Henry County, IAGenWeb

HAS SHILLELAGH OVER 150 YEARS OLD

     In Old Erin on St. Patrick's Day or any day, the men who wore the green were kept in line with a Shillelagh, sometimes spelled shillalah or shillelah. Anyone who has ever seen an Irish Shillelagh or cudjel or as we might have called it a billy club, knows quite definitely that he would not want to be conked over the head with it.
     On the island known for its famous oaks, they were made of oak or other sturdy roots and ornately carved.
     Glen Dunlavy of this city has a real honest-to-goodness Irish shillelagh which has been in the family on the American side of the Atlantic Ocean for more than 150 years. It was given to Mr. Dunlavy by his cousin, Mrs. Edith Beeler of Cherryvale, Kans. Her great great grandfather brought it to this country from Ireland.
     The decorative shillelagh, heirloom of the Dunlavy family, is thought to have been carved from sturdy crabapple roots.