#like... when I'm in Dublin I often complain about it

[ophelias-last-flower]

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[irelandseyeonmythology]

So I’ve been getting more into broader brehon law, not just marriage law, and is it true they had laws about how many different colors you could wear? I can’t find any sources about it but maybe I’m just not looking hard enough

That comes from one kind of famous (ish?) passage from the Annals, that reads as follows (from the O'Donovan translation):

Do I think it was something people followed? ...probably not, honestly. We don't see much reference to it elsewhere. Not to say there were NO restrictions, but it's to say that I think it's often taken 100% uncritically and you'd think we'd see more reference to it elsewhere, in the actual lawbooks, if that was the case. (Though, naturally, some of it's practical, in the sense that...would a slave be able to have more than one color? Being a slave? Very likely not.) It's the issue with all sumptuary laws, which is "to what extent were these things widely being used?"

To quote from Sparky Booker's "Moustaches, Mantles, and Saffron Shirts: What Motivated Sumptuary Law in Medieval English Ireland?": "In terms of implementation, the success of enforcement of sumptuary laws varied.11 Indeed, historians disagree about whether these laws were intended to be enforced fully, or whether they were 'primarily symbolic,' a method of 'affirm[ing] values' and even actively shaping the social world by enshrining socio-economic divisions in law."

We know that medieval Ireland had a number of colors associated with the aristocracy: purple (like with the rest of Europe) seems to be common, white, red, like in this description from the Táin (Recension 1, O'Rahilly's translation): "He held a light sharp spear which shimmered. He was wrapped in a purple, fringed mantle, with a silver brooch in the mantle over his breast. He wore a white hooded tunic with red insertion and carried outside his garments a golden-hilted sword."

Likewise, the famous description of Etáin in Togail Bruidne Da Derga (Stokes' translation):

"A mantle she had, curly and purple, a beautiful cloak, and in the mantle silvery fringes arranged, and a brooch of fairest gold. A kirtle she wore, long, hooded, hard-smooth, of green silk, with red embroidery of gold. Marvellous clasps of gold and silver in the kirtle on her breasts and her shoulders and spaulds on every side. The sun kept shining upon her, so that the glistening of the gold against the sun from the green silk was manifest to men."

For more on this, see Niamh Whitfield, "Aristocratic Display in Early Medieval Ireland in Fiction and in Fact: The Dazzling White Tunic and Purple Cloak", which she's generously put on Academia.

After the English colonization of Ireland, you have new sumptuary laws being put into place -- Booker discusses the earliest case we have, from 1297, when a hairstyle known as the "cúlán" was banned for Englishmen, with the enactment complaining that the Englishmen were taking it up to such an extent that they were getting killed after being mistaken for Irishmen. (I feel like there is a solution to this that does not involve banning the hairstyle, let me think...)

You had similar fines being imposed on saffron sleeves or kerchiefs for women, or wearing a mantle in general for men, as of 1466 in Dublin -- these aren't as a matter of maintaining social class so much as preserving a distinction between the English and the Irish (what's interesting, of course, is that the English had to have been adopting these fashions to some extent for the law to be needed.) And we see them routinely going back to this aversion towards saffron colors, since it was associated extensively with Ireland and Irishness, and a particularly high value one at that.

So: Eochaidh Eadghaghach -- that section in the annals provides the quote that says that this is a thing that happened -- I leave it to you to decide whether it was ever practiced or even in place in the first place. I think it might have, if only as a societal ideal, but I'm incredibly doubtful. We know that colors often ARE used as a way of marking social standing in the literature, but I don't think it was as regimented as that quote suggests. Sumptuary laws ARE better recorded in a post-Norman invasion context, usually (though not ALWAYS) as a means of marking out the Irish from the English populations (even though we know, both from this and other evidence, that these lines weren't always as firm as the authorities might have liked.)

I know that Kelly also goes into a lot of details re: colors and dyes in his "Early Irish Farming" -- if you're looking to get into the world of day to day life in Ireland, there isn't a better source.

[trashyocstash]

also another aran/cadhla fic, where they get together

Aran and Cadhla had been friends for quite some time now, growing closer by the day, and Cadhla found herself slowly falling in love with him. Now she just had to work up the courage to tell him how she felt about him.

After he'd brought her to her apartment, he ended up showing her around Dublin and she found herself in awe of the city. They couldn't see the whole thing in one day so he promised to show her more, and followed up on that. They continued to spend more and more time together, soon not just during those tours. Aran wasn't the only person in the city Cadhla knew, she at least had her co-workers, but she felt drawn to Aran, often wanting to spend time with him, and he didn't mind. She got to see more of what he was like, and found that underneath that rude exterior was someone who truly was kind and caring, even if he didn't show it much.

Cadhla remembered visiting Aran's house the first time and instantly being greeted by his puppy Lucky, and Cadhla responded by showing him affection(unknown to her, endearing Aran to her more). She could tell Aran took good care of Lucky and loved him a lot which made her like him more.

There was also that time Aran had brought her to a bar(also unknown to her that Aran wanted to show off to her), when Cadhla was hit on by a creep. Aran instantly protected her, standing up for her when the guy asked him if he was her boyfriend. To help protect her further, Aran said he was, which was enough to make the guy back off. Cadhla felt flustered at the idea of being Aran's girlfriend, but also realized she didn't mind the idea at all, thinking about all the things she liked about him.

There was his aforementioned kindness, as well as his humorous side. He easily made her laugh, and they loved to pull pranks together. He was strong, tough, confident, powerful, brave and assertive. Cadhla had to admit, she could not keep her eyes off him when he fought. He brought out the best in her, making her feel less shy and she always felt so cheerful in his presence. She truly appreciated him.

Cadhla felt nervous about it, but knew she had to tell him sooner or later that she loved him. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door to his house.

He opened it and smiled upon seeing her. "Hey."

She stepped in and was immediately greeted by Lucky, who ran up to her, wagged his tail and barked. Cadhla kneeled down and petted him. "Looks like someone else wanted to say hi." Aran chuckled at that.

Cadhla smiled before standing up. A nervous look approached her face, she knew why she was here, she just had to work up the confidence to tell him.

Finally, she spoke up. "Aran? There's..something I have to tell you."

He was curious. "Hm? What is it?"

It was now or never. Cadhla blushed. "I really really like you..in..that way.."

It didn't take long for Aran to realize what she meant and he blushed too. "You do?"

She nodded. "Are you..okay with that?"

Aran grinned. "I'm more than okay with it," He pulled her close making her face redder. "I like you too."

He leaned in and kissed her, and Cadhla happily accepted it. When she left for Dublin, she never would've imagined a celebrity athlete would fall in love with her, but she wasn't complaining.

They pulled away and Aran's grin returned. "Guess I really am lucky huh?"

"So am I.." Cadhla softly replied before they shared another kiss.