Read More About Irish Stick-fighting, Faction Fights in Ireland, and Shillelagh Martial Arts.
**This page is continually under construction. Stay tuned for updates of the bibliography and links.**
Factions and Stick-fighting in History and Culture
Boland, Mary Jane. 2013. “A Troublesome ‘Genre’? Histories, Definitions and Perceptions of Paintings of Everyday Life from Early Nineteenth-Century Ireland.” Journal of Art Historiography 9: 1–17. https://arthistoriography.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/boland.pdf
Bourke, Eoin. 1997. “‘The Irishman Is No Lazzarone’: German Travel Writers in Ireland 1828–1850.” History Ireland 5(3): 21–25. https://www.historyireland.com/18th-19th-century-history/the-irishman-is-no-lazzarone-german-travel-writers-in-ireland-1828-1850/
Byrne, Cyril J., ed. 1984. Gentlemen-Bishops and Faction Fighters: The Letters of Bishops O Donel, Lambert, Scallan and Other Irish Missionaries. St. John’s, NL: Jesperson Press.
Chouinard, Maxime. 2015. “What Is Irish Stick-fighting?” I Don’t Do Longsword (blog). Posted 3 Februrary. https://hemamisfits.com/2015/02/03/what-is-irish-stick-fighting/
Conley, Carolyn. 1999a. “The Agreeable Recreation of Fighting.” Journal of Social History 33(1): 57–72. https://doi.org/10.1353/jsh.1999.0009
———. 1999b. Melancholy Accidents: The Meaning of Violence in Post-famine Ireland. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
Dunne, Terence Martin. 2014. “Cultures of Resistance in Pre-Famine Ireland.” PhD diss. Maynooth University. http://eprints.maynoothuniversity.ie/9126/
Forker, Martin. 2012. “The Use of the ‘Cartoonist’s Armoury’ in Manipulating Public Opinion: Anti-Irish Imagery in 19th Century British and American Periodicals.” Journal of Irish Studies 27: 58–71. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41932626
Hannon, Keven. 1996. “The Faction Fighters.” The Old Limerick Journal 33(Winter): 4–6. http://www.limerickcity.ie/media/Media,4098,en.pdf
Harmon, Maurice. 1975. “Aspects of the Peasantry in Anglo-Irish Literature from 1800 to 1916.” Studia Hibernica 15: 105–127. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20496077
Hurley, John W. 2011. Shillelagh: The Irish Fighting Stick. Pipersville, PA: Caravat Press.
Kavanagh, Peter. 1951. “The Shillelagh: A Weapon of Honor.” American Mercury May: 525–532. http://www.unz.org/Pub/AmMercury-1951may-00525?View=PDF
Mitchell, James. 2003. “‘The battle of Rushveala’: Origin and Outcome of a Faction Fight at Oughterard, Co. Galway, on 8 December 1837.” Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society 55: 72–85. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25535758
MacNeil, Máire. 1962. Festival of Lughnasa, Parts I and II. Dublin: Comhairle Bhéaloideas Éireann.
Malcom, Elizabeth. 1983. “Popular Recreation in Nineteenth-Century Ireland.” In Irish Culture and Nationalism, 1750–1950, ed. Oliver McDonagh, W.F. Mandle, and Pauric Travers, 40–50. London: Macmillan Press. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-1-349-17129-3_3
Moloney, Mick. 2002. Far from the Shamrock Shore: The Story of Irish-American Immigration Through Song.Corl, IRL: The Collins Press.
Moraghan, Seán. 2014. “The Fighting Irish: Faction Fighting in Cork.” The Archive: Journal of the Cork Folklore Project 18: 8–9. https://www.ucc.ie/en/media/research/corkfolkloreproject/archivepdfs/Magazine.pdf
Ó Danachair, Caoimhin. 1966. “Faction Fighting in County Limerick.” North Munster Antiquarian Society 10(1): 47–55. http://www.limerickcity.ie/media/nmaj%20vol%2010,%20no%201%2004%20Faction%20fighting%20in%20County%20Limerick,%20by%20Caoimhin%20%C3%93%20Danachair.pdf
O’Donnell, Patrick D. 1975. The Irish Faction Fighters of the Nineteenth Century. Dublin: Anvil Books.
O’hAodha, Michael. 2008. “Faction Fighting.” In Ireland and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History Volume I, ed. James P. Byrne, Philip Coleman, and Jason King, 313–316. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio.
Ó Muireadhaidh, Sailbheastar. 1961. “Na Carabhait Is Na Seanbheisteanna.” Galvia 8: 4–20.
Old Dublin Society. 1981. “Donnybrook Fair: Was It All That Bad?” Dublin Historical Record 34(3): 103–109. https://www.jstor.org/stable/30104356
O’Rourke, Kevan. 2016. “The Fighting Irish: Faction Fighting as Leisure in the Writings of William Carleton.” In Leisure and the Irish in the Nineteenth Century, ed. Leeann Land and William Murphy, 130–168. Liverpool: University of Liverpool Press.
Ó Tuairisg, Lochlann. 2001–2003. “Whiteboys and Faction Fighters in Pre-Famine Ireland.” In History Matters, ed. Michael S. O’Neill, Clara Cullen, and Coleman A. Denneh, 97–106. Dublin: University College Dublin.
Owens, Gary. 1997. “‘A Moral Insurrection’: Faction Fighters, Public Demonstrations and the O’Connellite Campaign, 1828.” Irish Historical Studies 30(120): 513–541. https://www.jstor.org/stable/60000031
Phelan, Mark. 2010. “The Advent of Modern Irish Drama and the Abjection of Peasant Popular Culture: Folklore, Fairs and Faction Fighting.” Kritika Kultura 15: 149–169. https://journals.ateneo.edu/ojs/index.php/kk/article/view/1450/1475
Roberts, Paul E.W. 1983. “Caravats and Shanavests: Whiteboyism and Faction Fighting in East Munster, 1802–11.” In Irish Peasants: Violence and Political Unrest, 1780–1914, ed. Samuel Clark and James S. Donnelly Jr., 66–101. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan.
Uí Cinsealaigh Historical Society.1973/1974. “The Fair of Cloch Ámainn and the Faction Fights.” The Past: The Organ of the Uí Cinsealaigh Historical Society 10: 37–39.
Historical Sources re Faction Fighting and Shillelaghs
Barrington, Jonah. 1832. Personal Sketches of His Own Times, Volume III. London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley. https://archive.org/details/personalsketches49794gut
Carleton, William. 1896. Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry, Volume II. New York: MacMillan and Co. https://archive.org/details/traitsandstorie05carlgoog
———. 1896. Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry, Volume IV. New York: MacMillan and Co. https://archive.org/details/traitsandstorie06carlgoog
Carlyle, Thomas. 1882. Reminiscences of my Irish Journey in 1849. London: Gilbert and Rivington. http://www.irishhistorylinks.net/Historical_Documents/Carlyle_1849.html
Hall, Mr. and Mrs S.C. 1890. “The Faction Fights.” In Weird Tales: Irish, 193–207. London: William Paterson.
———. 1984. “Secret Societies.” In Hall’s Ireland: Mr. and Mrs. Hall’s Tour of 1840 Volume 2, ed. Michael Scott, 435–438. London: Sphere Books Limited.
Inglis, Henry D. 1836. A Journey Throughout Ireland During the Spring, Summer, and Autumn of 1834, 4th Edition. London: Whittaker and Co.
Kelly, R.J. 1919. “Donnybrook–Origin of Name: Its Famous Fair.” The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 9(2): 136–148. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25514536
Kerryman. 1910. “The ‘Three Year Olds’ and the ‘Four Year Olds.’” 5 February: 9.
MacDonagh, Michael. 1898. Irish Life and Character. New York: Thomas Whittaker. https://archive.org/details/irishlifecharact00macduoft/page/n6
Nenagh Guardian. 1878. “The Mohobber Faction Fight.” 20 July: 3.
———.1880. “State of the Country.” 22 September: 3
O’Halloran, Sylvester. 1795. A New Treatise on the Different Disorders Arising from External Injuries of the Head. Dublin: Zachariah Jackson for W. Gilbert. https://archive.org/details/newtreatiseondif1795ohal
O’Toole, Terence. 1832. “National Emblems.” The Dublin Penny Journal 1(2): 9–10. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30002549
Tulloch, Jessie. 1894. “A Three-Year-Old.” The Irish Monthly 22(252, June): 321–326.
Stick-fighting Manuals
Allanson-Winn, R.G. and C. Phillipps-Wolley. 1911. Broad-sword and Single-stick: With Chapters on Quarter-staff, Bayonet, Cudgel, Shillalah, Walking-stick, Umbrella, and Other Weapons of Self-defence. 2nd edition. London: George Bell. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/31214/31214-h/31214-h.htm
De Berenger, Baron. 1835. Helps and Hints How to Protect Life and Property. London: T. Hurst. https://archive.org/details/helpsandhintsho00beregoog
Hurley, John W. 2004. The Shillelagh Makers Handbook. Long Branch, PA: Caravat Press.
———. 2018. Fighting Irish: The Art of Irish Stick-fighting. Philadelphia, PA: Caravat Press.
Longhurst, Percy. 1906. Jiu-jitsu and Other Methods of Self-Defence. London: L. Upcott Gill. http://www.nycsteampunk.com/bartitsu/manuals/JuiJitsuAndOtherMethodsOfSelfDefence1906.pdf
Pfrenger, Ken and Kirk Lawson. 2008. The Bata Manual. Pdf.
Sinclair, G. 1800. Cudgel-playing, Modernised and Improved; Or, The Science of Defence. London: J. Bailey. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433066623228;view=2up;seq=6
The San Francisco Sunday Call. 1905. “The Footpad and the Cane.” 20 August: 4. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85066387/1905-08-20/ed-1/seq-4/
Walker, Donald. 1840. Defensive Exercises, Comprising Wrestling, Boxing, Etc. London: Thomas Hurst. https://archive.org/details/defensiveexerci00walkgoog/page/n6
Shillelagh Studies 