Shillelaghs are clubs or Irish walking sticks crafted from the stout, knobby branches of trees which are shaped into a heavy “hitting†end with varying lengths of handle. Blackthorn and oak, especially the root, are commonly used to craft shillelaghs.
- Find a hawthorn tree with many thick branches.
- Put up a stepladder and put on some gloves.
- Saw through the branch with a branch saw, cutting at a particularly knobby section.
- Saw away all of the thorns on your shillelagh branch.
Shillelaghs are traditionally made from blackthorn (sloe) wood (Prunus spinosa) or oak. With the scarcity of oak in Ireland the term came increasingly to denote a blackthorn stick, and indeed blackthorn stick is sometimes glossed as equivalent to shillelagh.
The small blue-black fruits of the native blackthorn are known as sloes. Hawthorn branches bloom with their bright red haw berries. The 'sloes' or berries of blackthorn are popular in gin, wine and jam making.
The Irish fighting stick came by the name of Shillelagh due to the fine woods most favored in the making of the cudgel that were found in Ireland's Shillelagh Forest. Interestingly it was an English writer who first dubbed the bata a Shillelagh due the origin of the wood.
' They grow in scrubs, thickets and woodlands in the wild. In the landscape, hedges are the most common use for growing blackthorn trees. A growing blackthorn tree is spiny and densely limbed.
Hawthorn is a light weight wood that makes an excellent hiking stick or cane. Hawthorn carves easily and has been used for walking sticks and canes for hundreds of years.
The Blackthorn is found throughout Ireland and the British Isles, and it has been prized for centuries as a material for premium walking sticks. The most well-known incarnation of the classic Blackthorn stick was the Irish Shillelagh a tool that was so fearsome in trained hands that the English outlawed it!
Irish walking sticks are made in Ireland from the hard and strong wood of the blackthorn tree. A prized blackthorn stick often carried for aesthetic appreciation as well as for mobility issues.
Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) Draigean (Gaelic name)This native Irish tree may be known by its Latin name Prunus spinosa or one of its many common names, such as sloe, wild plum, wishing thorn or mother of the wood.
Blackthorn is named after its dark bark. The twigs are black with leaf buds along the sharp spines. Take care when identifying this tree as its spiky thorns can cause a nasty reaction if you get scratched. Hawthorn's lighter bark is creamy brown in colour and rougher, with knots and fissures.
Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) is not poisonous but probably twice as dangerous.
Blackthorn or sloe berries from the prunus spinosa look like blueberries. But unlike blueberries, they have a tart flavour so are best cooked before eating. They are often used to make jam or the liqueur sloe gin.
Blackthorn is an important species for all kinds of wildlife, but is especially vital for the rare Black Hairstreak butterfly who lays its eggs in its hedges. Here, they overwinter and the caterpillars emerge in spring ready to feed on the plant.
Blackthorn is a fast-growing hedge with a growth rate of around 40-60cm each year, and can grow well in most soil types, except for very waterlogged soil. For best growth, Blackthorn should be grown in a sunny position – it's not suitable for full shade.
Apparently, Blackthorn shouldn't be grown in a pot; it is fast growing, and can achieve 40-60cm (two feet in old money) of growth each year. The RHS reckons around eight years before a decent cropping of sloes – however, I love my little bonsai Blackthorn and am a patient gardener – I can wait another three years.
Blackthorn (aka Sloes) - Non-toxicBlackthorn has a very high roughage content so could potentially cause an impaction if consumed in excess. An impaction is a common type of colic that can develop if a horse eats an excess amount of dry roughage.
Blackthorn is not easily confused with other wild plants on this web site. This is a deciduous, sometimes dense, thorny shrub which grows abundantly throughout the country.
Information on Blackthorn.
| Common Name: | Blackthorn |
|---|
| Irish Name: | Draighean |
| Family Group: | Rosaceae |
| Distribution: | View Map (Courtesy of the BSBI) |
If weight is not an issue, most types of hickory, ironwood and birch are all incredibly strong and make excellent walking sticks. Like hickory, oak is hard and strong, but very heavy. Black locust branches are among the strongest possible choices, and they are relatively resistant to decay and abrasion.
Excellent woods for walking sticks include hazel, birch, cherry, blackthorn, ash, oak, elder, and holly. Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa, or "sloe") is perhaps ideal. These woods also make excellent walking stick handles, either in the shape of root knobs or knots, or when turned into shape on a lathe.
Traditional, non-folding walking sticks are best suited for those that need to use a walking stick most, if not all, of the time. Non-folding walking sticks are available in a range of materials and handle styles, with height-adjustable or fixed height options.
Free Form Ironwood Walking Stick owners can feel confident that when walking through trails or hiking through dense forests, their ironwood staff will be an invaluable support that will offer reliability for years to come. Its bark -- resembling a deer antler -- is naturally ridged.
After a skirmish in Malfoy Manor in 1998, Harry used Draco Malfoy's wand until repairing his own with the Elder Wand. The blackthorn wand was taken from Harry by Scabior and later left at Malfoy Manor along with Hermione Granger's wand and Ronald Weasley's wand.
