![fighting shillelagh fighting shillelagh](http://getasword.com/6270-thickbox_default/shillelagh-fighting-stick.jpg)
Traditionally, the shillelagh or blackthorn sticks with thorns left on the stick were smeared with whiskey butter and smoked over fire (in the fireplace) – thus giving them their dark, hard, glossy surface. It was made by taking either the branch of a tree or an entire juvenile tree including the root knob and cutting it up to approximately three foot in length with the root left in a ball on top, some fighters would carve an opening in it and fill it with molten lead to give it a bit more weight. The Shillelagh was traditionally made from blackthorn wood which was available easily and in large quantities, it was a tree species of high hardness and stiffness – it grew on the side of the road. So having a walking stick that doubled as a weapon was a clever way around such laws.
![fighting shillelagh fighting shillelagh](https://www.goldenplazadistributors.com/images/products/large/UCUC3240.jpg)
The Shillelagh was used as a walking stick and or a weapon, in the 1600’s the Penal Laws set by the British Government outlawed Irish people from owning weapons, among a host of other laws.
![fighting shillelagh fighting shillelagh](https://www.trueswords.com/images/prod/A36-UC2970.jpg)
The Shillelagh (pronounced shi – lay – la) is the name for a traditional Irish stick or stick of blackthorn wood, its usually sold to tourists and is a symbol of Irishness, it is on the logo of sports clubs, political office and other places around the world however, it has a long and somewhat sinister past.