Pampooties are rawhide shoes, which were formerly made and worn on the Aran Islands of

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

History

They are formed of a single piece of untanned hide folded around the foot and stitched with twine or a leather strap. Hide from the buttocks was most often used. The hair was usually left and this improved the shoe's grip. The raw hide is kept flexible by use and the constant damp conditions of Western Ireland. However the shoes are not made to last. They are prone to rot and were usually kept for as little as a month or less. quoted in Pampooties are similar to the Scottish cuaran shoes, and are the precursors to ghillies, Celtic dance shoes. They are also similar in appearance to American

moccasins A moccasin is a shoe, made of deerskin or other soft leather, consisting of a sole (made with leather that has not been "worked") and sides made of one piece of leather, stitched together at the top, and sometimes with a vamp (additional panel o ...

. Ancient shoes found preserved from Stone Age Europe have a similar design. The name "pampootie" is of unclear origin; it may be related to Turkish papoosh, a kind of slipper. The Aran Islanders simply called them ''brógaí úrleathair'', "shoes of undressed leather."

References

Shoes Historical footwear {{clothing-stub