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Bernie Leddy writeup in Stafffighters

Bernard Leddy heads the Europe section of the Doyle family style and runs a school in his native Ireland. Doyle Family Irish Stick Fighting, is a devastatingly effective two-handed combative system developed by a Doyle family in Ireland. This system was brought to Canada via a Doyle who settled in the rough and tumble landscape of the Atlantic’s Newfoundland coast...

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Ancient Irish martial arts revival in rural Fermanagh

A UNIQUE form of martial art is currently taking place in Mullaghdun. Irish stick fighting, traditionally called ‘Bataireacht’ is now taught in the local hall. 

Bernard Leddy, the man who hopes to breathe new life into this old martial art in Fermanagh has spoken out of his plans to bring the traditional sport back to Ireland, starting with a group in Mullaghdun. 

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Walk Softly, Carrying a Big Stick

Sure, it’s not the same old shillelagh your father brought from Ireland.

Commonly crafted from blackthorn or oak, the shillelagh (from the Irish “sail éille” and pronounced: shuh-LEY-lee) is best known as a simple walking stick, about four feet long, with a large fist-sized knob at the top.

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Bataireacht

If asked to name a martial art, most of us would probably fall back one of the popular eastern styles, like Karate or Taekwondo. Or perhaps the more esoteric forms of Brazilian Jujitsu or Judo.

The Celtic people have a traditional martial art of their own, too – although it is not surprising to its practitioners when someone hasn’t heard of it.

Glen Doyle is trained in the art of bataireacht, or Irish stick-fighting. Knowledge of this particular set of skills was, for generations, the exclusive domain of those in the Doyle clan.

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Bataireacht - The Lost Art of Irish Stick Fighting

Bataireacht is the art of fighting with a traditional weapon in the form of the Shillelagh, a wooden club, and training in strikes, thrusts, and blocking. What Jujutsu, Eskrima, and Tahtib are to the east, Ireland created their own rich history of martial arts and weaponry, one of which is Bataireacht

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The Fighting Irish
By David McGoldrick
There are many stereotypes associated with the Irish, but "political correctness" was never one of them. So, if you consider yourself "Woke", this article may not be for you. Can you imagine how boring the Saint Patrick's day parades around the world would be without a bit of "cultural appropriation"?

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The Irish Grip

By David McGoldrick
One of the most distinctive features of authentic Irish Stick Fighting is the use of the Irish grip. The length of the Bata is quite standard across many of the worlds stick fighting systems because so many styles use a stick that is approximately the length of a sword or walking cane. 

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Phases of Combat

By David McGoldrick

As Martial Artists and students of combat systems, we generally concern ourselves with the strategy and tactics of fighting. I would suggest that by doing so, we often miss the bigger picture, which can, in turn severely limit our understanding of the strategy and tactics we regard so highly.

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