Full interview available in the video

Francis, what is a Shillelagh?

It is a stick usually made from blackthorn.Blackthorn is a dense heavy wood that is very predominant in Ireland. It has been made from Oak as well; and from Holly and from Ash and few other woods. Within Ireland a Shillelagh refers to the shorter sticks which are usually 18 to 20 inches in length. In America it's quite common that the term is used interchangeably because some people refer to the shalele as a long stick and some people refer to it as short. The kind of common trait that it usually has is a kind of a knob handle and it is made from blackthorn wood. 

The Shillelagh is a heritage product of Ireland. It's something that has been given to many foreign dignitaries who visit Ireland. For example, if an American president would visit he would be presented with an Irish Shillelagh. That is a symbol of Ireland. It's a heritage product and I'm very very proud to carry on this traditional Irish craft. 

 Can you describe the history and significance of the Shillelagh in Irish culture?

The Shillelagh was popularized a lot in Irish culture in the 1800s and predominantly because of the faction fighting. Faction fighting was something that occurred on market days in many Irish rural towns where two families who had some maybe generational grievance.On fair days, one group of a family would gather on one side, another group of a family on the other side and they would shout insults, mock and tease. A big fight would happen and they would use the Shillelagh as well. 

There are a lot of historical references to Shillelagh being part of Irish culture before that. In a church in Kilkenny they have a picture of a little sculpture of a guy holding a Shillelagh. It has been quite popular in Irish culture over the years, but because it's associated with violence and fighting that they don't really promote the history of this in Irish schools or the educational system. There's good points, there's bad points, there's different things, so I just believe that it should be taught.

 How did you become interested in making Shillelaghs?

My dad was a carpenter by trade and he made Shillelaghs. My grandfather was

also a Shillelaghs maker and I understood my great-grandfather and my great great

grandfathers were involved in it as well. So I only know that there's been about

five generations of us making Shillelaghs. My family tradition is always to do with

entrepreneurs and crafting and making things. I was just always interested in

That. Then I got interested in the history and culture of it. I read a few books by John Hurley. A book by Patrick O'Donnell on it.  I couldn't believe faction fighting existed, and I was shocked that there were no stories. I was like ‘this is amazing’. These battles between families were quite interesting.  

Can you walk us through the different stages of making a Shillelagh?

The first stage is sourcing the wood. In wintertime is the only time you can harvest the

Blackthorn  wood. The cutting season is usually between late October to early November up until about the end of February.  You have to go out and cut the wood. Usually I have to get permission from the farmers as well because it is very hard to access and only grows in certain areas.  And it’s a very rare wood because this particular wood grows like an S shape. It grows up and down in different ways so you need to find a particularly overgrown hedges where there's a piece long enough that you make a nice stick with. The second stage is to season the wood for about two to three years.  Blackthorn  is a dense heavy wood with a very tight wood grain, so it takes a long time for it to season.  Season means when the wood hardens. You usually have to wait for it to fully season and be hard before you heat up the wood and then you can bend it into shape. Usually you need quite a lot of force so I would use different apparatus, car jacks and vises to try to hold it in after I heat it up. 

Soon after you straighten the wood you would get into carving the handle. Usually I would shape it out with a handsaw.I try to stay away from bandsaw and different things as well and try to use as many hand tools as possible. It's just a way I work. carving the handle I would use a Shinto Japanese rasp to give it a bit more shape and take out a few of the hard edges.Then lots of sandpaper. You start with very coarse sandpaper and you kind of go down. Then I would add some sealers and maybe sanding sealer. Then I would finish it in many different ways.The finish that I use really depends on the look I'm trying to do. It depends on the wood, if it has wood grain, and on the bark.

So I use a variety of finishes. 

 Are there any traditional methods or techniques you employ in your craft?

Yes, all my methods would be the traditional methods of an Irish stick making- I would carve out the handles based on a one piece of wood so I do not attach the handle as traditionally one piece of wood was used. I know modern stick makers like to have two pieces of wood and stick them together. 

There's a lot of urban myths about the traditions of stick making. I would use the methods that my father taught me and his grandfather taught me of how to shape the stick and how to finish it as well.  

 How long does it typically take to make a Shillelagh from start to finish?

3 years. The longest part of course is the wood seasoned so after you cut it, you have to wait two or three years. But once I get a seasoned piece of wood, within a week I have the stick made. I can straighten it, shape it, put a few different finishes on it. Usually, I'm working on like 20 or 30 sticks at a time.

Do you create custom Shillelaghs for clients?

The way I like to run my business is that I make sticks that I like based on the wood that I have. I find that if you go into making custom sticks for a client it is very time consuming and it's very hard to have a business model where you're constantly making custom sticks. As you usually have to charge  about $800 to $1,000 per stick, but I like to make sticks within the $100 to $150 kind of range.

 Are there specific designs or styles that you specialize in?

 Of course the Irish style of stick making. I do make a lot of Knob sticks. But there are many different handle types within Irish stick making that I do specialize in as well. It just really depends on the customers needs because sometimes people want a hiking stick, some people just come out of surgery some want sticks like a T-shaped stick or an 

L-shaped. Sometimes people want two sticks to get up and get down. So usually I create

variety of sticks. 

How do you ensure the quality and durability of your Shillelaghs?

This is really about harvesting the wood. You have to be able to find quality pieces that you know are going to be durable as well. And during the straightening process you're using vises or using car jacks put a lot of pressure on the wood, so you can check the durability very easily as you are straightening the pieces of wood. You can tell by 

the weight of the wood,  as well, the quality of it's going to be. Usually about 5 to 10% of wood that you cut during harvesting it's not really up to the standard of making a stick. 

Do you sell globally?

I've been selling globally now for many years, since 2008 or 2009. I have a website- mccaffreycrafts.com and I have 3-day worldwide shipping with UPS or DHL. I usually charge everyone a flat rate worldwide of $39.Of course it costs a lot more to ship, but I usually absorb the cost of that, so that I can continue to give value to my customers. And one thing that's I think is important - you do have to ship very quickly and try to get your product as quickly as possible, because sometimes people are coming out of surgery and different things and they really need a walking stick.

Contact Francis McCaffrey

Website: mccaffreycrafts.com

Instagram: @mccaffreycrafts