Bataireacht (pronounced [ˈbˠat̪ˠəɾʲaxt̪ˠ]; meaning 'stick-fighting') (also called boiscín and ag imirt na maidí ^[1]) refers to a form of stick-fighting from Ireland sometimes described as a martial art.^[2] Although an older practice,^[3] the term was used by author John W. Hurley and introduced into modern English usage in the late 1990s.

Definition

Bata is the Irish language term for stick, and bataireacht sometimes given as referring to "cudgelling" or "beating with a club".^[4]

Bataireacht also refers to a category of stick-fighting in Ireland.^[3] The typical bata used for bataireacht is the shillelagh.^[3] Blackthorn, oak, ash and hazel were traditionally the most common types of woods used to make shillelagh fighting sticks.

The style is mostly characterized by the use of a cudgel, or knobbed stick, of different lengths but most often the size of a walking stick. The stick is grabbed by the third of the handle end, the lower part protecting the elbow and allowing the user to maintain an offensive as well as defensive guard. This grip also allows launching fast punching-like strikes.^[5]

History

Sticks and cudgels (including, for example, the shillelagh) were used in Ireland as weapons of self-defence for centuries. The historical link between bataireacht and other Irish weapons is unclear, and the sticks used for bataireacht are not of a standardised size.

Some authors have argued 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.^[6] This theory has been criticized, among other things for its lack of primary source material. Although fencing instruction and manuals existed at the time and were available in Ireland and abroad, with one of them illustrating bataireacht among wrestling, boxing and fencing ^[7] the two systems are in practice substantially different, namely in the active use of the buta, a part of the stick with no equivalent in European swords. Clues indicate that links may exist with other weapons closer in attributes such as the axe, but the historical descriptions are rare and limited in scope, so it is quite difficult to confirm.

By the 18th century bataireacht became increasingly associated with Irish gangs called "factions". Irish faction fights involved large groups of men (and sometimes women) who engaged in melees at county fairs, weddings, funerals, or any other convenient gathering. Historians such as Carolyn Conley, believe that this reflected a culture of recreational violence. It is also argued that faction fighting had class and political overtones, as depicted for example in the works of William Carleton and James S. Donnelly, Jr.'s "Irish Peasants: Violence & Political Unrest, 1780".

By the early 19th century, these gangs had organised into larger regional federations, which coalesced from the old Whiteboys, into the Caravat and Shanavest factions. Beginning in Munster the Caravat and Shanavest "war" erupted sporadically throughout the 19th century and caused some serious disturbances.^[8]

As the faction fights became increasingly repressed by society and other sports such as hurling were promoted, bataireacht slowly faded in importance in Irish popular culture by the turn of the 20th century. Although still documented sporadically, it has become mostly an underground practice saved by a few families who handed down their own styles.

Modern practice

The modern practice of bataireacht has arisen amongst some practitioners from a desire to maintain, reinstate or re-invent Irish family traditions. Bataireacht has also gained popularity amongst non-Irish people, as a form of self-defence, as a cane or walking stick can be easily carried in modern society.

A few forms of bataireacht survive to this day, some of which are traditional styles specific to the family which carried them down through the years, or Antrim Bata which is currently taught in seven countries.

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 describe some use of the shillelagh include those by Rowland Allanson-Winn and Donald Walker.

See also

References