The forgotten Irish longbow

[@WarriorAttributes]

Excellent 👌🏼 Fascinating subject, I look forward to seeing more on this.

[@ramblingkern]

@@WarriorAttributes thanks mate

[@Indigenous-Rights]

Co Mayo (Plain of the Yew Trees) bushcrafter here ...It makes sense to string a bow this way due to the damp climate ..it would give the draw string more "twang" to flick moisture from the string if they were damp or hunting in mist or rain ,, drying any moisture from the string before notching an arrow...early bows with string notch's relied heavily on glued composites again moisture would effect these in a deer stalk...The Noth West hunted with deer hounds ,so only a blood draw would be required and they would then go to spears following the blood trail...The North West calculated distance in the spear cast not metric or imperial measurements so it was law to hunt with the spear to close distance..Yew tree camoflauge is ideal for deer and elk so a blood trail would assist the hounds to flush cover to assist spear....a great find and in a bog which as you know would have been an ancient forest in the past ...very awesome find !!!😊 ...interested in your content.. Disclaimer: For those alarmed by the description of hounds and animal welfare... Deer hound pups were taken from the matron/Dam when born and wrapped in a deer hide ...they would be suckled on their mother's and returned to the deer hide straightaway...this made them believe the deer was their mother when hunting so they wouldn't harm them when they run them down in a hunt ..the ancient Irish were forbidden to eat carrion or anything a wolf or canine had killed.... everything was taken with the spear and only the spear as it was their initiation into the warrior caste....see Scottish Deer hound to get an idea of the type of hounds they would use.

[@ramblingkern]

@@Indigenous-Rights thank you for the response and information mate it's appreciated.

[@leprechaun7667]

Irish wolfhound.....

[@Finderskeepers.]

Thank you for sharing. I can trace my forefather with the same name as me to Mayo in the 14th century, Dad brought me to a grave yard there and said this is where we are from.. I remember my great granny telling me to be quite as Mayo were playing Galway , she was 103. Where did you get this information as it covers a number of my interests ?

[@pharaohsmagician8329]

Dude amazing comment! That's so cool. Please drop some sources or things I can look up to learn more I am super interested this is epic history. Dadga!

[@billharrelson8566]

This reminds me of a Native American bow that was found with an eyelet at one end and a channel carved in the belly from end to end, I think Jim Hamm mentioned it in one of his books. The carved grooves on the back of this bow also seem very similar to Eskimo cable backed bows . Great find!

[@ramblingkern]

@@billharrelson8566 that sounds very interesting.

[@michaelroche6181]

This is also my conclusion also, that the grooves are for either reinforcing strings/cables or hardwood rods/ slats to create an alternative composite structure. Maybe where good stave wood was scarce and smalĺer diameter round yew branches used. The Inuit bows used this technique because the only bow wood was driftwood spruce which was less than ideal by itself.

[@Zane-It]

Native California bows are very short

[@michaelroche6181]

@@Zane-It They were often yew or juniper which were naturally composite and often sinew backed. The rugged terrain and scrubby chapparal and poison oak thickets probably didnt suit a long bow in many areas.

[@Zane-It]

@michaelroche6181 we also used ash and cedar. And yes California has an indigenous species of yew although it is very rare i have found it in the past while hiking.

[@noeldoyle4501]

Thanks for your video. I made a yew bow from our Irish yew almost fifty years ago, happy days.

[@ramblingkern]

@@noeldoyle4501 amazing. I found a nice bit of it recently but it was just too full of knots to risk buying.

[@gozer87]

Pretty interesting. I can't wait to learn more.

[@ramblingkern]

@@gozer87 thank you should be some interesting stuff ahead.

[@hangableautobulbbot]

KZbin algorithm on point again. I was in my local archery club shooting tonight. I was under the impression we had little in the way of bow technology developed in Ireland. Very excited to hear more!

[@ramblingkern]

@@hangableautobulbbot it's an interesting topic for sure

[@markruff8080]

Fascinating info Nathan. This is a really great find! So having build many yew longbows, (and yew flatbows with hollow limb designs) I would suggest that those furrows would be problematic if incorporated into the belly of a bow. Especially on a belly with a cross section as "stacked" as those shown in the images. I can only imagine that the central ridge created between the two furrows would suffer significant compression force, and would experience substatial fretting. The subsequent compression fractures along that ridge would result in set and ultimately loss of performance. I think those furrows are on the backs of these bows. And I also think, like many others here have already suggested, that those grooves are to house a backing material, likely arranged in a cable like fashion. As you've already pointed out, leather will survive in a bog perfectly well. But this is only because it will have been tanned. The tanning process (both bark tanning and smoke/oil tanning) preserves hide material exceptional well. This is why leather artifacts are often found in bogs. But sinew and rawhide would not have benefited from such preservation, as sinew and or rawhide is never tanned prior to its use or application in bow construction. Hide glue being water soluble, would also break down rapidly in a bog type setting. As would natural plant cordage such as flax etc, both of which can be used as bow backing materials, especially as cabling material incorporated into the design to increase the structural integrity of the back of a bow. With all that said though, I'm highly suspicious that yew sapwood would not survive long if exposed continuously to the conditions expected from a bog. Yew sapwood doesn't contain the very high tannic acid contect which yew heartwood contains. This is why yew heartwood fence posts last so long. Anyone who's ever pulled out old yew fence posts will confirm that after only a few years in the ground, any sapwoop on a yew fence post will have turned to mush if not disappeared completely leaving only sound heartwood. So if thats also true for these bow artifacts, then those groves must be in heartwood. Which implies that those ancient irish bowyers also new the little known secret, that pure yew heartwood bows are not only possible, but prefered!

[@ramblingkern]

@@markruff8080 a really great and thorough response thank you mate. Just a few quick points worth noting. Sinew does indeed survive in bogs Lindow Man’s neck had a sinew cord tied around it. As did the cord that the bag was tied onto on one of the bows. As for yew bow composition from having read how a lot of master bowyers make their yew longbows the preference seems to be for 1/4 inch of sapwood as it's resistance to tension seems to perfectly balance out the heart woods resistance to compression. All of this I will talk about in a follow up video. I really appreciate the response and hope you enjoy the video.

[@forest-9243]

So excited for this!

[@ramblingkern]

@@forest-9243 me too haha

[@samuelstambaugh5181]

Fascinating

[@licustoms]

Ok, I'm hooked now and have to know more about all of this! Really fascinating and something that I was not aware of at all. I look forward to learning more.

[@ramblingkern]

Subscribe and i will make sure to keep you posted.

[@billybones9117]

Very interesting. Keep up the good work.

[@ramblingkern]

@@billybones9117 appreciate it mate

[@brianoailpin6844]

Im from Rush, Ros Eo, headland of Yew trees. When i was growing up I was told the trees where all harvested during the 100 years war. But there had been a long history of bow making there for centuries.

[@brianoailpin6844]

There are surnames in the town like fletcher, bow and Archer still.

[@ramblingkern]

I love how Irish places names tie in so closely to their history thank you mate.

[@daniellyne9420]

Very interesting, I am an archer from Kerry a nd I have made a number of bows from yew and Ash. I make my own arrows as well!

[@ramblingkern]

@@daniellyne9420 excellent stuff mate it's great to hear of folks doing it on this island.

[@Sionnach1601]

Do you give any classes??? Táim i gcónaí in aice leat agus ba mhaith lion go mór mór cuairt a thabhairt duit!

[@daniellyne9420]

@@Sionnach1601 An bhfuil tú I gconaí I chiarraí?

[@benrobertson7855]

Incredibly interesting and great information ,as well as presentation,lots of yews here in nz,if you go to your local old church……always been afraid to ask.guess it wouldn’t go down well.that’s about the only source of yew here,been hunting with self bows and a few recurve / longbow for over 40 years now. Thanks again from nz. Ps ,this is the joy of utube and the modern communication thingies….getting introduced to such clear, great content.

[@ramblingkern]

@@benrobertson7855 ah thank you so much I am always amazed my work reaches so many people but it really makes me happy to hear that. Apparently the yew in graveyards tends to be a variety that does not make a good bow. Not that I would ever plan to chop one down haha.

[@gfreeman9843]

One small point, like the subject...things are either unique or not...❤ Sorry, all the best.😁​@@ramblingkern

[@spacewolf9585]

How serendipitous that you posted this as I am getting back into my Toxophilia obsession and finally finish up a batch of self bows in various stages of construction. I’m definitely going to experiment with the eye hole and furrows on at least one of those and try them out in the field. I have some theories about the practicality of having the eyelet on top that would make sense for a variety of reasons, such as quick stringing/unstringing, having a secondary defense using the unstrung bow as an emergency staff, and having a long stick with a length of cord on the end can easily have a blade lashes to it for use as a spear. Would be interesting to see if there are any traces forensically that could suggest that this might have been the case for it.👍🤙🖖

[@ramblingkern]

Not from the reports I could find but please keep me posted on your work I would be happy to share it on the channel if you wanted.

[@captainflint89]

if these are yew bows perhaps they were made from less than perfect branches and had the heartwood reduced to match a very thin sapwood to prevent compression damage ? the holes could be for cable backing similar to phenobscott ? if the sapwood is removed then backing with sinew or a cable/string could help keep it together .. so many possibles . never knew these were so unique

[@ramblingkern]

@@captainflint89 all possible but there doesn't seem to be any signs of backing and those would normally preserve in a bog. The only thing I can think of is something to do with the sapwood to hardwood ratio but I still can't figure out why. The eyelets definitely seems to be for the string as there is no other nocking points or reinforcements there.

[@terrygippert7208]

Thank you, I'm in the process of tracking my family history

[@ramblingkern]

@@terrygippert7208 thank you for the support and best of luck in your Searches

[@WooliamWallace]

Fascinating information. I was looking for a while for information on highland bows in Scotland but didn't find very much, but since the west coast has so many cultures similarities with Ireland it wouldn't surprise me if this was used over here too.

[@ramblingkern]

@@WooliamWallace there is a lot of crossover and some unique Scottish bows I will definitely look at soon

[@IrishMedievalHistory]

😱 looking forward to where this goes. Hopefully will see Colin do a reply video to this one.

[@ramblingkern]

That would be terrific to see happen. I have some folks in the pacific northwest who might help me out for wood at least.

[@NickToy-d7b]

Fascinating. Does make you wonder if the furrows were for some kind of backing material (like as someone mentioned, sinew cable). Similar age bows have been found in England with sinew binding (Meare Heath bow). Also some of the Danish Nydam longbows were bound round with sinew or rawhide - though these were much later - late Roman era. I would not like to string a bow of any significant strength by putting the string through an eyelet at the end of the limb! ...Certainly not by just threading it through and tying a knot! Maybe the string went through the eyelet but was also bound round the limb

[@ramblingkern]

@@NickToy-d7b I talk about this in part 2 and show some possibilities of how it was strung too

[@PaulWhite-br9wi]

Great subject. I remember reading about Irish warriors attacking an English force using the Irish bow.

[@ramblingkern]

@@PaulWhite-br9wi yes they tended to use a shorter bow at a later point that's an interesting topic too

[@andrewwhelan7311]

@@ramblingkern I think shorter bows would have been better for guerilla warfare undertaken in the woodlands. With the right tools, even an unarmed band of warriors could make these and the arrows in a short space of time. Ambush tactics at close quarters and the enemy is severely disabled then off into the mist. The Cymry used this tactic against the Roman and every one else who was deserving of such retribution. No need for fine detail, just something to launch thick branches into the enemy from the undergrowth. Arrows dipped in shite and worse of course.

[@incognitusmaximus2118]

What are the grooves for on The Ballymackeehola Bow ? What are the eyelets for ? The bow in the picture at 2:44 looks very much like a sinew backed bow,..without the sinew obviously.

[@ramblingkern]

@@incognitusmaximus2118 I don't know there are grooves carved in 4 of the 6 bows I can't think of anything other than aesthetics. Unless it's something to do with the ratio of hardwood to sapwood but as they were stained from the bogs it's impossible to know if that's why.

[@incognitusmaximus2118]

@@ramblingkern They may have used bowstrings, as the backing. Those ancient Irish cooks were quite clever it seems :)

[@michaelroche6181]

​​​​@@ramblingkernI think its a lot of trouble to go to just for aesthetics and doing this idly to the back would compromise the strength of the grain unless it is done as part of a process of reinforcing or strenthening it.

[@gfreeman9843]

​@@michaelroche6181like irregularities,eg notches, tuberosity on bone for tendons and cartilage to attach?

[@dflt5th]

That is interesting. It's definitely been passed over. Reading over irish legends, etc, you'll only see slings & javelins mentioned.

[@ramblingkern]

@@dflt5th yeah there definitely seems to be preferable weapons to the Irish.

[@RansomRice-x4k]

The hole makes it a multi use tool. Could be an aid for making new twisted bow strings, an attachment point for adding a sharpened point of some sort,..or just a decoration , fishing line, hobo carry stick, tent pole...or an attachment point for a bundle of arrows.

[@letsgobrandon1300]

Definitely a .hobo stick. There have probably always been lazy bums around that don't want to work hard.

[@Zane-It]

What do we know about stone arrowheads found in Ireland

[@ramblingkern]

@@Zane-It I know a little bit about them but I would need to do more research as it's outside of my area of knowledge.

[@nathanwolber4503]

Some west African bows have holes drilled through the tips as well

[@ramblingkern]

@@nathanwolber4503 someone sent me some photos of some after I released this video. How they string them is very interesting. I will be doing a follow up soon to discuss that.

[@freejutube]

very interresting !! but how is the belly/back of the bow identified on those remains ? (i tend to think the furrows would be carved in the belly and originally filled with a horn strip - for example... just because the section vaguely reminds me of depictions of some bronze age egyptian composite bows)

[@ramblingkern]

@@freejutube I go into detail on this in my most recent part two video.

[@JohnRyan-f2n]

I wonder did they use a [ tendon ] in the furrow .

[@addersbowman]

Yew is the best wood for bows on these islands, the 'Welsh' longbows were Yew also. Yew was also used in England but Yew was the preferred untill the importation of Yew staves from southern europe.

[@MrLivenow]

The furrows as was said before was probably for animal sinew which were built into the famous Mongol bows to add strength as it is elastic, burn was used in the belly because of its resistance to compression.

[@mathewmullen288]

Hi there I've just discovered your channel, great content. I myself am an amateur bowyer from South Wales. I've used Blackthorn as a bow wood, did the Irish use Blackthorn.

[@ramblingkern]

@@mathewmullen288 I have seen people do it but in a historical term they are all yew with a handful of elm ones.

[@dougdumbrill7234]

I’m an amateur bowyer in America and I’m mystified by this. The eyelet nock could work really well be threading a loop through reverse looping it. If you do this the loop would reinforce the tip. But the patterning of the back is ???????? It is labor intensive so it must have a function, but I have no idea what it would be! I really think you’re onto something. I think your idea of making replicas is how you get the answer. When you make the bow design, it gives you the “why”!😳

[@ramblingkern]

@@dougdumbrill7234 between you and me I think due to not being able to tell the sapwood orientation that this was actually the belly and they were making a hollow style bow but with a cross section the archaeologists were not used to. But that's for a follow up video

[@dougdumbrill7234]

@@ramblingkern The belly would make far more sense, and there are Native American bows with all kinds of carved designs on the belly. Last night I was thinking about this as a back and I did think of one possibility. If it’s on the back, it could be a holder for some type of backing (glue, sinew or combination). I think those backings would decompose rather quickly in a bog.🤔 I’m going with any carving being on the belly. Touching the back like this would (for me) be a recipe for disaster!😳

[@ramblingkern]

@dougdumbrill7234 yeah but there was a leather pouch tied to one of the bows and it survived so the sinew most definitely would have too

[@dougdumbrill7234]

@ 🤔

[@ramblingkern]

@@dougdumbrill7234 I know it's a very interesting thing all together

[@LukeTunkel]

My sense, as a bowyer, is that the channel and eyelets are for a replaceable cable backing.

[@ramblingkern]

@@LukeTunkel interesting

[@andrewwhelan7311]

Much like the Longbow of the Cymry. Only in this case, not airbrushed from history but culturally appropriated and introduced as the English War bow.

[@Daylon91]

I make short plains bows and this is pretty interesting. So u would put your string through the hole then put a knot in it? How would u unstring it with a knot on both ends. I mean u could but seems annoying

[@ramblingkern]

@@Daylon91 yeah I'm not sure there would have to be a way of unstringing it quickly as the string would be natural material and Ireland is extremely wet

[@joebloggs1356]

What roll do you think that control of archery training and/or the banning of such weapons would have had on the ability of the Irish to resist invasion down the centuries? Another plot hole common in history lessons is the fact that the roman legions didnt just use the pilum and ballista, they were also expert slingers and archers.

[@ramblingkern]

@@joebloggs1356 it's really in the 1600s where the penal laws come into affect and remove the ability to own weapons prior to that many Irish owned weapons and had various warrior classes in society. I think the resistance to invasion is an interesting one in an Irish context as they let the vikings take some poets but not get island and that didn't really get fully invaded for hundreds of years.

[@johnd7108]

I wonder how these bows compared to the amesbury archers bow or other Bell breaker bows

[@ramblingkern]

@@johnd7108 I'm not familiar with them I'll have a look and see.

[@johnd7108]

@ramblingkern we are the descendants of the Bell breaker people genetically anyway

[@mrredeef]

Interesting, but at the same time it's definitely a new ick unlocked for me, that eyelet system would really just sap any potential for higher draw weights. You'll notice with the nocked design they actually ADD to the stave and only shave off the sides rather than through the center.

[@ramblingkern]

@@mrredeef yeah it's such an odd choice so I really wonder why they did it.

[@johnwheatley8548]

Look forward to seeing one built, have you been in touch with other utubers about this tods workshop springs too mind

[@CDKohmy]

6 feet? I remember reading stuff that they were closer to half that. I've also seen depictions that they may have been recurved (possibly by heat?).

[@ramblingkern]

@@CDKohmy yeah most of the finds in Ireland which are limited mind you are all very long. There is art work showing shorter recurved bows something I would love to try but making these from a single piece of wood will be a tough endeavour.

[@mrshindig1992]

Would love to see an update on ur giant targe

[@RansomRice-x4k]

A bronze plate could be cast to fill the furrows on the back of the bow tip, or carved in bone.

[@ivanhunter3907]

The rebate or furrow in the back of the limbs is clearly for sinew backing

[@ramblingkern]

@@ivanhunter3907 being in a bog sinew would have survived there was a leather pouch of some kind attached to one of the eyelets that survived for example. I will do a full deep dive on the bows soon

[@ivanhunter3907]

@ on another note. I-beams are stronger than a similarly weighted bar of the same steel as the more material with is further from the centre of the bending axis then the stronger the beam. So these groves might be related to this.. anyway best of luck with it

[@ramblingkern]

@ivanhunter3907 there is a strange relationship between thickness and power in a bow so it's a strange choice

[@vikingskuld]

Other groups used sinew backed bows and never furrowed out the back. I find it difficult to imagine they would go through all that work only to take a chance on breaking the bow by putting a furrow in it. That seems like a huge chance to gain what? Thanks foe the video

[@ramblingkern]

@vikingskuld my thoughts exactly and I'm going to chat about that in a follow up as the author of the paper and myself have an idea of what is actually going on there.

[@joereynolds475]

As u mentioned making bows,any suggestions of woods other than yew in Ireland? The only thing I ever had success with was Holly but it shot slow even with heavy draw weight and followed the string very quickly.

[@ramblingkern]

@@joereynolds475 in Andrew halpins work I think 3 woods were reported yew, elm and i forget the third. If you want to make your own we can get ash here pretty well but laminates are definitely a simple solution.

[@joereynolds475]

@@ramblingkern ah yea I've heard ash can be good but would defo need to be combined with something abit springier. I once make a whitethorn bow that shot lightning fast but I got sloppy tillering it and broke it. Never found a good straight enough piece to try again..... Reckon I'll give the elm a go ..

[@ramblingkern]

@@joereynolds475 ash on its own will give a good and solid bow. If you want to add some power a hickory or bamboo back can do that.

[@joereynolds475]

@@ramblingkern alrite sound man, I might give it a go before all the dieback kills it all.

[@michaelroche6181]

Elm was very common in Ireland and used a lot in the Medieval period in Wales as a good Yew substitute. Mountain Ash also makes a strong bow and grows prolifically in marginal areas where Ash, Elm and Yew are scarce and non existant.

[@conlethberry1236]

Great video Nathan, do you have a specific date for any of these bows other than bronze age? I agree there had to be an archery culture of some description in Ireland in acient times, but I am surprised that its long bows. I would have assumed since Ireland was forrested that the bows would have been smaller for hunting, not long bows which I thing suggests a martial use rather than a hunting use in Ireland.

[@ramblingkern]

I see a lot of parrallels in Ireland and North America and a lot of the eastern woodland tribes tended for longbows so I think there is some reasoning to it but I will do a full breakdown on the bows with dates and all that very soon.

[@michaelroche6181]

In many of the medieval Irish tales there is a certain condescending attitude towards bows and more heroism associated with a warrior armed with spears. Spears and swords would have been the weapons of choice for cattle herders/ warriors as is also the case among African Cattle cultures. In the Irish tales bows and arrows are most often associated with bands of witches and have sinister conotations often being tipped with poison.

[@andyleighton6969]

"Having eyelets and using yew seems to be a very specific Irish tradition" the eyelets are certainly something new, but English longbows were famously made of yew. Yew was imported in large quantities from Spain and Italy to supplement English supplies, which were considered inferior, and there was even a tax on imported wine to be paid in yew staves.

[@ramblingkern]

@@andyleighton6969 I am very familiar with the English longbow tradition. It's more so that all of these bows are yew. The eyelets and carved grooves appear to be uniquely Irish however.

[@bigblue6917]

@@ramblingkern I have to say that I had not come across the eyelet before so that seems to be uniquely Irish.

[@ramblingkern]

@bigblue6917 it does appear in a handful of other places. I will show them in a follow up video on how I'm going to try and approach making these.

[@andrewwhelan7311]

@@andyleighton6969 Imported because the Cymry wouldn't lend them their native bows. The cultural appropriation resulted in the English long bow .How did the English beat the French, they asked the Cymro for help.

[@andyleighton6969]

@@andrewwhelan7311 Well actually because yew grown in dry conditions had, apparently, a better grain for bow making than that grown in damp England....which I would point out is on average considerably drier than Wales.

[@MasonMorgen]

I wonder why it is that they didn't keep the original word (hold overs possibly related to the Bell Beaker bows?) but adopted Norse "bogí", they may have just been considered higher quality? As Irish elites also adopted Norse hatchets and Dane axes from the high Scandinavian population in the Hebrides that developed into the Sparth.

[@ramblingkern]

@@MasonMorgen I wonder if it came down to their use. As in the Norse bows appeared in fighting a lot more so they referred to them for that reason.

[@dermotgilmartin1818]

Where in Ireland are you based , im in sligo 🙏

[@ramblingkern]

@@dermotgilmartin1818 I'm in South Dublin mate.

[@alexcheng1560]

The use of eyelets on bows is still used for Indigenous Taiwanese bows

[@ramblingkern]

@@alexcheng1560 amazing I have seen references to some native American ones but I will have to check out the Taiwanese ones to figure out to string them.

[@420JackG]

Salish bows made for fishing salmon sometimes have eyelets. I think they are mostly cedar, but I'm not sure.

[@ramblingkern]

@420JackG where abouts are they from?

[@420JackG]

@@ramblingkern the Pacific Northwest of North America.

[@ramblingkern]

@@420JackG very very interesting.

[@joereynolds475]

Very interesting stuff man! Ud be forgiven for thinking the Irish only used slings and those Kern dart javelins from how little it's mentioned. Wasn't expecting the yew either. I read about the earliest Norman incursions into Wales where the locals shot extremely powerful short elm bows. I would have expected something similar here since our yew was considered inferior to the continent and as really long bow would be a hinderance considering how dense our woodland was back then. But yea the function of the furrows and the eyelets would be interesting to know about. I know people keep mentioning it but I bet Todd of toddstuff might have some ideas on the purpose of these designs. They've figured the reasons for a few design choices on weapons and armour that were previously misunderstood through testing.

[@ramblingkern]

@@joereynolds475 as odd as it sounds England was importing yew from cork during the medieval period we must have had some decent yew here at some point. Its a video I need to do at some point. As for the furrows that's the biggest thing that confuses me it goes against all bow building convention.

[@joereynolds475]

@@ramblingkern no kidding? I know they pillaged the area for the oak battleships, but never knew about bowstaves. I live in west cork so I'll have to have a look around for some.

[@ramblingkern]

@@joereynolds475 yeah our lack of forest now makes it very hard to come across sadly.

[@thecarrot4412]

Very interesting video! I shoot a lot, though mostly modern target recurves. It would be great to get hands on with an interpretation of one of these finds. I can't think of any bowyers in Ireland that would be able to help or give input but I will see if anyone knows anyone who could be of assistance if you need it. I think tillering that shape could be a challenge, and stringing it without nock shoulders on the limb tips could be... difficult to say the least!. Either way, I would imagine the guys at my club would welcome you out to shoot it if you can get it built. North Kildare Archery club! - Adam

[@ramblingkern]

@@thecarrot4412 I appreciate it mate. Yeah it's going to be an interesting journey to try and reproduce some of these

[@thecarrot4412]

@ramblingkern I tell a lie! Try contact Flybow in mayo, or Loving Longbows in Clare. They might be able to direct you

[@ramblingkern]

@thecarrot4412 are they still going? Or back up and going?

[@fasted8468]

Historical bows are in 3 categories in my mind. Long bow. UK Composite bow. Europe Asia America Bamboo bow: Japan

[@ramblingkern]

@@fasted8468 I tend to have two self bow and composite. Those two however span thousands of years and countless variations.

[@RansomRice-x4k]

The hole in the tip makes it a multi use tool.

[@ramblingkern]

@@RansomRice-x4k in what way would they do that?

[@joereynolds475]

Diddnt the Picts also have an indigenous crossbow before the English? Very strange how these things come about

[@ramblingkern]

@@joereynolds475 very possible Paul MacDonald would be the man for that.

[@waynemcauliffe-fv5yf]

Nice. I would of hated to live back then mate

[@IrishMedievalHistory]

you hate this era as well haha where's your time machine back to the 70s/80s. haha

[@waynemcauliffe-fv5yf]

@@IrishMedievalHistory I don`t mind now at 62 but the 70`s and 80`s were great mate

[@ramblingkern]

@@waynemcauliffe-fv5yf haha I will wouldn't fancy it myself either to be honest haha.

[@waynemcauliffe-fv5yf]

@@ramblingkern 😁

[@Sionnach1601]

Thanks very much for this, and thanks for existing at all!! I often wondered why the stupid Irish never bothered with archery. It was so dumb. The English nearly ALWAYS easily overpowered the "poorly armed peasants." Now, had they bows, stair na hÉireann might have been COMPLETELY different. Please do a video on this: why, in the name of God, that they forgot or didn't bother with archery and only used melee. There is a REASON why the American Indians were so formidable, or the Mongols, and that is because BOTH groups used BOWS. Using them on horseback made them even more formidable of course. Pity the Irish hadn't the cop on. Anyway, GREAT to see that you exist, doing this kind of niche, special analysis of our ancient culture and history. Only, please next time, use a better background, más féidir leat! Éireann do na hÉireannaigh ☘☘🙏🙏🙏🇮🇪🇮🇪

[@ramblingkern]

@@Sionnach1601 appreciate the comments sadly the only place I can record in at the moment. There were a multitude of reasons why the Irish never really took to archery. The English were unique all across Europe for using massed formations of archery and the plains Indians and Mongols had the benefit of open terrain, horses and bows. Some great points though and worth their own video.

[@vallgron]

What was the advantage to that hole when nearly everywhere else made nocks for the string

[@ramblingkern]

@@vallgron I genuinely have no idea the only reason I could think of is to keep the string attached to the bow for quick stringing. But in such a wet climate you would want to preserve most natural strings from moisture.

[@Finderskeepers.]

Really interesting content. Might be worth reaching out to another knowledgeable content provider who specialises in bows for a win win. The point on the hole is very compelling.

[@ramblingkern]

@@Finderskeepers. Yes indeed I know a few bowyers but getting raw materials in Ireland is a real nightmare.

[@ramblingkern]

@@Finderskeepers. Yes indeed I know a few bowyers but getting raw materials in Ireland is a real nightmare.

[@johnpurcell7525]

No they got an English one and painted it Green

[@fibber2u]

WE did not have anything in the past THEY had it. I don't see how 5,000 year old artifacts can be considered Irish any more than Stonehenge can be considered English. The latter also has wooden origins also from the bronze age. There is no cultural connection with such a distant past. Certainly the language used at the end of the video demonstrates that fact, as no Celts lived on the island of Ireland 5,000 years ago. Language does not indicate race or even nationality but is clearly a cultural indicator. Common culture more than anything defines nationality. Studies of Stonehenge suggest that Bronze age people traveled and traded throughout Europe (and beyond), thus inovation would have been shared. I would doubt the rarity of these artifacts indicate anything more than the poor survival rate for organic things and not a local cultural uniqueness, but they definitely aren't Irish. The subject is fascinating but claiming it on national grounds is faulty.

[@ramblingkern]

@@fibber2u if you listen to what I mentioned bows of this style were present up into the medieval period so spanned a range of thousands of years up and into the medieval period. As they are unique to the island of Ireland and not anywhere else to call them an Irish longbow after the only place they are found is simply donating their location not the modern day culture that they would be attached to.

[@davidblunt3501]

Kern; here in America in the northwestern part ( Oregon and Washington) we have a large amount Yew wood trees. My questiion is, would you some blanks of yew some of these trees have base of up too 3/4 of a meter. I'm planning on going up to northwestern washiongton state in the early summer of 2025 to get some of the wood for a friend of mine here in northeastern Nevada as he and she are both bowyers as a hobby . contact me if you are interested .

[@ramblingkern]

I most certainly would be thanks mate.

[@ramblingkern]

can you drop me an email its ramblingkern @ gmail