last = Hurley
first = John W.
title = Shillelagh: The Irish Fighting Stick
publisher = Caravat Prees
year = 2007
isbn = 1430325704 [http://books.google.com/books?id=ZrFMHmsMmWAC&pg=PA347&lpg=PA347&dq=shillelagh+the+irish+fighting+stick&source=web&ots=HKdYCBYc_0&sig=x9J0-GMzL07QG_zo7PZ_q032auJs&hl=en] ]

Since ancient times, the arts of stick fighting had been handed down from fathers to sons or learned in traditional military fencing schools. [cite book
last = O'Donnell
first = Patrick D.
title = The Irish Faction Fighters Of The 19th Century
publisher = Anvil Press
year = 1975]

The traditional Irish shillelagh is still identified with popular Irish culture to this day, although the arts of bataireacht are much less so. The sticks used for bataireacht are not of a standardised size, as there are various styles of bataireacht, using various kinds of sticks.

By the 18th century bataireacht became increasingly associated with Irish gangs called "factions". [ [http://www.thewildgeese.com/pages/facfight.html The Wild Geese Today - Bataireacht: The Art of Irish Stick-Fighting ] ] Irish faction fights involved large groups of Irish men (and sometimes women) who would engage in melees at county fairs, weddings, funerals, or any other convenient gathering. One social historian, Conley, believe that this reflected a culture of recreational violence. [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2005/is_1_33/ai_56027317 The Agreeable Recreation Of Fighting] ] However, most historians (best summarized by James S. Donnelly (1983) in "Irish Peasants: Violence & Political Unrest, 1780"), agree that faction fighting had class and political overtones, as depicted for example in the works of William Carleton.

By the early 19th century these gangs had organized into larger regional federations, which coalesced from the old Whiteboys, into the Caravat and Shanavest factions. Beginning first in Munster the "Caravat and Shanavest" "war" erupted sporadically throughout the 19th century and caused some serious disturbances. [cite book
last = Clark
first = Samuel
authorlink =
coauthors = James S. Donnelly
title = Irish Peasants: Violence & Political Unrest, 1780-1914
publisher = Univ of Wisconsin Press
date = 1983
location =
pages =
url = http://books.google.ie/books?id=sKLQnYmmPLMC
doi =
id =
isbn = 0299093743.] Over time, traditional rules and methods of bataireacht and Shillelagh Law degenerated into more murderous fighting involving farm implements and guns.

As the push for Irish independence from Great Britain gained steam toward the end of the 19th century, leaders of the Irish community believed it was necessary to distance themselves from customs associated with factionism and division, to present a united military front to the British, hence the "United Irishmen" of the Republican movement. Foremost of these customs were the arts of bataireacht, and the shillelagh was soon replaced with the gun of the new unified faction of the Fenian Movement.

Modern practice

Modern practice of Bataireacht has arisen among some practitioners from a desire to maintain or reinstate Irish family traditions, while for others a combination of historical and cultural interest has lead to their interest in bataireacht. [ [http://www.ceadbua.com CeadBua.com] ] Practitioners exist in Ireland, the United States and Canada, in movements started somewhat independently of each other. Bataireacht is also gaining popularity among the non-Irish, especially in the United States, as a form of self defense, since a cane or walking stick can be carried easily in modern society. As is the case with most martial arts, multiple versions exist.

A few forms of bataireacht survive to this day - some being traditional styles specific to the family which carried them through the years, like the "Rince an Bhata Uisce Bheatha" (whiskey stick dance) of the Irish Newfoundlanders Doyle family [ [http://www.geocities.com/glendoyle/bata/index.html Whiskey Stick Dancing] ] , or in the Ramsey family through John Ramsey in Northern Ireland. Others styles survive in the techniques used in the sport of hurling and of course in military sabre fencing which continues to have a great following in Ireland.

Additionally, members of the Western Martial Arts movement have "reconstructed" styles using period martial arts manuals, historical newspaper articles, magazines, pictorial evidence and court documents. Surviving instructional manuals which detail use of the shillelagh include those by Rowland Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley, Percy Longhurst, and Donald Walker. [ [http://johnwhurley.com/hurleyframeset-2.html JohnWHurley.com - Irish Stick-Fighting] ]

Only two formal schools can be found teaching traditional bataireacht, but of the more recent bata style, there are about 8 informal study groups. [ [http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/4933/shillelagh.html Comhraiceoir Bhata] ]

References